Opinions on Vit p/s steer pump

[sanger]

Hey all,
I am going to add vit p/s to my sierra and can get a whole kit for $250. But before i buy it i want to hear from anyone who is running this set up how the pump performs on rocks with a locked front (its welded).

Cheers Sanger

[simcoz]

I ran this setup for 3 years with welded front 31s beadlocked at 8psi in the rocks and never a drama with it.

Best mod you'll ever do and should be the first on any zook.

[CanberraMav]

For that price grab it anyway and if you dont use it then sell it for double. They are getting harder to find. I was quoted $680 by a wrecker.

[zookjedi]

they work good , you'll enjoy driving it again it'll turn 31's with locked front on rocks no dramas


i think everyone would do this if they new how easy it was to do and the ease of steering .

cheers Jai

[sanger]

Cheers all. I'm going to order it next week and ill try and do a how to thread as i go along.

[nicbeer]

What plate adapter do people use for the chassis or are guys drilling welding new holes in the chassis.

[sanger]

I saw an adapter plate on here a while ago that has bolts that mount to chassis through original mounting holes and an angled piece of this with tapped holes to accept vit holes. Anyone post some pics of how they have mounted them.

[Rhett]

I had a quick look in my suzi pics but none of my bracket I made mine a wege shape with studs out eack way to suit both chassie rail and box. I would't use a vit pump unless u are gunna just leave it on 31s. I did have trouble overheating after I put the p/s on as u have to move the radiator over a few inches.

[MART]

No probs.

[Bad JuJu]

Mart, your zook is SWEEEEET, do you have anything in members? ie a buildup?

[christover1]

On mine we just plated over the old holes, after removing the crush sleeves, and fitted 2 new crush sleeves into 2 new holes..One original hole is re-used.

My zook is on 32 Mongrels, was welded but now lockrite front diff, and steering is brilliant even at low pressures.
It has a good feed back from the ground still, and best of all bump steer is almost nill, and death wobbles have gone, too.

christover

[sanger]

Thanks Rhett will be running 31's for a while so it should do the job.

MART. Thanks for the pics mate looks like what i had in my head.

[DiddyZook]

Is it just me or there a few things that don't look right in MART's pictures.

I am going to have to look at mine when I get home.

There is a square section crossmember infront of the steering box and a round one behind it on MART's. I am sure that mine has the round piece frontmost and the steering box is behind (towards the rear) of it. The way MART's is set up looks like it has a chassis extension maybe.

Above the steering box MART has cut into the panelling to which the grille mounts. I did not need to. (is this because MART's is further forward) I did however need to modify the radiator mount which on MART's is further back in relation to the box.

It is obvious in the pictures that MART has coils etc, am I just not familiar with a coily chassis? Or are there more modifications here than just the powersteering?

it crossed my mind that it maybe an empty Vitara engine bay that we are loking at, but then why the adaptor?

So am I seeing things or what? MART what vehicle is this in, it looks good but un-familiar?

[nicbeer]

going by the sig.

lux diffs
coils
sierra.

I have had it mounted dodge in mine with a square adapter and the box angle was about 30-45 deg from chassi rail.

also as rhett said, u need to move radiator over to suit the box as its bigger.

Nic

[christover1]

I just spaced the radiator mount out a tad, then redrilled the holes in bracket, but this may be different in a 1.3?

[MART]

84 model suzi,all explained in members section, no chassis extension,moved round bar to get power steering pitman arm to miss panard rod,front diff 14 inches forward,rear 7 inches back 93 inch wheel base,also round tube supports front shock mounts,cheers Paul

[Guy]

I just spaced the radiator mount out a tad, then redrilled the holes in bracket, but this may be different in a 1.3?

Chris .. did you use Vit or jimny box ??
If so (and you dont mind saying) what did it cost you ?

[christover1]

I just spaced the radiator mount out a tad, then redrilled the holes in bracket, but this may be different in a 1.3?

Chris .. did you use Vit or jimny box ??
If so (and you dont mind saying) what did it cost you ?

I used entire system from a vit. Including the lines and all.
I got it cheap of James T, he changed plans for his own project.
Bit of free welding from Joey.
I needed to buy a collapsible steering shaft. belts bolts, etc.
Got out of it for less than $400 including p/s fluid
Worth every cent of it, too.

christover

[fool_injected]

Chris,
With you set up you mounted the box flat on the chassis
Most kits seem to be wedge type angle mounts

Does this effect any thing the steering geometry?
Why is Vitarabox mounted on an angle in the first place?

