External hydro assist on stock toyota steering rack

Arcticelf

Head BFH Operator at Gray Man Fab
Joined
Apr 23, 2019
Messages
1,167
Location
DelCo PA
Moving the LBJ forward like that will be fine. Buy it won't affect the problems you'll run into moving the rack forward.

If you can keep the vertical alignment of the inner tie rod pivot the same you'll be fine. If you move the pivot up you'll run into bump steer issues and need a custom spindle to deal with it.
 

Arcticelf

Head BFH Operator at Gray Man Fab
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DelCo PA
It's a rental thru Monday. I dunno any 2G taco guys, but if the trucks were available the front section would be pretty quick.

Where did you rent it? I hadn't even considered that being a rental tool.
 

Blender

Swiftie
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Oct 4, 2018
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Chandler, AZ
Where did you rent it? I hadn't even considered that being a rental tool.

It's a Einscan Pro HD from go3dpro. So far they've been easy to deal with and helpful. The transaction isn't over yet. Weekly rental is ~$900 + return shipping/insurance and deposit. It's a structured light style scanner instead of a laser type. Only $10k new so cheap enough to buy and no need for insurance while in my possession.

Somewhere had a Creaform laser scanner rental for $1800/week. It's a $50k+ scanner. Better value, but I don't wanna deal with needing insurance during use.

My desktop i5/32GB ram/Quadro P2000 struggled to get past 1 million data points. It would scan fine and process, but then the interface would lag out before exporting. System was maxed out CPU with only a minor graphics load, then idle while non-responsive. Ended up getting a laptop to run it instead as recommended: i9/32GB ram/RTX3070. It handled ~3 million points with ease.
 

Arcticelf

Head BFH Operator at Gray Man Fab
Joined
Apr 23, 2019
Messages
1,167
Location
DelCo PA
It's a Einscan Pro HD from go3dpro. So far they've been easy to deal with and helpful. The transaction isn't over yet. Weekly rental is ~$900 + return shipping/insurance and deposit. It's a structured light style scanner instead of a laser type. Only $10k new so cheap enough to buy and no need for insurance while in my possession.

Somewhere had a Creaform laser scanner rental for $1800/week. It's a $50k+ scanner. Better value, but I don't wanna deal with needing insurance during use.

My desktop i5/32GB ram/Quadro P2000 struggled to get past 1 million data points. It would scan fine and process, but then the interface would lag out before exporting. System was maxed out CPU with only a minor graphics load, then idle while non-responsive. Ended up getting a laptop to run it instead as recommended: i9/32GB ram/RTX3070. It handled ~3 million points with ease.

Not unreasonable, but pricey for a hobby project.
 

4runner DOA

Hold my beer
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4runner DOA

Hold my beer
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Messages
15,887
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OC
I don't don't have any fab skill or space, so I have no other option. Not to far from what I do for a living though.

I just wanna go wheeling again.

Me too. I might finally break down and do something about my front alignment.
 

Dukestaco

Stirring the pot 24/7
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Oct 3, 2018
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Tucson
Mad props that you geeked out enough to spend the money on a scanner and new comp to figure out how to mod your shit. My brain doesn't work that way and likely never will. Right now I'm just trying to wrap my head around suspension work and tuning.
And he does this all in a papaya color collared shirt. George does everything in style.
 

Dukestaco

Stirring the pot 24/7
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Tucson
I don't don't have any fab skill or space, so I have no other option. Not to far from what I do for a living though.

I just wanna go wheeling again.
You are welcome to my welder if you need it. I haven’t fired it up in over a year.
 

madtaco461

BRO-runner
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Oct 6, 2018
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Socal
Speaking of scanners. I found one on amazon that is laser based that sounds cool to try out. It's under 1k. A bit slower than the Einscan, but almost the same resolution. I think I need to upgrade the memory on my laptop.

One question the factory rack inlet and outlets are M10?
 

