looking to add power steering to my B7200

[Travelover]

I wonder what models? I have a couple I use for parts in our body shop. 2004 grand am, 1999 grandam, 1998 intrepid, 97 dakota (steering box), 2004 e350 van ( steering box) any of these cars you think? thanks

Cars that use electric power steering are listed in this article.

Power steering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It looks like the electric steering can use up to 80 amps while steering, so the stock alternator probably couldn't keep up if you steered a lot and depleted the battery.

 

[sandman2234]

We went out yesterday looking at a Jacobsen lawn mower I have to see how big the steering box is that runs the rear wheel steer. It is relatively small and would probably be a good candidate for a power steering changeover.
I even thought that it could be used with a pair of 1:1 pullies to make it a power assist instead of just hydraulic steering.
No clue how much hydraulic volume is needed to run it. The mower has two pumps on it, one on each end of the Kubota 1105 diesel engine that run the blades, the drive wheels and steer it. It is pretty much a hydraulic hog!
David from jax

 

[bx23barry]

Try this for some info.

Hydraulic Steering 101 - Steering Tech Articles - Four Wheeler Magazine

 

[wil3404]

Looks good. Do you think the size of all the componets would match up? or would they be lopsided too big?

 

[whodat90]

I've looked into lots of ways of doing this on my (previous) 7200 and my (current) 8200. There used to be kits available from kubota, they were apparently made of gold. There are manufacturers that make the same kinds of kits for other tractors, for ~$500+ but usually include a power steering pump. My 8200 has ports on the hydraulic block specifically for steering, so I'm not willing to pay that much. I thought of simply replacing the steering box with a power box from a car, but the manual box is backwards relative to where the inputs and outputs are on 99% of car boxes. Ford used to make a power steering 'assist' kit to go on the old trucks, which may be modified to work. Unobtanium though, as the old ford guys are always looking for them. The first generation of mustangs and corvettes also had the same kind of assist kit available, and I've been looking into those. Honestly what I'm most likely to do is cut the steering column above the box and put in a torque generator (Surplus Center Item Detail) If I can find one on ebay for cheap, it's the simplest.

 

[Egon]

If you rotate the Pittman arm 180 degrees you should get the proper direction of movement.

 

[whodat90]

True, but then the pitman arm will be ~10" further back and on the wrong side. It's not so much the direction of spin as it is the placement of the pitman arm 'above' or 'below' the worm gear. If you look at the 8200's manual gearbox, the pitman arm gear is 'above' or 'in front' of the input gear. : o|
Most cars are opposite of this: |o

This presents some mounting problems.

First pic: B8200 steering
second pic: B7200 steering

 

[Egon]

That drawing is the same as for my tractor.

With the Pittman Arm I meant for it to be either pointing straight down or straight up at the center point. One or the other will give you the proper direction of motion.

 

[bx23barry]

Looks good. Do you think the size of all the componets would match up? or would they be lopsided too big?

The article was for info. An auto system would be more than adequate but really not overkill. The problem with “all new” stuff is cost and matching components
I would recommend changing the manual system to a full hydraulic system getting the complete system used from an old small tractor or forklift. They are pretty generic, easy to mount, reliable and repair parts/components are readily available. . I would check out: Surplus Center - Hydraulic Cylinders Pumps Motors as a starting point for new stuff. There are some used/surplus/salvage equipment yards around here that have this stuff fairly reasonable and will even help with matching components and/or installation.
The other way would be to spend some time looking at steering boxes at a few auto wrecking yards to find something close to what you have (vega?) and adapting your mounts/column/drag link to it, along with adding the pump and hoses. This may be the cheapest way to go but requires a little more “custom” fabrication.

 

[wil3404]

Could you help me by giving me a lead to who the salvage yard on here may be that could help me? thanks