Seems the easiest way to go
To my thinking the only effect would be more lock in one direction

Cheers
Wayne
ps guys if your running big tyres use a transmission cooler for the PS fluid
One of these neat little jobbies might work http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ALLUMINIUM-FINNE ... dZViewItem
Looking at the pict they come with four fittings so are likely to be dual pass. You can both feed and return lines throught the cooler

[christover1]

Chris,
With you set up you mounted the box flat on the chassis
Most kits seem to be wedge type angle mounts

Does this effect any thing the steering geometry?
Why is Vitarabox mounted on an angle in the first place?

Seems the easiest way to go
To my thinking the only effect would be more lock in one direction

The vit ps box sits on a chassis that is angled, whereas the sierra chassis is parallel. So it would be straight ish in a vit.
I considered the wedge shape mount, but with mine there was not enough room. Mines a 1.0 converted to 1.3 and stuff was in the way)
But mostly I had to keep it simple to fit in with my lack of tools, and my abilities.
I haven't noticed any issues with it, and that thought didn't come to my mind, but would be easily fixed with adjustable drag link or similar.
Or moving the pitman round on the splines???
I inverted the steering shaft/column so the rag joint was at top (less angle) and the tight angle at the box was best to have a uni joint.
I dunno if this is possible in 1.3 but double unis would be an answer.

Unless a vit system comes cheap and easy, it is probably better to use a jimny set up, but was way out of my bujet. I'm guessing the vit ps may be more powerful as it from a heavier car???

I wanted an entire system from the same car, I didn't want mix n match parts, as I don't know the whys and wherefores of ps engineering. This way I know all the parts will werk well together, and I never had to disassemble too much.

christover

[Bazooka]

I have just completed yet another adapter plate that allows the Vitara box to be bolted to the Sierra chassis without any cutting, welding or modifications to the chassis.
This does sit the Vitara box on an angle but all that is needed is to cut down the steering shaft and use two uni joints. The radiator does not have to be moved but the R/H mount does have to be spaced out to clear. This just requires drilling new holes where it bolts to the radiator.
For a pitman arm use a YR21/22 Tarago arm. This bolts straight to the Vitara box and drops the arm down to its original position as the Vitara pitman sits straight.
This new setup will also consist of a hydro assist ram from an old Ford so will be interesting to see how much extra it gives to the steering.

[nicbeer]

any idea on cost for the adaptor?

Nic

[Bad JuJu]

Pics of these "no modify the chasis" adaptors would be good

[christover1]

PS. I just remembered that lock to lock was limitted by the zook front end, not the steering box, and thus I have no loss of steering lock on either side. IE it stops before the box runs out .

christover

[christover1]

Pics of these "no modify the chasis" adaptors would be good

Bolt on would certainly appeal to engineers more readily.

My design was going to be 10mm plate with flat headed bolts where needed. IE plate bolted to the 3 normal Sierra points
with bolts sticking out in Vit positions.
I think 1 bolt would bolt straight thru both box and plate.
But I changed plans.

christover

[Aerenandmel]

This is how im thinking of doing mine.

[nicbeer]

Yep. i have got one of those style adapters here, 10-12mm plate with studs and uses original holes.

problem was it put the box on a 30-45 deg angle from the chassis.

i'll chuck up a pic of mine tomorrow.

Nic

[fool_injected]

Below is the adaptor from the Petroworks kit
It is for LH drive models so we basically need a mirrored copy of this
My dad is a toolmaker and if I do a CAD model he will have a run of 10 or 15 done on the NC mill (Damn gotta get solidworks working)
Bolt hole will be pretty easy but I need to know what angle to make the wedge (anybody want to measure the pict and apply some trig to find the angle for me?)
Can anybody see any probs with engineering these?
cheers
Wayne

[Bazooka]

This is how im thinking of doing mine.

Thats pretty much the same as what I have made.
This is the whole kit that i have made in the past. This allows a complete bolt in solution.

[sanger]

Below is the adaptor from the Petroworks kit
It is for LH drive models so we basically need a mirrored copy of this
My dad is a toolmaker and if I do a CAD model he will have a run of 10 or 15 done on the NC mill (Damn gotta get solidworks working)
Bolt hole will be pretty easy but I need to know what angle to make the wedge (anybody want to measure the pict and apply some trig to find the angle for me?)
Can anybody see any probs with engineering these?
cheers
Wayne

Its been a while since ive done trig but these are the anles i got.

The furthest angle to the right is 13 deg.
The furthest angle to left bottom is obviously 90 deg
That leaves furthest angle to left top to be 77 deg.