Blender

Swiftie
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Oct 4, 2018
Messages
2,772
Location
Chandler, AZ
Speaking of scanners. I found one on amazon that is laser based that sounds cool to try out. It's under 1k. A bit slower than the Einscan, but almost the same resolution. I think I need to upgrade the memory on my laptop.

One question the factory rack inlet and outlets are M10?
$1k for a laser is worth the try. Would be a hell of a deal. I'm running 32GB memory and it ran OK. Could maybe get by with less.

Pressure input is M16x1.5 , return port is M17x1.5 and the lines to the rack piston are M14x1.5. They're all "bump tube" style fittings which are weird as hell. I plan on using a crush washer to seal the M17 return fitting, since I couldn't find anything better. Should be fine since it's just a return.
 
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Blender

Swiftie
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Oct 4, 2018
Messages
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Chandler, AZ
While i'm here, I haven't abandoned this, but it was pushed aside for a while.

Instead of the external powerpack i'm shifting towards a new housing for the stock rack assembly. Reuse the control valve and maybe the rack gear in a machined housing. Allows increased piston diameter and improved mounting points. Looked around for a stock vehicle rack that i could reuse the control valve and a larger rack from, but me being behind the axle steering is certainly not the norm among modern vehicles. Flipping stuff upside and backwards down changes the steering pinion angle. Been learning about hydraulic seals. My other hobby stuff is all under 350 psi, so it's easier. Parts will be two easy to machine cylindrical parts, then one complex piece to replicate the factory swagged housing.

I did find a machine shop that will cut sector gears onto a custom 50mm dia rack. way bigger than the stock 32mm and could omit the slider entirely. From my research most helical gears are proprietary so i can't lean on a standard. Instead i need to have them measure and reproduce the stock profile. I don't do gear design at work so i gotta learn more than the basics.

Crossmember is refined a bit in terms of interior structure and alignment "cams." Still a ton to do and i'm starting to find a few inconsistencies in the scan. Also, i need to make a full kinematic model of the suspension/steering to verify it'll drive ok. Was going to avoid that, but the steering heims just don't fit in the exact stock positions.

Phase 1 will be the crossmembers and improved mounts paired with a stock steering rack. Next phase would be the larger rack itself.

Cradle progress 20220914.JPG
 

4runner DOA

Hold my beer
Staff member
Joined
Oct 2, 2018
Messages
15,887
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OC
While i'm here, I haven't abandoned this, but it was pushed aside for a while.

Instead of the external powerpack i'm shifting towards a new housing for the stock rack assembly. Reuse the control valve and maybe the rack gear in a machined housing. Allows increased piston diameter and improved mounting points. Looked around for a stock vehicle rack that i could reuse the control valve and a larger rack from, but me being behind the axle steering is certainly not the norm among modern vehicles. Flipping stuff upside and backwards down changes the steering pinion angle. Been learning about hydraulic seals. My other hobby stuff is all under 350 psi, so it's easier. Parts will be two easy to machine cylindrical parts, then one complex piece to replicate the factory swagged housing.

I did find a machine shop that will cut sector gears onto a custom 50mm dia rack. way bigger than the stock 32mm and could omit the slider entirely. From my research most helical gears are proprietary so i can't lean on a standard. Instead i need to have them measure and reproduce the stock profile. I don't do gear design at work so i gotta learn more than the basics.

Crossmember is refined a bit in terms of interior structure and alignment "cams." Still a ton to do and i'm starting to find a few inconsistencies in the scan. Also, i need to make a full kinematic model of the suspension/steering to verify it'll drive ok. Was going to avoid that, but the steering heims just don't fit in the exact stock positions.

Phase 1 will be the crossmembers and improved mounts paired with a stock steering rack. Next phase would be the larger rack itself.

View attachment 80848

Way over my head, but that's legit you're figuring out a way to do it. Mad props to you engineering nerds.
 
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