show and tell! Firm Feel sector shaft brace

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There is a Mopar bracket kit but IIRC, it just fits a Magnum block? Something about it that one bolt will not fit an old LA style block.

dont know what happened to my post, but i have my eye on that aluminum KRC power steering pump and their billet bracket...i know it only uses 2 of the lower timing cover bolts on an LA engine, the 3rd is for a magnum. when i get it ill make a drop down bracket that bolts to the head, then to the 3rd mount of power steering bracket. once i get it ill play around on my buddies mill to see what i can come up with...
 
I was talking about a setup like this with an adjuster plate and spacers to the block. Two holes fit, and the third does not. :protest: Notice the extension added to the red plate in the second picture.

This is the Hotchkis Challenger...

that's what i'm talkin about! i am going to use a little bigger resivoir though. so it uses all the bolt holes on a magnum motor? that is what i have.
 
got a link to this pump? im trying to find a really good pump for my RMS power rack and pinion, and hydroboost system...

ive been lookin at the KRC aluminum power steering pump...

believe me you need a good power steering pump to run hydroboost. I made the mistake of piecing together a hydroboost kit and never upgraded the pump.

I went through 2 belts last summer in about 8,000 miles, not to hyjack the thread but is it the pump causing it? or is it that there not suppost to be run by V belt? I also have power steering
 
I used the firm feel sector support at watkins glen and it worked great. I was going through turns at high speeds and the car was very precise. I just upgraded to the firm feel 1.06 t bars and it handles even better. I am going back next year with better brake pads and coolong ducts.
 
any updates on FF sector support?

yes! i think it works great! anyone that likes curves should put one on i think. if anything,it will save the sector shaft bearings over the long haul. i am about to go all RMS front and rear,so i will be selling off some parts soon.
 
be on the lookout about early sept,maybe the end of aug,i will list everything for sale.
 
Hi

I don't want to start a new topic for this so here it goes:

I am far from USA and imported FF sector support would cost me around 280$ shipped... There is no way I am spending this kind of cash on a piece of steel with bearing ;-)
I'd accept the price in USA at 130$ but all import taxes and shipping charges make it less fun for me.
OK done with whining and to the point:

Can any kind owner of this great device give me some measurements that could allow me to fabricate the whole thing from scratch?

Please look at the photo I added and tell me what is the measurement inside the bearing. This is the most important thing for me. I can get such bearing in housing as pictured for 5$ where I live...
Another thing is this extended nut that needs to be installed. Worst case scenario I will tig weld a piece of steel tube on the original nut but the rest is just a piece of cake.
I promise to post photos after job is done :)

Reason for me doing this is that casing of my steering box cracked and I don't want this to happen again.

Thank you for helping me out!

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In a quest to improve the awful feeling steering in my car, I ordered one up...

Has anyone installed one of these lately? Any tips on the install? Any impressions? Any regrets?
 
All installed and there's an immediate improvement! There's a bit less play in the wheel, inputs just feel slightly less sloppy. It's not dramatic but it is unmistakable. Install was a breeze. Absolutely worth the price.
 
All installed and there's an immediate improvement! There's a bit less play in the wheel, inputs just feel slightly less sloppy. It's not dramatic but it is unmistakable. Install was a breeze. Absolutely worth the price.

thank you very much for the candid feedback.

what box did you install this on?

And how old was it before you installed the bearing ?
 
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thank you very much for the candid feedback.

what box did you install this on?

And how old is it before you left metaled it?

A few years back (~2k miles ago?) I swapped the power steering unit out in favor of a remanufactured large sector 16:1 manual box from eBay, hoping to save weight and drag on the motor.

Yeah, a quality unit from one of the specialized vendors who participate in the forum probably would have been a a better choice. In all honesty, this reman box was 30% the price of some of the “preferred” sources and after the many thousands I’ve poured into the Dart in recent years, saving this money really mattered.

So this box worked well enough but I was never happy with the combination of very high effort and significant slop. Messing with the adjustment on the box helped a little but not nearly enough.

After getting the car aligned last summer which provided 5 degrees of caster, the steering effort went up a bit more and it seemed to exacerbate the excessive play. Eliminating this known deflection point in the steering linkage seemed like a solid place to start…and it looks like that was the right call.

Subjectively, I would guess that 1/3 or more of the play has been eliminated. It’s still there but the difference is noticeable.

I didn’t expect it to help with the weight of the steering but it actually did, likely because eliminating deflection applies a more direct vector of force on the system and probably reduces some friction in the joints by keeping the geometry closer to the intended angles. Just a guess.
 
Hi

I don't want to start a new topic for this so here it goes:

I am far from USA and imported FF sector support would cost me around 280$ shipped... There is no way I am spending this kind of cash on a piece of steel with bearing ;-)
I'd accept the price in USA at 130$ but all import taxes and shipping charges make it less fun for me.
OK done with whining and to the point:

Can any kind owner of this great device give me some measurements that could allow me to fabricate the whole thing from scratch?

