Long Travel BS Thread

2.5 ram?

my math said it would take like 2x the flow of the first gen steering rack, likely somewhat similar but I am super interested to see if the flow is good enough, I may be copying you for the earlier steering rack setup.

any plans on how to tie the ram into the rack? I was thinking similar to the tt setup where the tie rod bolt screws through the clevis into a threaded coupler, just don’t know if 1/2” bolts would be up to the task. May need to upsize to 5/8 or 3/4.

 

There are very similar designed racks out there for dirt cars. That’s actually where this idea originated from.

Problem is, it’s literally so stupid simple that I’m afraid I’m missing something. But no matter how many times I go over it, I can’t see this not working exactly as anticipated.

Why nobody has done this before, I have absolutely zero idea.

We plan to sell the machined parts and some of the mounting stuff required (provided this actually works). For others to go out and do it themselves as well. The reality is, one could be into something like this for a weekend and the cost of a tundra rack. 3rd gen guys are probably still screwed. But it sure is a nice middle ground in comparison to a 12k$ swingset.

 

2.25” ram 6” throw. I wanted a smaller bore to up the chances of success. Not to mention, the throw being perfect. I did open up the feed ports on the servo housing as much as possible, almost + .080”. We’re dang near at the bore of a -6 fitting now. With the CBR pump I’m banking we are going to be perfect.

I do have several ideas on tie rod mounting which I will post more of when we get there. Hard to explain now. I’m hoping to be able to shove the tie rod at least 3/4” forward to put steering geometry back where it should be with the JD pivots and eliminate all or as much of bump steer as possible.

 

I was thinking about a limited travel 8” ram to spread out the force the ram may see trying to bend the rod at all, and it would limit how long any crazy coupler to the steering rack would have to be.

moving the tie rod would be nice as well, I think first gens are kinda screwed there since the ram would end up behind the rack and farther from where you would want to move the tie rod. Probably not ideal to push the tie rod forward and put even more force on the steering rack

 

Haha it looks like it now that you say that.

We are at chadbourne gulch above fort Bragg in California

 

I thought very much the same early on. However with the way forces are applied I do not see it being an issue. Not to mention, a 2.5” ram is an absolute behemoth.

 

You can see here. 2.5x8 vs the 2.25x6

Not only is the 2.5 going to require way more flow, packaging was an issue. The 2.25 is narrow enough to sit in between the factory rack mounts. This makes it so it’s not much of a spread between the factory rack and hydro ram. In theory this should make any form of connecting point substantially stronger. There should be virtually zero deflection on any of this once it’s done.

 

3rd gen with an oil relocate potentially not less screwed?

 

With a relocation it would theoretically work. But I have yet to see anything in the wild for a relocation. Is there something out there?

 

1. That setup looks awesome! Oh wait it's mine! Works great, no issues since going with it.

B. The 1/2" bolt is in double shear in the clevis, but is in shear against the slider (proposed ram). Maybe a larger clevis could be made to encapsulate everything. I suppose this is more steel than a larger bolt, but safer. Guess it really depends how much steering load is going into this. Where is the next weak link? Outter tie rod bolt?

III. I would potentially be interested in a ram kit!

 

I’m kinda thinking 1/2” bolt would be fine since it has one on either side of the rack, but at the same time a 3/4 bolt should fit, just may require some grinding on the rack body for clearance.

any chance you could take a pic from the side to see how much clearance is above and under the rack slider slider? Figure it could tuck up above where a trans skid would be if it went straight from the rear ifs crossmember to the trans crossmember, but years of hard hits has my trans skid looking like a banana, so I would probably want a tube across that would mount the ram and support the skid.

 

@MonkeyProof

how familiar are you with asbuilt data for sync 4 APIM’s? I installed a sync 4 retrofit kit, and it was working great except CarPlay wasn’t full screen, so they sent me a new apim, and now the truck has no idea where we’re at, in both CarPlay and the ford nav.

secondly, can you look something up for me?



This is the back of the apim. Nothing gets connected to the brown connector or the smaller burgundy connector.

ChatGPT says the brown connector is for an external gps antenna, and the reason the old one worked and not the new one is because the asbuilt data is different, and the apim is looking for gps data from the brown port now instead of the canbus like the old apim. Could you confirm what all of those ports are for? Does the service manual clue you in at all here?

 

I’m of the opinion that overkill is better on something like steering. Personally I matched my hardware with the swingset. Which is 5/8”.

Next in line for failure would be the rack bolts, which will be upsized to 1/2” on this new setup.

But at the end of the day, all of this stuff is only being tied together by some pretty measly factory plate in the factory crossmember. So if you factor all of this together after solid mounting a ram and the rack, I believe the factory cross member is the weakest link of all. This is being addressed.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/baxter-performance-ts-101-bk.515677/

Something like this?

https://www.baxterperformanceusa.co...k-cartridge-to-remote-adapter-multi-port.html

https://www.baxterperformanceusa.com/inverted-remote-oil-filter-mount-ri-101-bk.html

 

It’s a possibility for sure. Until everything is in its final place though, it’s tough to say. I do know this ram for sure sits lower than the JD slide rack, so it is a move in a positive direction. Just a question of is it enough?

 

I’d be curious for sure. I can reach out to Baxter and see what sort of measurements they have for it.

 

Ill check into later on today and see what I can find out, but Monday ill ask the two dudes who deal with it on the daily. It's the same VIN that you gave me previously?

 

Big shoutout to @Airdog for letting me once again borrow his homemade axle bearing puller..


Yup, that's where the noise is coming from..as usual.


Actual OEM bearing for 150 bucks instead of the Toyota Dealership Price of ...outrages

The part number is on the box (Passenger Side)


Koyo Bearings is what we want


This new $60.00 HarborFrieght DieGrinder performs better than the Milwaukee DieGrinder..

 

My favorite part of the rear suspension is when I feel like I've been hitting it hard I look at the rear shock bumpers and realized I only used half the available travel. DMZFTMFW