Steering Shafts

[KDK1988GT]

Hey guys,, just looking for some input about steering shafts.. which ones are the best.. or are they all pritty much the same.

Flaming River...
Maximum Motorsports...

Aluminum or Steel??

Thanks for any input...

 

[stang&2Birds]

Flaming River steering shafts were DESIGNED BY MEGA MORONS. And, prove that the management is even STUPIDER than the single digit MORONS that designed that POS shaft. Do a search on the corral. I've gone over why in SO MANY WAYS, only a TOTALLY CLUELESS MORON WITH A SINGLE DIGIT IQ would design such a POS product. Note: Even if that MORON is NOT an engineer, they should have SOME clue about mechanical stuff!


In short get MM.

 

[KDK1988GT]

Flaming River steering shafts were DESIGNED BY MEGA MORONS. And, prove that the management is even STUPIDER than the single digit MORONS that designed that POS shaft. Do a search on the corral. I've gone over why in SO MANY WAYS, only a TOTALLY CLUELESS MORON WITH A SINGLE DIGIT IQ would design such a POS product. Note: Even if that MORON is NOT an engineer, they should have SOME clue about mechanical stuff!


In short get MM.

I think I get it.... NO 2 Flaming River

 

[HaynStang]

I have the MM shaft and would highly recommend it. It's one of the best improvements I've made to my car yet. Getting rid of the rag joint really tightens up the steering and the car feels like it handles much better since you're not constantly making steering corrections. The shaft is very high quality, all steel with a collapsing center section welded to Borgeson u-joints. The only weird thing is it comes as bare metal, so I just painted it with Hi-Temp spray paint before installing it.

 

[stang&2Birds]

FYI:
I wish that other people came forward before and said what a HUGE POS the flaming river steering shaft is. Since my post, I've heard from people that have had the set bolt and nuts come loose and also knew/suspected that it was a bad design.

Well, unlike the morons that designed that shaft, I do Mechanical Engineer professional. I'm mainly a Computer Engineer. But I have my 3 years of ME schooling also, and I often do "not very complex" mechanical stuff. I brought the shaft to work and showed the Principal MEs the design. They either broke out in laughter, or had a near heart attack knowing that people are driving with those things on the same street they they and their families drive on. I didn't know about the MM shaft back then. If I did, I would have never gotten the Flaming river shaft.

http://www.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=833174&highlight=flaming+river
http://www.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=828645&highlight=flaming+river

Here is how much I did the counter-sink for the screws. You can see the difference in height in the set-screws fro the side and the flat.
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/tmp/FlRiverBind-conterSink.jpg

The JB-Weld job isn't pretty, but MY steering assembly is never coming apart!
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/tmp/FlRiverBind-JB-Weld.jpg


Here's a pic of how close the steering assembly is to the header. That's not a scorch mark on the JB-Weld. That's dirt.
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/tmp/FlRiver-header.jpg

Like I said, that's *too close* to the massive heat from the headers for the red lock-tite to still be "safe". Also, the set-screws get dynamically changing forces since the bar will be "moving" (back and forth) as the steering is turned. The dimple by the drill size they suggest does NOT even grab the full tapered bottom of the set-screw.

To get the accuracy needed to counter sink the set-screws, I found that I *had* to use a drill press and a vise. I also had to elongate some holes a little. IMHO, if you have to elongate a hole more than 20%, DO A BETTER JOB with the first counter-sink hole!


Add ALL of the problems together, and I can see how a steering assembly can come apart even though it was assembled 100% to the spec of the manufacture!

BTW: Those are FRPP headers. I attached my sig so people can see some of the mods I have. I also just added MM CC plates.

 

[stang&2Birds]

If you showed just the two following images to any Mechanical Engineering student and they couldn't immediately see many problems with the design, then I think that any University would be fully justified flunking them out of school! And, I say that as a former engineering teacher! Uhm, ignore the length of the bar stock. It's the depth of the screws and the flat locking nuts "locking against" the round body. Plus, the moronic very shallow depth that flaming river suggests for a counter sink. For one thing, WHY so shallow? Geez, do they know anything at that company?


Close up of the Flaming River rod and joint assembled:

Another close up of the Flaming River rod and joint assembled:

Flaming River shaft instructions:

 

[stang&2Birds]

My solution to the POS Flaming River design. Compare the counter sink amount to the pictures above. Also, the JB Weld I used was has a very high temp rating (the shaft is next to the headers).

Here is how much I did the counter-sink for the screws. You can see the difference in height in the set-screws fro the side and the flat.

The JB-Weld job isn't pretty, but MY steering assembly is never coming apart!

IMHO, the MM design is tons better!

 

[KDK1988GT]

wow

wow.. that's unreal about the flaming river setup... I will stay clear of that ****.. thanks for the input and heads up...

 

[cevtv]

My solution to the POS Flaming River design. Compare the counter sink amount to the pictures above. Also, the JB Weld I used was has a very high temp rating (the shaft is next to the headers).

Here is how much I did the counter-sink for the screws. You can see the difference in height in the set-screws fro the side and the flat.

The JB-Weld job isn't pretty, but MY steering assembly is never coming apart!

IMHO, the MM design is tons better!

I think I would have just used loctite instead of that hack job you did.....

 

[strtrcr50]

See, that's one of the problems. With the steering shaft being right next to the header, it will get hot enough to let the locktite let go. It may not be pretty, but I remember reading about people's shafts coming apart who followed the directions. I wouldn't put one of those on if you paid me. From what I know, the MM one has no such issues.

Now if we are talking about a TPS mod, that's another story. J/K.

 

[Roland69]

look into the Borgeson shaft

 

[cevtv]

See, that's one of the problems. With the steering shaft being right next to the header, it will get hot enough to let the locktite let go.

Black loctite?? Nah...it's not going anywhere......

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Wow i never heard anything bad about the FR shafts....that would've been my first suggestion...good to hear though.

 

[strtrcr50]

Black loctite?? Nah...it's not going anywhere......

I think when I do this, I'll stick to the one that doesn't require threadlock to keep me from hitting a wall. MM.

 

[Saleen0679]

If you're talking about Black Loctite as in Black Max or 380, it is a toughened cyanoacrylate adhesive and not a threadlocker. Black Max also does not have nearly as high a resistance to automotive fluids or temperature that the red threadlocker does. Those properties would just make it worse for the application.