Saginaw conversion draglink

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dmtfab

dmtfab

10 Year
Joined
Mar 4, 2012
Threads
12
Messages
101
Location
Belleville, IL
I am replacing the tie rod and drag link tubes on my 40 because they have rock rash and are bent. I ordered a replacement tie rod tube from CruiserTEQ, but I didn't see the convserion drag link on their new site. I could find PSDL1 - conversion drag link on the Cruiser Outfitters site though. Before I call up and order one, I was wondering if anyone knows if I can take a OEM relay rod tube and cut it to the right length and drill/tap the tube for 11/16-18 right hand thread? I have a lathe and can drill out the tube to 16 mm for the tap, but I don't know if there is enough material to work with. The drag link I already have is a conversion metric/SAE unit, but I am not sure if it is something some one made from an OEM relay rod so I don't know if I can take the ID/OD measurements from it.
 
I believe you should be able to, but I can't 100% remember how close the fit is for the standard joint. I think you can still get the drag link from toyota as well, they sometimes come with a joint on one side as well.
 
I think the relay rod that goes from the center arm to the passenger tie rod end is too short for sag or scout steering, but I maybe wrong. I think the FSM might have the stk dimensions. Cruiser Outfitters would probably know too. IIR, the relay rod ends have 17mm threads. The tie rod has maybe 19 or 22mm threads? I think the tapers are all the same. The saginaw pitman has a larger US taper.

I adapted scout steering, in my pile of old parts I had a longer relay rod that was longer than the stk 40's. I right hand tapped it to 17mm and used a stk end and pressed in a starter shim into the yj drop down pitman arm. I have no idea what relay rod was from.
 
My drag link tube is 25.75” long, 21.88 mm OD and 13.05 mm ID (past the threaded section). I used a transfer punch as a gauge pin so it’s not super accurate, but it tells me I can easily drill an unthreaded section of similar tube to 16 mm for the 11/16-18 tap for the ES140R end. CruiserTEQ shows the 4x relay rod tube as 30”

The old drag link is only threaded ~2.5” deep and the old ES140R joint has ~2” of threads.

I think I can safely cut 4-4.25” off the right hand threaded end of a relay rod tube, drill it out to 16 mm and tap it to 11/16-18. I’m gonna call Cruiser TEQ and talk with them about the dimensions of their relay rod and see if I can make it into a drag link for my truck.

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I essentially did the same thing but tapped it with a right hand 17mm tap, then used appropriate stk 40 drag link end and adapted it to the yj pitman arm. The rod I used was long enuf to cut and tap. My setup is temporary until I can make up rods for fj60 ends with the same approach.
 
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pb4ugo said:
I essentially did the same thing but tapped it with a right hand 17mm tap, then used appropriate stk 40 drag link end and adapted it to the yj pitman arm. The rod I used was long enuf to cut and tap. My setup is temporary until I can make up rods for fj60 ends with the same approach.
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What did you do to adapt the 40 drag link end to the YJ pitman? Was it as simple as a taper sleeve? I have a tapered reamer for modifying Toyota pitman arms to use 1 ton GM ends. Obviously that’s not gonna work here though
 
I used a GM starter bushing. Borg Warner #SB0, or there's another number #X4378. Idk the manufacturer. If you take a deep dive into archives of this website you'll find this. Or maybe it's in FAQ's or the tech links. I think Cruiser Outfitters sells machined shims that go into fj60 arms to fit 40 tres too. The one pic is a FJ60 steering arms. You might want to get some extras.
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I used to cut and tap to fit the tiered end in on Saginaw conversions. No issues. Works fine. There are a few different tie rod ends out there that fit the Saginaw box taper and fit the tube pretty close that make for an easy conversion when tapping the oem tube.
 
pbgbottle said:
I used to cut and tap to fit the tiered end in on Saginaw conversions. No issues. Works fine. There are a few different tie rod ends out there that fit the Saginaw box taper and fit the tube pretty close that make for an easy conversion when tapping the oem tube.
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Sweet. I got in contact with CruiserTEQ and ordered a 30” relay rod to cut down.
 
pb4ugo said:
I used a GM starter bushing. Borg Warner #SB0, or there's another number #X4378. Idk the manufacturer. If you take a deep dive into archives of this website you'll find this. Or maybe it's in FAQ's or the tech links. I think Cruiser Outfitters sells machined shims that go into fj60 arms to fit 40 tres too. The one pic is a FJ60 arms. You might want to get some extras.
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I was reading about this earlier. Is it tapered or does it just form to the taper? Any problems with getting loose over time or wearing out?
 
I pressed the bushings in the holes with a vice. It conforms to the hole if it goes in right. I had one mess up. I have about 13k miles on the pitman arm. Maybe 6k on the steering arms. My steering geometry is spot-on and it handles amazing.
 
As I mentioned earlier, at some point ill be going to fj60 tre's and maybe a drop pitman arm that is tapered for a 60. I think Cruiser Outfitters offers drag rods for your setup. Metric on one end and sae on the other, along with custom pitman arms.
 
pb4ugo said:
As I mentioned earlier, at some point ill be going to fj60 tre's and maybe a drop pitman arm that is tapered for a 60. I think Cruiser Outfitters offers drag rods for your setup. Metric on one end and sae on the other, along with custom pitman arms.
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When I called CruiserTEQ yesterday I mentioned the metric/SAE draglink that was on Cruiser Solutions and the guy had no idea what I was talking about. They are the same company right?
 
dmtfab said:
When I called CruiserTEQ yesterday I mentioned the metric/SAE draglink that was on Cruiser Solutions and the guy had no idea what I was talking about. They are the same company right?
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Get on "CruiserOutfitters" website, not CruiserTeq. Click on steering at the top left of the page, scroll to the bottom, click on power steering conversions, then scroll down a bit.
Part # PSDL1 25.5" drag rod SAE/metric ends, #PSDL2 26.75" drag rod SAE/Metric. PSDLE1 Small GM TRE w/11/16"-18 right hand tread.
Below that, they offer Drop down pitman arms. They will taper the end to your desired taper. I'd give them a call.
 
pbgbottle said:
Starter bushing SB0. May need a couple washers on the top to get the nut to line up with the cotter pin hole. I have not tried the bushing just remembering what others had posted here on Mud in the past. Hmm.
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In my post 7, there is a pic of my pitman arm and the castle nut without a washer. My steering arms don't have washers either. Maybe I got lucky. I've seen factory setups from various Auto Manufactures that use washers in that application. The TRE isn't going anywhere even if a washer is used with a castle nut and cotter pin. As I mentioned B4 Cruiser outfitters sells machined shims too.
 
pb4ugo said:
Get on "CruiserOutfitters" website, not CruiserTeq. Click on steering at the top left of the page, scroll to the bottom, click on power steering conversions, then scroll down a bit.
Part # PSDL1 25.5" drag rod SAE/metric ends, #PSDL2 26.75" drag rod SAE/Metric. PSDLE1 Small GM TRE w/11/16"-18 right hand tread.
Below that, they offer Drop down pitman arms. They will taper the end to your desired taper. I'd give them a call.
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I typed that out wrong. I didn’t mean Cruiser Solutions, I was on Cruiser Outfitters site and was referencing the PSDL1 drag link. The sales guy at CruiserTEQ had no idea what I was talking about and he had never heard of it. PSDL1 is not listed on CruiserTEQ website either. Anyway, the new tie rod and relay rod tubes should show up Thursday.
 
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