Borgeson Swap Problem

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I have 275-35/18's, 7 degrees caster, 3/4 camber, 1/8" total toe on my Duster and a 13" steering wheel with the original borgeson box and its not hard to steer, stiff or anything at all.

Pump is a regular saginaw for a mopar, late 70s variety, and I'm running a hydroboost. But I do have a stock k-frame and Hotchkis UCAs.

Would think there's some kind of suspension articulation issue since the forces aren't all left to right when you turn.
 
davidcribbs said:
Got busy at work Friday Peter, and couldn't call. Sitting right now waiting for the tow truck, my stainless braided high pressure just blew apart on the power steering pump. I will reach out Monday.
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Wow, enough pressure to blow out a SS hose? Sounds like it's time to have a look at the pump!
 
try to measure pump pressure. is your pulley ratio correct, do you have more pressure when you rev the engine to 2.5k?
Correct pitman arm? Does your steerimg column run smooth including the yokes?
 
Okay, 3 month recap. Finally, I have an additional box now put in the car. Quite a bit I learned about this during the process. I would let anyone doing this install know to insure you do not have quick-ratio Pitman and Idler arm. This did not lighten the pressure to turn the steering wheel, but with the longer ratio arms, the steering is a little glitchy when turning through the radius. It would get easy/hard/easy, and after switching the Pitman/Idler arm, that went away.

Once I had done all the research I could do with Peter's help, I ended up taking the car to a company here in Bandera that ran diagnostics on the system. That was where the idea for using the OEM Pitman/Idler arm came in. I switched those, and returned the previous pump that was the small-sector shaft, and purchased the large-sector shaft.

At the end of the day, the steering is stiff, but useable. It is stiffer than I would like, but it does drive better than my wife's Mercedes.

The QA1 suspension I believe is what the increased stiffness is a result of. Everything bolted up just fine, but with the poly bushings and not having stamped steel control arms and k-member stiffens everything already. This is just an assumption, since I did not switch everything back to see if that made the steering less stiff. After 3 months of swapping parts, taking apart the pump, and towing it to Bandera Texas, it is back on the road.

One last caveat to this was the fact I had a broken motor mount. I didn't realize that until I left last week from getting the alignment done. When I went to leave the shop I accidentally stepped on the accelerator a little hard (go figure), and felt the unmistakable little hop when the car launched. I took the old mount off, and installed a new mount. This actually stabilized the car even more, and made the steering more reliable.
 
davidcribbs said:
Okay, 3 month recap. Finally, I have an additional box now put in the car. Quite a bit I learned about this during the process. I would let anyone doing this install know to insure you do not have quick-ratio Pitman and Idler arm. This did not lighten the pressure to turn the steering wheel, but with the longer ratio arms, the steering is a little glitchy when turning through the radius. It would get easy/hard/easy, and after switching the Pitman/Idler arm, that went away.

Once I had done all the research I could do with Peter's help, I ended up taking the car to a company here in Bandera that ran diagnostics on the system. That was where the idea for using the OEM Pitman/Idler arm came in. I switched those, and returned the previous pump that was the small-sector shaft, and purchased the large-sector shaft.

At the end of the day, the steering is stiff, but useable. It is stiffer than I would like, but it does drive better than my wife's Mercedes.

The QA1 suspension I believe is what the increased stiffness is a result of. Everything bolted up just fine, but with the poly bushings and not having stamped steel control arms and k-member stiffens everything already. This is just an assumption, since I did not switch everything back to see if that made the steering less stiff. After 3 months of swapping parts, taking apart the pump, and towing it to Bandera Texas, it is back on the road.

One last caveat to this was the fact I had a broken motor mount. I didn't realize that until I left last week from getting the alignment done. When I went to leave the shop I accidentally stepped on the accelerator a little hard (go figure), and felt the unmistakable little hop when the car launched. I took the old mount off, and installed a new mount. This actually stabilized the car even more, and made the steering more reliable.
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Were you happy with the alignment? What is the name of the shop you used? I assume you got it in Bandera?
 
Ricks70Duster340 said:
Were you happy with the alignment? What is the name of the shop you used? I assume you got it in Bandera?
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I live in Bastrop Texas, so it was here locally that I used. The name of the shop is "Alignments by Pete". He is an old-school racer and builder that does minor engine work, and all things related to suspension. He is the only one between all the shops in Bastrop and Austin that I could find with the correct equipment.

The shop I used in Bandera though is "Brutal Off-road", and they may have the equipment to do older cars too. James is the owner, and very knowledgeable. I am sure that was why Peter recommended them.
 
I'm glad the guys in Bandera were able to help. They are good customers of mine and appear competant from my phone conversations. Swapping the arms was my idea, not theirs as they called me every step of the way. It was my understanding, several issues were straightened out by James and the guys at Brutal Offroad. I should also say I only sold a coupler to Dave and later the pitman/idler. I highly doubt Summit or QA1 could have ever helped get this car on the road properly. I have to say this because most buy from Summit to save a few dollars, but when an issue arises that needs specific tech help, you're out of luck.
 
BergmanAutoCraft said:
I'm glad the guys in Bandera were able to help. They are good customers of mine and appear competant from my phone conversations. Swapping the arms was my idea, not theirs as they called me every step of the way. It was my understanding, several issues were straightened out by James and the guys at Brutal Offroad. I should also say I only sold a coupler to Dave and later the pitman/idler. I highly doubt Summit or QA1 could have ever helped get this car on the road properly. I have to say this because most buy from Summit to save a few dollars, but when an issue arises that needs specific tech help, you're out of luck.
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Peter, the swap is great from the standpoint it responds at the slightest move of the steering wheel. The car hugs the road, and I have a 3 mile road into work that I can push the car pretty hard on corners. It holds tight, and I can expect where it is going to go. Compared to the OEM gearbox, this thing rocks.

I should have mentioned that James was getting a lot of his diagnostic direction from your team, or all of his direction.

I believe you are correct about Summit or QA1, this is probably something that would have been alien to them. It for sure couldn't have been completed without all the diagnosing you did with me, and Brutal Offroad. It is rare that you have someone stand by their product the way you do. Thanks again, and I am hopeful for many years of good hard driving in the future.
 
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