[appsie]

hey all so i have read i think every post possible in the search for vit steer into my sierra.

i have had a setup for ages now and decided its time to finally put it in.What i am not fully sure on without actually doiong the job and sitting the new box up there is if i just redrill the chassis and sleeve it or plate the chassis on the outside will the radiator have to be moved across or could i just play around with the one bracket as i cant really move it due to the shroud and 1.6 fan.

Also what setup do different people use?wedge,10mm plate or redrill?mocking it up on a front chassis section i have hear it has 32 ish mm clearance from bottom of chassis to top of pitman arm would this be enough?thanks,matt

[Hybrid]

I'm running the 10mm plate. If I had my time over I'd probably plate and crush sleeve the chassis instead. I only had to mod the DS rad bracket. I didn't move the rad at all. things to be aware of when mounting/orientating the box:
-make sure your pitman arm clears the chassis lock to lock. I put a 2 inch dropped calmini arm on mine
-Have you moved your diff forward? Make sure under full articulation the pitman wont hit tie rod. I learned this the hard way.
-If you don't use a wedge you will need to track down another uni for your steering shaft. Some still use the rag joint but I found it to make the steering a bit clunky. Plus your putting the rag joint outisde of its angles of operation. You wouldn't want it to snap.

[appsie]

thanks hybrid for the info and heads up.Na i havent moved my diff forward and dont think i plan on it anytime soon if at all so i should have clearance there.I have another section of chassis sitting in the shed and with the vit box roughly where ill make it on my zuk i have about 30mm clearance from top of arm to bottom of chassis with the vit arm so i should be right.As for the radiator mount will just have to work out a mount for driver side.how was yours done? thanks,matt

[Hybrid]

Just wait and see with the rad mount. When i ran it on my 1.3L I didn't need to modify the mount. I only had to modify it once I installed my 1.6. I cut the bottom half of the mount off that bolts to the chassis. I then welded like a web to the top half that braced back to my head licht bucket. I was worried about having one side fixed to the chassis while the other was fixed to the body. I thought it would flex and crack the radiator. I've had it like that for 2 years on and off road (included ormeau rock runs) without a drama.

[appsie]

ok so today i got my vit box mounted into the zook.Drilled new holes thru chassis and welded in crush tubes etc.then ran two unis and a male adaptor using my old steering shaft to mount the column to the box.That all went okbut now just before dark looking at the passenger side i cant fit my pump as the pulley hits the radiator mount off the chassis.has anyone else had this problem or got a fix for it??looks like new rad mounts all round

This is with a g16b,thanks

[zooker]

I just cut a section out of the top of the rad mount to clear the pulley. Thought it might be a bit weak so I was planning on making up a whole new mount but 2 years on and its holding up fine

Here's a pic I've apparently prepared earlier

[appsie]

thanks zooker for that.

im not home at the moment but it looks like your radiator mount is different to mine or am i just full of shit??

And is there different pump brackets off different models cos im sure mine looks differnt too

[appsie]

just back over home now and my pump is different than that.it looks different and ports come out different etc.Ill get a photo in daylight.any other ideas.

[zooker]

appsie wrote:

just back over home now and my pump is different than that.it looks different and ports come out different etc.Ill get a photo in daylight.any other ideas.

Thats probably because Im running a jimny pump (almost physically the same as a vit pump) and it was on the jimny bracket in the picture. I have since got rid of that bracket and am running a vitara bracket (so basically the same setup as you have now) and there is still just enough clearance for the pump pulley.

[Highway-Star]

I'll try to put some pictures up of what I've just done with mine. Used the GV 1600 P/S cradle, just made an adaptor to move it higher up the block by about 50mm, and very little trimming of the radiator support bracket. My pump is a bit different to zookers too.

[appsie]

thanks fellas,looking at the pics it seems the arse end of the vit and jimny pumps are the same just unbolted and rotated round 90 degrees.

aaron,if you could get a few pics up when you've got time thatd be great,thanks for the help

matt

[Highway-Star]

Highway-Star wrote:

I'll try to put some pictures up of what I've just done with mine. Used the GV 1600 P/S cradle, just made an adaptor to move it higher up the block by about 50mm, and very little trimming of the radiator support bracket. My pump is a bit different to zookers too.

Some pictures:







If you want anymore details, just say so.

[appsie]

thanks again,gives me a few more ideas and options.Mounted the pump today just gotta get one bolt for it in the morning and work out what belt i need.then ill work on the radiator and making it fit.

[appsie]

finally got my steering all in and running,just took it for a drive with the radiator cable tied haha.Will finish mounts off tomorrow and get pics in the daylight.

