The stud has to able rotate and swivel, if welded too much pressure will be put on the piston shaft and it will fail.
Ford did that “ball joint” for a reason, if it could have been eliminated it would have meant a huge dollar saving.
If yours is sloppy, it’s time to replace it.

Last edited by Rudi (9/14/2021 3:58 PM)

No no no no no no no no no

I have a 69 with manual steering and a close ratio box like a p/s car would have come with.  You do not want to deal with that, and your idea of welding ANYTHING to disable the power steering is, at best, metallurgically unsound.

I am wanting power steering on mine and am considering a Borgeson box conversion in the near future.  But it uses the manual steering link.

Hey All, Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond.......the feedback has been super informative........Although I am slightly confused on the Drag Link/Pitman arm geometry part stuff?

I have been giving this some thought before writing and aside from the potential stress on the Cylinder Side of things, the Geometry part gets me.....I've been finding that the stud ONLY seems to have a "top to bottom" movement, lets call this 'Horizontal' movement.........front to back or for this convo 'Vertical' is minimal to none...........So once the cylinder is engaged, it travels 1" or less, then hits transfers the energy to the Drag Link.........This is the part 1 that confuses me?

the second part is the stress on the Cylinder Shaft......its doing the same job, only eliminating 1 moving part that seems to be moot.......Im convinced this was placed here for Comfort and "Bump Steer" and the sacrifice to that, is some sloppyness

The Geometry part I do follow is the fact it is on a slight Angle to the Frame Mounting Bracket......So get that dialed in withing 4-5 deg (hopefully Less) and ????

Im very Curious on this, and kind a bit surprised no one has already attempted this to report its Success OR FAILURE on it


the biggest issue for me is I know im not overly experienced and knowledgeable on suspension.....Ive replaced every part on them, installed conversions and Made Some Mods myself, but fundamentally Im not a physics major or engineer. 
I did do a Borgeson Conversion on the 69 I used to own before this 68 and the ONLY benefit I identified was:
Less Moving parts to Fail
Less Hoses to Leak

Feel, Sloppyness and Driving felt exactly the same as the Stock Setup.........I do NOT recommend Borgeson Setup, IT IS expensive and that could be put towards a Rack which is a NIGHT and DAY configuration
 

This would be so much better with pictures.

 

Rudi wrote:

The ball stud is heat treated steel, the cylinder end  where it seats into is  aluminium. What welding method do you anticipate using for the experiment?
I don’t think JB weld is an option.

I did not know there was Aluminum in there.  I also never would have guessed it would have had Aluminum.  Weird!

So welding is out. 


I have been giving this more thought all today, I have an idea for a upgraded design of this cylinder.  If all goes well I might be able to patent it 🤔🤷🏻‍♂️

M1Mustang69 wrote:

Hey All, Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond.......the feedback has been super informative........Although I am slightly confused on the Drag Link/Pitman arm geometry part stuff?

I have been giving this some thought before writing and aside from the potential stress on the Cylinder Side of things, the Geometry part gets me.....I've been finding that the stud ONLY seems to have a "top to bottom" movement, lets call this 'Horizontal' movement.........front to back or for this convo 'Vertical' is minimal to none...........So once the cylinder is engaged, it travels 1" or less, then hits transfers the energy to the Drag Link.........This is the part 1 that confuses me?

the second part is the stress on the Cylinder Shaft......its doing the same job, only eliminating 1 moving part that seems to be moot.......Im convinced this was placed here for Comfort and "Bump Steer" and the sacrifice to that, is some sloppyness

The Geometry part I do follow is the fact it is on a slight Angle to the Frame Mounting Bracket......So get that dialed in withing 4-5 deg (hopefully Less) and ????

Im very Curious on this, and kind a bit surprised no one has already attempted this to report its Success OR FAILURE on it


the biggest issue for me is I know im not overly experienced and knowledgeable on suspension.....Ive replaced every part on them, installed conversions and Made Some Mods myself, but fundamentally Im not a physics major or engineer. 
I did do a Borgeson Conversion on the 69 I used to own before this 68 and the ONLY benefit I identified was:
Less Moving parts to Fail
Less Hoses to Leak

Feel, Sloppyness and Driving felt exactly the same as the Stock Setup.........I do NOT recommend Borgeson Setup, IT IS expensive and that could be put towards a Rack which is a NIGHT and DAY configuration
 

I had manual steering on my 68. I installed the Borgeson system eleven years ago and I am very happy with the results. No issues with drive ability or leaky hoses or anything. Also much less work involved than installing a rack & pinion system. As far as price, the racks I have looked at are about twice the price of the Borgeson mod. 
 

NPD lists a manual steering center link for far less than that adapter, and a replacement RAM is also less than the adapter.  I don't know what Chock would charge but he has a spotless reputation and he'd definitely be the right person to contact about fixing yours.  http://www.chockostangclassicmustang.com/

ponch0v wrote:

is this what you need??

https://www.npdlink.com/product/convertor-power-steering-to-manual-steering/148596/200377

 
This adapter is used to replace the O/E Power  steering control  valve which  it is removed. It threads onto the power steering drag link and when the ram cylinder with its ancillary hoses and P/S pump are removed.
This in effect gives manual steering.
You could use a manual drag link but that requires a dedicated idler arm so the cost kinda equals out.

One thing of note when unscrewing the power steering control valve from the P/S drag link. There is a hardened roll pin in the threaded end on the drag link that must be removed or ground down below the threads or the drag link will be boogered.
On a side note I used that type of adapter pictured above when I did the EPAS conversion, thanks ponch0v.
All the above relates to 67 and up Bendix power steering systems.
The earlier  Mustangs had the power steering control valve integrally incorporated with the drag link so there are no adapters to fit that application, the whole system must  be removed and replaced with manual steering.parts.

Last edited by Rudi (9/15/2021 4:26 PM)

I thought he was talking about the stud on the end of the ram cylinder not the one on the control valve.
At this stage of confusion I don’t know what to think other than keep the welder away from anything connected to steering.

Edit, I did weld the ram cylinder piston rod  bracket to the frame rail. They are notorious for breaking loose, especially when the drop down bracket is installed.

Last edited by Rudi (9/16/2021 7:47 AM)

Quote


My only other theory stands that it allow Vertical Extension as the Suspension moves up and down


Quote

^^^^  exactly, the ball stud is connected to the drag link which does move, if it were a solid connection which would cause binding.
 The piston rod is also isolated and flexes with the rubber pucks at the frame rail bracket.

MS wrote:

Otherwise, the extra leverage of the longer mount will definitely either break the bolts or crack the car’s frame. Or break the shaft off the ram.

Ouch, none of those outcomes sound good