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Summer Jeep Build - Part 5

Yesterday I started on the steering system and then continued working on the front end. Adding the arms, welding on the upper brackets and the track bar bracket. Everything has been going fairly smooth. I used my 5 ton gear puller to remove the pitman arm on my old steering box, but after the third time it shot off (even after applying heat and a hammer) I took it to a shop a quarter mile from the house. They had the pitman arm off and back on the new PSC steering box in no time. I also had some issues removing the steering column so I could shorten it. The trick was to heat it up and hit it with a hammer. I took off 1.5", put it back together and dropped it back in. The key to getting the steering column out is to remove the ring tightening bolts all the way -they are keyed. I then had to route all the hosing and weld up a bracket for the reservoir. I will be making a weld on mount for the cooler today so it can mount under the forward stay bar. I do not intend on running hiline fenders, so the placement of the oil canister seemed like a no brainier. I also wanted to keep the reservoir as close to the pump as possible, although height above the pump is stressed, inclines will ruin any good setup if the pump and canister are not on the same vertical axis.

Some shock tabs I extended. Might be too long now that I noticed the Fox shocks mount opposite of my old ones.

Old box coming out. I failed miserably at keeping oil off the ground.

About to head over to my local shop for some pitman love.

Routing the new hoses before installing. I will install the ram assist after I get a 4 wheel alignment.

Installed. Very close fit! :)

I cut out a mount and welded it the forward stay. The hose between the pump and the canister is a little under two feet. Building a mount for the cooler today and mounting it under the forward star bar.