Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
Forum Discussion
I've gotten a few private messages worried that something had happened since there hasn't been any new Hal postings in a while. Mainly I've been doing a lot of traveling. That and with the shorter days it's dark by the time I get home from work which always puts me into a bit of a funk this time of year. Well things are now looking brighter. According to the U.S. Naval Observatory today is the last day this year when the sun sets earlier than the day before. By 12/9, in these parts, the sun it will start setting later making it seem like the days are starting to get longer. They won't since the Winter Solstice isn't until 12/21. The days will continue to get shorter until then but that will be from later sunrises. But that's OK. I already feel better!
Back to work. With all the interstate traveling I've been doing in Hal lately there is a steering problem that's really started to bug me. At speeds above 60 MPH the steering wheel has a slight back-and-forth shimmy that's tiring on a long haul. I've previously had the ball joints and alignment checked and tires rebalanced but it won't go away. I'd read about adding a steering stabilizer so decide to give it a go. I should have done this years ago.
I used this thread from http://www.ford-trucks.com as my guide for this project.
Here are the three main components needed for the steering stabilizer.
Same parts, different view.
The two brackets I ordered from www.silverstatefordparts.com
Part #s
F2UZ3E652A $38.10
F2UZ3E652B $56.70 (The "B" bracket is the one with the two U-bolts)
The Monroe Magnum Steering Damper came from my local Advance Auto.
Part # SC2955 $33.99
First off is to locate the "A" bracket. It goes on the the left hand (passenger side) chassis frame at the front. Here are the three mounting holes on my van.
There were rust issues with Hal when I bought it. I've covered the exposed metal with Rust Bullet to deal with the rust. Need to first knock off any surface rust before installing the bracket so do some chipping. Next take a 3/8" tap and clean up the mounting holes.
After checking the metal vs rust ratio in the tapped hole I had my doubts about the threads holding power.
So I threaded in a 3/8" bolt and tried to see if I could strip the hole.
Yep I could.
Went back to my tap set and found the next largest size which is 7/16" and used it next.
Can't tell from the pictures but I'm using cutting fluid with the tap.
This time the tapped holes looked a lot better. Tested them the same way as before but this time with a 7/16" bolt. The holes didn't strip.
Bolt the "A" bracket to the frame using three 7/16"-14 X 1" bolts with lock washers. All the hardware store had in that size was Grade 8. Bolts were $1.09 each and washers $0.22 each.
Do the "B" bracket next. First off I measured the max extension of the piston on the steering damper. It's around 8".
Before proceeding, turn the wheels all the way to the right. This is needed to align the "B" bracket.
Next is to attach the damper to the "A" bracket. I used a 1/2" bolt but it had to be pounded through the Monroe damper. A better fit would be with a M12-1.75 bolt but I didn't have any on hand.
Extend the piston about a 1/2".
Then use that to line up where the "B" bracket should be bolted to the drag link on the van.
Since the "B" bracket can be rotated on the drag link while still keeping the piston extension at 1/2" it's not obvious what the best position should be. I used the rubber radiator hose as a guide so none of the steering damper parts would rub against it and possibly cause a hole.
The bolt that extends from the "B" bracket through the Monroe damper is a M12-1.75. I paid $1.04 for a pair of nylon locknuts for it. Snug up all the nuts on the "B" bracket but don't do a final tighten yet.
Turn the front wheels all the way to the left and check the fit.
Here's why I measured the max piston extension earlier. Can check if the damper is fully extended. There is still have another inch if needed.
It would probably be best to have someone observe the the steering damper as you turn the wheels back and forth. When you're sure everything looks good tighten it down.
Take it for a test drive. In my case the steering damper has made a major improvement in the steering wheel shimmy. It's not totally eliminated but much better. I've read of other benefits but haven't had a chance to really test it out yet.
That's it.
Back to work. With all the interstate traveling I've been doing in Hal lately there is a steering problem that's really started to bug me. At speeds above 60 MPH the steering wheel has a slight back-and-forth shimmy that's tiring on a long haul. I've previously had the ball joints and alignment checked and tires rebalanced but it won't go away. I'd read about adding a steering stabilizer so decide to give it a go. I should have done this years ago.
I used this thread from http://www.ford-trucks.com as my guide for this project.
Here are the three main components needed for the steering stabilizer.
Same parts, different view.
The two brackets I ordered from www.silverstatefordparts.com
Part #s
F2UZ3E652A $38.10
F2UZ3E652B $56.70 (The "B" bracket is the one with the two U-bolts)
The Monroe Magnum Steering Damper came from my local Advance Auto.
Part # SC2955 $33.99
First off is to locate the "A" bracket. It goes on the the left hand (passenger side) chassis frame at the front. Here are the three mounting holes on my van.
There were rust issues with Hal when I bought it. I've covered the exposed metal with Rust Bullet to deal with the rust. Need to first knock off any surface rust before installing the bracket so do some chipping. Next take a 3/8" tap and clean up the mounting holes.
After checking the metal vs rust ratio in the tapped hole I had my doubts about the threads holding power.
So I threaded in a 3/8" bolt and tried to see if I could strip the hole.
Yep I could.
Went back to my tap set and found the next largest size which is 7/16" and used it next.
Can't tell from the pictures but I'm using cutting fluid with the tap.
This time the tapped holes looked a lot better. Tested them the same way as before but this time with a 7/16" bolt. The holes didn't strip.
Bolt the "A" bracket to the frame using three 7/16"-14 X 1" bolts with lock washers. All the hardware store had in that size was Grade 8. Bolts were $1.09 each and washers $0.22 each.
Do the "B" bracket next. First off I measured the max extension of the piston on the steering damper. It's around 8".
Before proceeding, turn the wheels all the way to the right. This is needed to align the "B" bracket.
Next is to attach the damper to the "A" bracket. I used a 1/2" bolt but it had to be pounded through the Monroe damper. A better fit would be with a M12-1.75 bolt but I didn't have any on hand.
Extend the piston about a 1/2".
Then use that to line up where the "B" bracket should be bolted to the drag link on the van.
Since the "B" bracket can be rotated on the drag link while still keeping the piston extension at 1/2" it's not obvious what the best position should be. I used the rubber radiator hose as a guide so none of the steering damper parts would rub against it and possibly cause a hole.
The bolt that extends from the "B" bracket through the Monroe damper is a M12-1.75. I paid $1.04 for a pair of nylon locknuts for it. Snug up all the nuts on the "B" bracket but don't do a final tighten yet.
Turn the front wheels all the way to the left and check the fit.
Here's why I measured the max piston extension earlier. Can check if the damper is fully extended. There is still have another inch if needed.
It would probably be best to have someone observe the the steering damper as you turn the wheels back and forth. When you're sure everything looks good tighten it down.
Take it for a test drive. In my case the steering damper has made a major improvement in the steering wheel shimmy. It's not totally eliminated but much better. I've read of other benefits but haven't had a chance to really test it out yet.
That's it.