MY QUESTION now is.in the short drive i took it on it seems to have a bit of bump steer going on and is showing signs of getting the "death wobbles" back that i had at the start of owning it.I have 50mm ext shackles which i plan on halving or getting rid of all together?Also because of the pitman arm not being dropped am i gonna have this problem no matter what?ANY HELP THANKS

[MART]

Ditch the shackles , death wobbles are caused by worn or loose parts and can be a combination of any number , check tighten all parts , stand in front of car and look for flex in all steering components while somebody else moves the steering wheel back and forth , also the straighter the steering arm the better it is , Cheers Paul.

[appsie]

thanks for that.just seems wierd that i notice it back with the new steering box etc.the box isnt anywhere near as sloppy as the sierra one was tho.

So should i be looking at dropped piman arm?to help with angles?

[zookster666]

mine has the same problem aswell except i run a 10mm plate. Could it be the steering shaft from column to the box contribute to this?

[Gwagensteve]

There is a vitara drop pitman arm available from lowrange offroad. It's quite a drop - about 2.5" so with a SPUA, even with plenty of spring lift, the angles are spot on.

HOWEVER.... It's 17mm longer than a standard vitara arm. Depending on your suspension setup, it might/will result in contact between the tie rod and pitman arm. It's definitely designed for SPOA where the tie rod will be nowhere near the pitman.

I've just fitted one to a project (OME RUF, 2" bumpstop spacer) and we had to clock the steering box to make it clear the tie rod.

I agree that with the flat vitara pitman arm, there is added bumpsteer compared to a sierra setup.

Steve.

[Highway-Star]

OK peoples, do you think the bump steer could initiate the death wobbles? Then the oscilations maybe be maintained by another component/s?

In my recent completed setup I'm not feeling much, though a little bump steer, though I am getting bigtime death wobbles, and I have about 70mm height difference between drag link and tie rod at ride height.

To make mine drivable, my old steering damper is going back on, coming up with a way to clamp it to the Vitara Pitman arm, horrid shape bloody thing!

[Damo]

Tarago pitman arm FTW.

It doesn't get the draglink angle perfect but it's better than the stock Vit arm. The arm is a direct bolt on to the Vit box, but the taper in the other end is too large for the stock drag link. I had a tapered sleeve machined that was dropped into the arm, then the stock draglink just went straight in.

These pics are with custom spring packs that had about 3" lift over standard.

[zookster666]

Let me know how you go with the steering dampner highway star I need to do this to but have no idea how too.

[royce]

My preffered way is to make a bracket up to attach one end to the tie bar and the other end to the diff housing, calmini make a kit that should give you some ideas on what to do, was the only thing that cured mine after fitting import power steer (no damper mount)

[Damo]

royce wrote:

My preffered way is to make a bracket up to attach one end to the tie bar and the other end to the diff housing, calmini make a kit that should give you some ideas on what to do, was the only thing that cured mine after fitting import power steer (no damper mount)

Any pics of that Royce? I was intending to do the same but never had a problem when I ran it without the damper so I didn't bother.

[ajsr]

ive got the vit drop arm on order from low range, ill let you know if it fixes the bump steer when it shows.
hopefully it will work with my spua setup

[appsie]

damo,royce,ajsr etc thanks for ideas and help.

ajsr,be sure to let us know how you go with the drop arm as that will be my next option.....or sell the zuk haha its on the cards

Highway star let us know what you come up with to mount the steering damper off the pitman as im in the shed atm looking at the same thing.Doesnt give you many options tho.Mine isnt getting death wobbles as such like it used to but i know it can be better and i have a near new OME HD damper so may as well use it hey

[appsie]

more update pics,all finished off now.Vit box mounted using crush tubes.new radiator mounts to clear pump,box etc.New lines made from 3/8" gates power steer line and pressure fittings chopped and soldered to use correct fittings for the hose.
Gets a little bump steer now as a few others are also getting on here?Options that may help are the drop arm from lowrange etc,torago arm?BUT.......i have been told a jimny arm is the same spline at the box as a vitara but with same/similar drop and length to a stock sierra one which could help in a few ways/does anyone else know if this is correct?

appsie

[ajsr]

hey appsie
ok my drop vit arm turned up today but unfortunatly I dont think its going to work.
it would work great on a spoa but it will foul on a spua setup by the looks.
ill give you more info on sat when I play a bit more.
but it may be for sale on here real soon i think
cheers andrew

[appsie]

thats a shame mate,is it just cos its a bit longer thats the problem or too much drop or both??kinda sux you had to buy one to find out tho

[ajsr]

I think the drop is going to be too great under suspension compression and foul the tie bar.
Ohh well I had to buy / do spoa to find out that wasn't for me too,its just part of the fun of modding your shit
cheers andrew

[ajsr]

the upside to this little fark up is that my double tuffs turned up in the same parcel so its all good