Completely Redesigning the Steering for my Electric CJ5 build (episode 19)

I'm in the process of rebuilding a 1956 Jeep CJ5 and converting it to an electric vehicle. This time around I completely redesign the steering system an give it all the upgrades- electric power steering, reverse rotation ford steering box, tie rod flip, and studded knuckles.
I used Anchor Lube in this video and I'm excited they're now a supporter of the channel. Check out their product here:
www.amazon.com/Anchorlube-All...
If you like what I'm doing here and find some value in it, consider supporting my work on Patreon. Patrons get ad-free videos, behind the scenes content, and a deep feeling of satisfaction and well being that come with knowing they're helping me create.
/ jeremymakesthings

[@joeshomeshop]

Impressed as always by your refusal to give up when you hit a snag. Can’t wait to see the brakes get the JMT treatment!

[@daleolson3506]

What I did was heim joints for tie rod ends with bolts. A steering rack off a race car. Fabricated a rack plate and made up a steering column. Best thing I did for the Jeep.nice work our doing.

[@joeo6378]

I appreciate your ability to work through problems. Making an attempt, iterate where needed, and call it good when it is good enough. Analysis paralysis is so easy to fall into - even more so in the internet age where there are often several "best answers" for any given situation. I find myself losing a lot of time trying to make a "ideal" decisions when "just do the thing" would keep things moving - even if that means iterating.

[@fernanjs]

Love your solution for setting up the knuckle in the mill 👏

[@macdrew77]

Cant wait to see what happens with all those batteries

[@vandalsgarage]

Mate, you are a first round draft pick for the zombie apocalypse survival team. Lots of great thinking in this project.

[@neffk]

The amount of work that went into this video is... makes me almost tired just watching.

[@Okeanops6]

love your dry humor and projects a milimeter at a time.

[@awldune]

Always nice when everything works perfectly the first time! 🙄Admirable perseverance

[@stephenbaker7786]

You’re making good headway on that project. Nice work 👍

[@Nena84734]

Now that is so cool, really appreciate your humor!

[@624Dudley]

Seriously admire your determination. 👍👍

[@TishaHayes]

Amazing job! Figuring out steering geometry is one of those puzzles that even engineers have sleepless nights over.

[@julias-shed]

Wow huge number of problems to solve 😮 well done 😀

[@duneforever8932]

always excellent content and video work

[@mickgentry8128]

You always amaze and impress me with your problem solving on the fly, top notch!

[@ollysworkshop]

You have a great talent, you simultaneously inspire me to do my own EV conversion and at the same time convince me never to even attempt it!😂 I get the feeling that the comment about the brakes right at the end suggests there will be plenty more, er, content when you get on to doing those.👍👍

[@JeremyMakesThings]

You see, the problem is I violated the first rule of EV conversion, which is “don’t start with a rust bucket.”

[@billcar741]

I enjoy watching this build, something different and your building it the way you want too. Keep them coming.

[@warrenjones744]

Mans natural desire to create....One step forward, two jumps back... It's a long road! Something about that big hole in the dash where the speedo went just screams out to me... Big old 8" dia Weston volt meter! Or something like that! Looking good my neighbor, Looking good.. Cheers

[@JeremyMakesThings]

I’ve got the original Speedo, and it seems to still work other than having a broken needle. It needs new glass too, but I figure it’s safer sitting on a shelf for the time being.

[@jonnojamwood]

Keep making your videos mate. Useful and entertaining content, practical and realistic expectations to mechanical journeys. Boilermaker from Australia. No genius just like making stuff. Cheers cobber🇦🇺

[@anthonygrodecki7968]

Great progress to do so well together with all your other stuff very admirable. Thanks for sharing 😊

[@djhscorp]

Clear concise a pleasure to watch.😀

[@deancoley7987]

Engineering skills excellent, ingenuity Excellent, Problem solving Excellent

[@anandarochisha]

I doubt that you see yourself as an inspiration, but I got a 64 Scout build now back on track. You don't quit, and are good at explaining things just enough so that I don't start overthinking. Thank You for the example and good work.

[@joedowling5452]

Very Edisonian the way you worked through every roadblock. While I really want to see this finished the journey is what truly matters. Thanks for bringing us along.

[@elizabethpedro3103]

Great qork and attention to detail.😀

[@Failure_Is_An_Option]

Steering geometry and clearance. There is no easy way. Trial and error, and hope you considered out every edge case.

[@JeremyMakesThings]

^^this is a comment from someone who has actually does this.

[@RB-yq7qv]

Hi Jeremy What a epic rabbit hole.

