redneck ram clevis help

Long story short my ram started leaking not long after I traded for the rig. I dont know what brand or model number it is to have got a rebuild kit so I just bit the bullet and got a new one at TSC.
My problem is the old one was ****** rigged to work with the help of some pipe, a heim, and a welder.
It is setup to bolt to the hi steer arm behind the tie rod.

Current leaky ram


Undoing the handy work on the old ram



New ram


That is how things came to a hold up. I originally thought the extension was just welded to a nut that was threaded on the ram shaft. WRONG! It was welded so I cut it all loose and was hoping to find a nut that would fit the new ram so I could weld it back to a nut and not **** up a new ram. Well I cannot find a hex nut that will fit the dang thing. TSC dont have any, fastenal doesnt either. A 1" doesnt fit, and a 1 1/8" threads on but is too big b/c there is slop in it. Maybe its a Metric and Im just SOL b/c fastenal said they would have to order it and Im not sure what it is to be ordering anything.

Talked to a buddy and he said I could weld a mount to the tie rod with a mount in the pic below. Only problem is the hole is 3/4" and I need on with a 1" hole.

Mount



Welding a plate to the tie rod seems like the way to go and just use the clevis on the new ram but so far I havent found one online with the right size hole. Plus it looks like it will be welded right on the end where the heim is.

So other than finding a plate to weld on I got 2 options. Weld the crap to the new ram or cut the ears off the clevis and weld to it as if it were the hex nut.

Comments/suggestions

They have reducing bushings a TSC to reduce it to 3/4 if you want to go that route but if you put the clevisi to the steer arm you will probably come up short and have to move the mount on the axle housing to compensate. Do you have any pics of how it was on the axle? I would try and keep it all like the ram comes from TSC for future simplicity if it failed again. Nothing else sucks more than custom **** and it breaking in the woods and there isn't anyway to fix it there.

fordcontraption01 said:

They have reducing bushings a TSC to reduce it to 3/4 if you want to go that route but if you put the clevisi to the steer arm you will probably come up short and have to move the mount on the axle housing to compensate. Do you have any pics of how it was on the axle? I would try and keep it all like the ram comes from TSC for future simplicity if it failed again. Nothing else sucks more than custom **** and it breaking in the woods and there isn't anyway to fix it there.

Click to expand...

you are correct about it coming up short trying to go to high steer arm with clevis. I want to use the mount already on axle and agree on keeping it simple and easy to fix down the road.
reducing to 3/4 may be the answer, ill just need to find the bushings and order a mount.
heres about the only pic i found on my phone of what it looks like

Looks like it will work with the ram mount moved over a little bit. In our tractor supply the bushings are called link pin bushings and they are at the back of the store about in the middle where all the tractor link balls and pins are. Or you can get them at a co- op store

Re:

I would move the axle mount or weeks on a new one. If you this the clevis will bind on the arm, you could always drill or the arm more and stick a uniball in the arm.

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I went to TSC while ago and found a bushing I can cut down to size and use a 3/4" bolt with. Now I just need to order a d-ring mount and weld it on..... if i have room.

Thanks for the help.

Well as of yesterday afternoon when I posted I had found the bushings to reduce down to 3/4" and use the low range/trailgear d ring mount.
Kevin stopped by last night and looked at what i had goin on and got on BTF site and found this:

http://www.bluetorchfab.com/Product/735/BTF-CNC-D-Ring-Mount.aspx


This is exactly what I was looking for, just gotta order it and throw all the crap I bought yesterday in the spare junk bin lol.

1" thick and has 1" hole so anyone that ends up in my shoes, this is the answer.

That's a good idea but I always make my own and just drill the 1" hole. But if you weld that to the high steer arm it will more than likely bind up when you try and steer it because the steer arms change angles when it steers.

He's planning to weld it to the tie rod from what I understand.

TBItoy said:

He's planning to weld it to the tie rod from what I understand.

Click to expand...

oh ok that will be the correct fix then sorry I must not had read that part. Carry on good sir

Nick is correct. I hope to make it fit on the tie rod bar but it's gonna be close fit at the end by the heim. I'll know more in a few weeks. I just pulled an ori off to send back so till I get it back and get it off the jack stands I won't be able to move things around in the front. Plus I gotta order the btf part and wait on it too

By the pic you have the ram is laying down a little and if you put the mount at about 1 or. 2 o'clock it looks like it will get the ram up more strait and will work good

Hats off to BTF I ordered the mounts yesterday at 11:30 and they was sitting on my door step today at 1:29 this afternoon. THATS SOME SERVICE :****:

These things look too nice to weld to the tie rod lol.

Well after a few days of taking a break from the mess I've made I finally got things looking good to me but wanna hear some feedback on good or bad.
I had to cut around 1" off the threaded end of ram to get the mount fully on the tie rod. I got it within 1/16 to 1/8" each way on the stroke. It can push/pull too far after bottoming out on the steering stops if that make sense.

Good to weld it up or do I need to get it 100% dead on?

Pics

I would set it up with the ram and knuckle bottomed out in one direction, then make a stop for the ram in the other direction

Re: Re: Re: redneck ram clevis help

TBItoy said:

I would set it up with the ram and knuckle bottomed out in one direction, then make a stop for the ram in the other direction

Click to expand...

X2, this
Set it up with the knuckle at full lock & the ram fully extended. Then turn to other lock compressing the ram & measure the gap where the shaft is still showing. You need a spacer to fill that gap. I used a piece of AL tube but I've seen people stack big flat washers in there too.
My spacer wound up about 0.5" thick.

If your ram tries to push thru the stops, it either binds the knuckles or will bend your tie rod. BTDT

Re:

How are your knuckle stops set up? I've adjusted mine on several setups without needing spacers/ram limited.
Check the gap at the axle yokes and you might be able to adjust the stops further in.