gofastwclass

iTrader: (2)

Hahaha!!!

I can't say anything about Cletus as I've never actually watched him beyond the one partial video. I like the things sloppy and Roadkill were initially based on - get a car, build it with what you have and DRIVE IT. Don't sit around and dream, don't waste $10,000 on engine parts to build the baddest car that doesn't move, get up now and live today. I have a lot of respect for that mentality. I'm old enough to have friends who never saw their dreams because they simply didn't make time to work on their cars each day for a little bit using what they had at hand.

On the other side, I'm not into making things more difficult on myself than necessary by doing things in a known half baked manner. I'm all about used parts and deals but sometimes you just need to slow down and do something the right way the first time out.

Speaking of doing something with what little you have... I'm going out to the shop to work for an hour or so since I have a small window of opportunity.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Thanks! I have made some videos that are modestly popular and continue to be watched over and over again by different people, so my viewing minutes per year are actually pretty good (considering how small the channel is). The recent YouTube changes have demonetized all channels with less than 1000 subscribers. It isn't that I was making huge money (I have made a whopping $200 in 3 years), it's just kind of fun to see dollars being racked up with my creative work.

Billy, I like your goal of having something that your kids can watch later in life. I think it also adds a bit of documented history to the car. Much more so than some videos banging around on your PC, without anyone actually seeing them.

Andrew

Michael Yount

iTrader: (1)

How did the new power steering unit work on the trip Andrew? Any new observations now?

gofastwclass

iTrader: (2)

I was wondering the same thing.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Hang tight. I will post an update a little later today.

Andrew

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

As you may recall from my previous posts, I had turned down a 1.5" ID steel collar to fit inside the bottom of the upper tube. This allowed for a method of attaching the upper tube to the Prius motor. While I think was was a decent solution, I couldn't help but think that having only one set screw holding the upper tube to the motor was inadequate.

John has a little lathe, so we turned down another steel collar, so it would slip inside the upper column tube.



This collar was positioned a few inches up from the bottom collar and was welded in place through holes that we drilled through the tube.



The last thing that we did was add two more holes to each collar, so that each collar now has a total of 3 set screws that are located 120 degrees apart.



I felt that doing all this would keep the upper tube more firmly attached and square to the Prius motor.

I don't know that doing all this made any tangible difference in the way that the system functions, but if anyone is doing this from scratch, I think this is a good way to go.

As far as driving impressions overall, the system works pretty well. I would like to still improve the RTC, but I am not really sure that there is anything that I can do about it at this time.

Andrew

Michael Yount

iTrader: (1)

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Haven't done much of anything...LOL

I already have about 5 degrees of caster and I don't know that I can get any more with my suspension setup. Do other alignment setting impact RTC? Also, anyone have an opinion as to whether the skinny tires are better or worse for RTC?

Andrew

Michael Yount

iTrader: (1)

I think more caster is all that might help....and you may have all you can get. Don't know about tire width - my wonderment (?) is this -- whatever is causing the unit to resist RTC - if you make changes to create greater centering force, will the unit simply resist them with greater reaction force?

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

I don't believe so, because the RTC forces are acting on the output shaft, and the output shaft has no sensors. What can effect RTC is having bind in the upper shaft. We chucked up the input shaft in John's mill and the upper shaft is pretty straight, considering how it was made. We measured .017" runout over the 13.5" length, which seems OK, considering that this shaft doesn't turn fast and only gets turned 30-40 degrees in either direction while driving.

Andrew

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Not much to report in terms of progress or any other updates, however, I finally managed to track down the Yazaki part numbers for the big power connector for the steering ECU. The same connector is used on both the Prius and the Yaris steering ECUs (and probably others of the same vintage).

The connector housing body is 7283-3521-40





The terminals are either 7116-3097-02 or 7116-3098-02 (either will probably work).





The big challenge is sourcing the terminals in the US. The connector body can be purchased from Toyota under PN 90980-12653, however, Toyota does not sell the terminals.

I was actually able to source the connector housing bodies from Japan, but what I originally thought were the correct terminals, ended up being the wrong ones.

If anyone knows a source for Yazaki parts in the US, please let me know.

Andrew

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Yes, I know, at the end of the day, if you have a pigtail that came with the donor steering ECU, you can solder or use a quality butt splice, and be done with it. However, for those that want to do this in the most optimal manner, this information will be quite valuable.

So here is just another tidbit of information, just in case anyone else wants to go down this rabbit hole. I found a vendor in Japan that has the connector housing body, but again, these can probably (I have not tried ordering myself) be sourced from your local Toyota dealership. I did successfully order the connector housing from the Japanese vendor.

Here is the connector body:
https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/..._en_rvp_widget

They also list the matching terminals. Yes, they fit the connector, but as you can see from the picture, they are not designed for 8-10 gauge (5-8mm2) wire. They are designed for 3mm2 (12 gauge) wire.
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/auc-hi-1000/f375-yz-s/

I suspect that the terminal above is Yazaki PN 7116-3096-02 (too small).

I have tried asking the vendor if the correct terminal is available, but as of yet, they have been unresponsive. The language barrier and the time difference is making communication problematic.

Andrew

TipsyMcStagger

iTrader: (1)

I don't know if he'll have the terminals you need but reach out to Joe at Cycle Terminal. He has some Yazaki parts on his site.

He's a good guy.

79LS1FOX

iTrader: (11)

Andrew did you try these guys...
http://inventory.smdinc.com/
They're supposed be the North American distributors....
Heres another...
https://www.express-technology.com

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

Called SMD earlier today. They are the only Western hemisphere Yazaki distributor. No luck. Even if they can get it, they would want me to buy a reel of 1200.

Looked at the second link, but they too look like a major distributor and would want me to buy in bulk. I did a search and that part number did not show up. I might be SOL.

Andrew

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

I will give Joe a call tomorrow. Thanks for the tip....Tipsy...LOL

Andrew

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

I recently completed a 1000 mile road trip in the Cougar and I noticed that the steering was particularly numb on center. While driving down the highway I found myself having to constantly steer it in order to keep it going straight. I attributed this mostly to the windy conditions that I encountered at various points on the trip, but I didn't give it much more thought.

After getting home, I noticed that there was a little squeaking noise from the front end when I made slow right hand turns. I suspected that maybe the preload on the front bearings has loosened up, so I jacked it up to investigate. Rocking the wheel at the 12 and 6 o'clock position really didn't show any unusual looseness in the bearings, however, I did find significant slop when I rocked the wheel at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions:


Although all of my front end components are "new" they do have about 15K miles on them since installation. After seeing the slop in the rack, I called TCP and was surprised and pleased to get a live tech guy on the line. His name was Mike and he was very helpful. He told me that due to the straight cut gears of the rack and pinion gears, periodic inspection and adjustment is necessary to minimize the backlash. He outlined the procedure and I went outside and did it. I also noticed that the passenger side inner tie rod was a little loose where it was bolted to the rack, and I was able to address that.

Needles to say, the steering feels much better. The return to center is much improved and the on center feel is also much better (no duh...considering how much slop was there)! I plan to have the car up on a rack in the near future to inspect all of the steering and the suspension components and fix anything I find.

Take away: don't assume everything is tight and working properly just because all of the components are "new."

Andrew

Michael Yount

iTrader: (1)

Reminds me of my 3-4 times a year adjustment of the manual steering box in the old 55 Cheby.....

LSswap

Thousand mile trip.... I'm jealous.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

You might be even more jealous if I told you that part of the trip included 5 days of Holley EFI training :-)

Andrew