[@pattybeeman]

I really like this project and following your channel. This project is coming along great. I have similar axles in my scout 800. I fabricated a custom cross over steering. I had a custom arm made to sandwich between bushing cap on top of the passenger side steering knuckle. My drag link connects to that. Tie rod goes between the knuckles. It's really important to keep the drag link and tie rod as close to parallel as possible to prevent bump steer. Also, when I bought my scout, trying to turn the wheels would bend my tie rod when it was in the Y configuration because it was not parallel. I would bend it towards the ground. I don't have massive tires on my scout. Previous owner did perform a spring over axle conversion which really exacerbated the issue.

[@Rustinox]

Yep, that was a challenge.

[@Murphyslawfarm]

G'day mate this is the best Jeep build on the internet in my eyes 👍

[@wyrdlg]

I love your steadiest!

[@philipps00]

so nice to see your progress keep on going 🙂

[@SmaulPart-pb5hm]

It looks like your Ranger steering box bracket was maple or pine, Ford used only tropical hardwoods stock.

[@Rubbernecker]

Absolutely awesome, another beauty!!

[@CraftwerksMC]

Hey Jeremy, love your videos and one thing you need to do in your build is do whatever you can to articulate the suspension and make sure it is fully compressed and decompressed to ensure the movement of items will not interfere. you did good with adding weight but you also want to check the full range beyond "normal travel". Just my 2 cents. It will be hard with the leave springs on and not sure how to go about it but as you saw just loaading some weight on the frame added some suspension arc.

[@JeremyMakesThings]

I flexed it as much as I could- necked up one side until it was at full droop (and then some) and stood on the other side etc. tried the best I could.

[@philmenzies2477]

Haha. Great sense of humour there mate. Really looking forward to the braking system.

[@tiposxdiesel]

Magnificent work!

[@letttttttssssss_gooooooo]

Letttttttssssss gooooooo!!

[@carltonlane8931]

Impressive work.

[@smallmoneysalvia]

Fantastic work! Makes me want to work on my truck more, I’ve been meaning to beef up the suspension and it’s gonna need a bit of welding so I’ve been putting it off. Watching you go through all of this work on this Jeep has been inspiring, not to mention seeing you be honest with all the work you’re doing (not only showing the finished product or final revision) makes me feel more competent.

[@argee55]

Can't wait to see how easy the brakes are to set up!

[@gafrers]

Great qork and attention to detail. A lot of planning and real meaning if custom made

[@sherylryan7038]

Another awesome episode how do you do it first rate in awe from Australia 🇦🇺 😊😊😊😊😊

[@whyohwhy1366]

Make sure you change/ check the rubber coupler under that motor for the steering, they go out all the time in the cars. They used to be like 3 dollars from Hyundai/Kia.

[@JeremyMakesThings]

Yep. That was one of the things I was going to mention if this video hadn’t already been really long. It looked okay when I pulled it apart to seal things up. It should also be accessible through the transmission tunnel cover from inside, so it should be fairly easy to change in the future.

[@SunkiHopi-r1p]

VERY GOOD

[@nothingbutthisthatandtheother]

Very cool! I was thinking to myself I would have used four Hub Motors far lighter, less exenspensive and far less moving parts to beak down but you is killing it!

[@waynesinden]

HaHa, great progress. Yes, that should go everywhere. Maybe if you have a weekend to spare you should go help SuperFastMatt finish some of his projects.

[@jdmccorful]

Beautiful Jer, beautiful! Thoroughly enjoying this build back. Thanks bud!

[@danwalsh5282]

Good stuff

[@anthonygrodecki7968]

Oh and yes I am one of those who does the 25.4 things quick 😊

[@Isthatyoudermot]

Using the hot glue gun seems to be factory. Good job.

[@vr66luke]

Comment for engagement

[@TheDistur]

This was quite a sub-project! Real nice work!

[@markgreen7701]

What a puzzle!!

[@zvonibab]

Jeremy hat down to you

[@hrxy1]

another superb excellent video, you are THE man. I love what you are doing, really holds my attention, thank you.

[@ironhead65]

Really coming together!

[@gmoney9588]

Good job as always ! Excellent work . I never like to critique anyone’s work , but was hoping to make a suggestion . I’m not a machinist or engineer , but does the steering shaft need a second support , closer to the steering gear box ? I only say that in the interest of reducing the stress on the steering gear box input bearing . However , you did mention that this steering shaft may actually be temporary . Well , we are all intrigued by your research and development , as well as your mechanical and engineering skills , as well as workmanship . Please take my suggestion with a grain of salt . I’m still not quite done with my 1980 CJ 5 project , even though it’s drivable and registered , so I’m no authority . My 1973 has a long way to go . Appreciate you saving this Jeep , and all the hard work ( and $$ ) put into it . I share your pain .

[@guygillmore2970]

All hail the algorithm

[@badjuju6563]

Love the inbuilt comedy...

[@justavian]

I don't know how you get videos out so often. Many of them, like this one, feel like weeks of effort.