Please look at the photo I added and tell me what is the measurement inside the bearing. This is the most important thing for me. I can get such bearing in housing as pictured for 5$ where I live...
Another thing is this extended nut that needs to be installed. Worst case scenario I will tig weld a piece of steel tube on the original nut but the rest is just a piece of cake.
I promise to post photos after job is done :)

Reason for me doing this is that casing of my steering box cracked and I don't want this to happen again.

Thank you for helping me out!

View attachment 1715045903

I know, old post, but did you know that bearing and housing is a commercially available bearing? They are called flange bearings and the designation (LF206) can even be seen on the pictures on the firmfeel website. Here's the exact same bearing FF uses for their kits: NEW 2-Bolt Flange Cast Iron LF206-30 Mounted Bearing FYH sa206 | eBay
The long nut is either directly available somewhere or you can just chuck a hex coupling nut in a lathe and remove part of the hex.
You would only need to fabricate the bracket that bolts to the K-frame.
 
I know, old post, but did you know that bearing and housing is a commercially available bearing? They are called flange bearings and the designation (LF206) can even be seen on the pictures on the firmfeel website. Here's the exact same bearing FF uses for their kits: NEW 2-Bolt Flange Cast Iron LF206-30 Mounted Bearing FYH sa206 | eBay
The long nut is either directly available somewhere or you can just chuck a hex coupling nut in a lathe and remove part of the hex.
You would only need to fabricate the bracket that bolts to the K-frame.

The FF unit is now about $165, that is very expensive. If someone can find the long nut or provide the specs, one could save a lot of money going that route. I for one would like to save the money. Perhaps someone could make a few of those nuts and the brackets for the K-frame mount??? Here is a better bearing assembly that has the built in grease fitting and 2 locking screws.... LF206 SWENSON PART # 04080-005-00 - 1-1/4" 2 BOLT FLANGE BEARING SB206-20 NNB | eBay
 
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I know, old post, but did you know that bearing and housing is a commercially available bearing? They are called flange bearings and the designation (LF206) can even be seen on the pictures on the firmfeel website. Here's the exact same bearing FF uses for their kits: NEW 2-Bolt Flange Cast Iron LF206-30 Mounted Bearing FYH sa206 | eBay
The long nut is either directly available somewhere or you can just chuck a hex coupling nut in a lathe and remove part of the hex.
You would only need to fabricate the bracket that bolts to the K-frame.

I think that nut is specially machined. I don’t believe there is anything off the shelf like that. And it looks hardened.

would a hex coupling nut be hardened also?

What are the thread specs?? I think it takes a 1 1/4” wrench ?
 
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I doubt that it's hardened. Grade 5 probably which you should be able to get for a coupling nut.
Thread can be measured on the steering box. OD has to match ID of the bearing (probably 1.125").
 
I will email DSS (the maker of the kit for the pickups) to see if they sell just the nut. I'll report back.
 
Or you could just drop the $165 and get on with your day. :)

This reminds me of the buy vs make the chassis bracing debate.

I could believe it if fabricating as much of this steering sector brace as possible was enjoyable and made it worth the trouble of piecing it together and tracking down the correct long nut, tapping it for set screws, obtaining the right bearing/casting assembly, cutting/bending/drilling/priming/painting the sheet metal bracket.

I'm adding up the hours here and unless I had all of the stuff laying around, it's not with the trouble, especially when the Firmfeel piece just fits and works with no fuss.

Everyone has to make these calls for themselves. I just know that I'd still be messing with it if I had to build it myself. Instead, I can go take the car out for a rip.
 
You don't have to tap the long nut for the set screws, they just "snug it up". I've already posted the correct bearing with set screws and grease fitting, $15.99. How hard is it to made a cardboard cutout with a few holes cut into it and then transfer it to a thin piece of metal? Even if the long nut is $15 that leaves you over $100 to make the thin bracket and 4 nuts/bolts to get, not including shipping, which is probably at least $20. It is even worse for chargerST as he is in Austria.
 
You don't have to tap the long nut for the set screws, they just "snug it up". I've already posted the correct bearing with set screws and grease fitting, $15.99. How hard is it to made a cardboard cutout with a few holes cut into it and then transfer it to a thin piece of metal? Even if the long nut is $15 that leaves you over $100 to make the thin bracket and 4 nuts/bolts to get, not including shipping, which is probably at least $20. It is even worse for chargerST as he is in Austria.

I enjoy fabricating stuff and yes, being in Austria makes it mucho mas $$$ if I have to import it from the states (the $165 quickly turn into $250-300). As I have access to a lathe, bandsaw, tap/dies, mill etc. it is not a big hustle for me to make this bracket.
 
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LOL Mine is STILL sitting around, waiting on install. Just saw it yesterday!
 
LOL Mine is STILL sitting around, waiting on install. Just saw it yesterday!

Jos, can you measure the total length of the long nut for us? Also, can you measure the height of the "hex" part of it as well, the part you would turn with a wrench before it becomes a cylinder.

I am thinking a "coupling nut" could be turn down on a lathe to make this nut. Fastenal has them but I need to know the measurements of the long nut.
 
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