[@gregdrew874]

Move the top pass. side shock mount back an inch or 2? Looks like there is clearance. It's just another bracket :)

[@cbonz7734]

I would wonder if when you're in full right lock and you bump a rock or something, and drive the rods into the shock as the springs flex rearward. I thing a bent rod end might move it off the shock.

[@TalRohan]

Looking good, Was it as frustrating as it looked trying to find the sweet spots so nothing binds.... Your brackets and mounting points look awesome btw Yeah brakes should be a breeze Thanks for sharing

[@JeremyMakesThings]

No. It was more frustrating.

[@TalRohan]

@@JeremyMakesThings awe now I really feel for you...I hate putting things together finding something not right and having to do it over.....watch out for the cv joint housings, those can be a real annoyance especially shimming the bearings on the housing and weirdly getting them the right way round ..I am presuming you kept the parts in sides...I didnt the first time .......

[@JeremyMakesThings]

@TalRohan I bring this on myself. 🤣 one of the more frustrating parts of this was having to build a little bit, figure out what the next parts needed were, order parts, wait for parts, mock up a bit more, and repeat. And because of the forces involved, it’s tough to mock things up adequately…clamping things in had too much flex, so I just kind of had to start building it and then see if it worked. But two steps forward and one step back is still forward progress.

[@knudsen315]

I am very impressed with your ingenuity, building and machining skills. Why don't you use a sterring rack instead of a sterring box?

[@JeremyMakesThings]

Rack and pinion and solid axles are generally considered to be a bad combo (at least for off road). You would have mount the rack to the axle and then figure out a way to get the steering shaft to be able to flex as the suspension moves. And they’re not as strong as a “traditional” steering box.

[@knudsen315]

@@JeremyMakesThings Oh,I understand. I hadn't thought about that.

[@neilharvey3571]

@23.12 Definitely Wooden Work...

[@dennyskerb4992]

👍👍

[@keithviolette5870]

I always learn something watching your creative problem solving. Power steering is going to be great in that thing. How many turns is it lock to lock?

[@JeremyMakesThings]

I think it’s between four and five turns.

[@EhddTerBh]

On the point of moving tie-rod up: how is the clearance between tie-rod and the frame at full compression? It looks close to 0 from the screen. Great project.

[@JeremyMakesThings]

It is in fact closer to zero than I would like.

[@moksekof.3242]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@Paulman50]

👍😃

[@user-iy6vq7iw9p]

Can you turn shocks upsidedown for clearance

[@JeremyMakesThings]

I looked at that, but when they’re compressed, the body of the shock would still be in the same place.

[@user-fe8li9lu7l]

Jimmy look at it as apositiv stearng stop problem solved lol

[@ferrumignis]

That must have been a serious number of hours to compress into 37 minutes, it's crazy just how much time these kind of problems can absorb. If the damper clearance becomes an issues, could the mounting bracket on the frame just be shifted rearwards a small amount?

[@JeremyMakesThings]

Yes, that’s an option. I may need to adjust the stop out a little anyway (the driver side tire was hitting the shock mount when it was turned all the way right and the suspension was flexed left. So the problem may go away on its own anyway.

[@TomislavJuan]

Nice! , doing something similar , whats the part number of the power steering unit ? , Keep going.!

[@JeremyMakesThings]

Not sure on the part number, but here’s the eBay listing.

[@MishterDale]

Not that it's the biggest deal, but for the clearance of the shock could you flip the shock? Is that allowed?

[@JeremyMakesThings]

I looked at that, but Once it’s compressed (when it becomes an issue) the body of it would be in the same place.

[@MishterDale]

@JeremyMakesThings thats kinda why i asked wasnt sure if the shock needed tobe upright or if it even made a difference. I love your channel! Thanks for the videos!

[@CHMichael]

Why ? Whats wrong with the original stering design?

[@nirodper]

maaan why no rack and pinion?

[@JeremyMakesThings]

Rack and pinion and solid axles are generally considered to be a bad combo (at least for off road). You would have mount the rack to the axle and then figure out a way to get the steering shaft to be able to flex as the suspension moves. And they’re not as strong as a “traditional” steering box.

[@garybensel6680]

Just put the tie rods back to the bottom. That few inches at the tire is worthless anyway.

[@honeycuttracing]

Believe with a electric vehicle would have went with electric vacuum pump for a brake booster instead of a electric power steering, cause your electric is limited

[@cooperised]

No it isn't? It's rather less limited than in an ICE vehicle. In fact electric is pretty much your only sensible choice for ancillaries on an EV.

[@Iowa599]

Your steering shaft looks like a snake. It will problv work, but feel like a boat. Imo, delete the power steering completely. Steering will be easy with proper offset wheels & narrow tires.