Steering Ram drop Bracket pulled out of Frame

[oz]

I have a ram drop bracket on my factory equipped power steering '69 for clearance to the long tube headers. I had the front left wheel off this weekened and noticed that one of the nuts that is attached to the frame pulled out and the other one was very close to pulling out. The bracket had pulled away from the frame but luckily, the long bolt that goes throught the frame was still intact. One of the nuts has not pulled through but is obviously loose in its hole in the frame.
It appears that the frame has rusted just enough around the nut to let it slipt through the hole left in the frame.
My question is, what is the best way to fix this? I do not have a show car and am considering cleaning up the frame and scabbing on a 3" x 5" x 3/16" steel plate with nuts welded to the back over the effected area of the frame so I can mount the bracket.
Alternately, I thought I could take the easier way out and open up the hole until I find good metal and then weld the nut directly to it without the add on plate.

Can anyone suggest a better way?

Thanks.

 

[latamud]

If its not a show car why bother with the welded nutcert? Remove it, then run a longer bolt and use a big washer and lock nut outside of the frame rail.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Some people suggest welding the drop bracket right onto the frame. I didn't like the problems being mentioned with using a drop bracket, so I just ditched the power steering completely. I probably shouldn't have, but it's not too bad with 225 tires and an aluminum-headed smallblock.

 

[jcode68]

I had the same problem and frankly think they should just state in the directions for the drop bracket to have the bracket welded on instead of using the original bolts. I tightened the remaining 2 bolts to get the bracket aligned and had my muffler shop weld the bracket on. It is now rock solid and I don't have to worry about it coming loose.

 

[oz]

If its not a show car why bother with the welded nutcert? Remove it, then run a longer bolt and use a big washer and lock nut outside of the frame rail.

I need to take a look but I didn't think I could access the back side of the frame in the area where the nutcerts are. I'm thinking it's a box section. Am I wrong? There is one bolt that goes through the frame but the other two go into the nutcerts. If I can get to the other side, I will remove the other nutcert and just bolt it on with big washers over the oversized holes as you suggest.

Thanks.

 

[chockostang]

Very Easy Fix.

Get a 1" METAL Hole Saw, cut the holes out above the Bolts---Being carefull to Miss the Center Membrane (Membrane is in some, others Not)--But anyway Drop a Grade 8 Bolt in from the Top, Attach the Ram Bracket back in the Exact Location, Tight Securely. You Can't EVER get it out this way, even with the extra leverage being exerted on the frame rail.

Now get 1" Plastic push in Plugs, All will be well.

These early Power Steering Systems are good Pieces, Just Update them, Plain and Simple.

Dan


Classic Mustang Disc Brake Conversions and Power Steering

 

[2+2GT]

Whenever I install one of these, I bolt them on- Then weld them to the frame rail. The insert nuts just can't cut it with the longer moment of the extended bracket.

 

[ron67fb]

Very Easy Fix.

Get a 1" METAL Hole Saw, cut the holes out above the Bolts---Being carefull to Miss the Center Membrane (Membrane is in some, others Not)--But anyway Drop a Grade 8 Bolt in from the Top, Attach the Ram Bracket back in the Exact Location, Tight Securely. You Can't EVER get it out this way, even with the extra leverage being exerted on the frame rail.

I did the same thing on mine and it held up for a couple of years until I got shorties and put the original bracket back on. My car is low and the long bracket would hit the ground before the suspension bottomed out. There's a lot of leverage put on that bracket. You're best to look for alternatives (i.e. headers not designed for donut-tired Falcons that never had power steering) because you eventually will break something somehow with all that crap hanging below the frame rail.

Of course now it's my "safety" bellhousing that hits the ground.

 

[bnickel]

west coast classic cougars has the answer to the power steering drop bracket problem. a brand new super heavy duty unit that won't pull out like the cheapo things on the market today

check it out here
1967 - 1970 Mercury Cougar / Ford Mustang Power Steering Drop Bracket - Repro at West Coast Classic Cougar :: Specializing in 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973 Mercury Cougars

 

[jcode68]

Looks like a nice piece, but extremely overpriced. The generic brackets sell for a mere $10, I can't see the value add for another $110 for this one. Just weld on the generic and be done with it. If you need to go back to stock some day, grind the welds and remove it.

 

[oz]

I did some work last night with my fire stick (Lincoln MIG) that I think may work. Since one nutcert was already pulled out, I put a flanged nut into the hole and welded it in all around and then ground it flat. I welded in the other net cert since it had not pulled out yet. I'm going to give this a shot and see if it holds. If not, I'll weld the bracket in. Problem there is trying to get to the inside face of the frame. I don't see that happening with long tubes, the steering gear and rack in the car.

I think the biggest problem I see with the cheapo bracket is that the corner radius isn't tight enough. When I hold it up to the frame, the first thing that hits is the corner of the frame on the inside corner of the bracket. The bracket is so thick that it's not possible to tighten it down enough to get both the horizontal and vertical attachments to touch the body. As the car is driven the bracket teeter-totters slightly around the radus which fatigues the nutcerts... I tried revising the shape of the bracket by force with a bench vice and a 3# hammer but it didn't budge...

To get good 3 point contact for the bracket I'm going to try some different fender washers between it and the frame to see if I can keep it from teeter-tottering.

 

[mustangbrad]

One thing I found that helps is to not use the hole location on the aftermarket bracket. I redrilled a new hole closer to the frame and then cut off the old hole. It reduces the amount of leverage the cylinder has on the bracket and gives me more ground clearance. I can't remember how much I moved it up, it's been years ago. I do remember I moved it up just far enough to allow to clear the headers and that was my new location. I can say that the new hole is up far enough that I was able to completely cut off the original hole.

 

[2+2GT]

I think the biggest problem I see with the cheapo bracket is that the corner radius isn't tight enough. When I hold it up to the frame, the first thing that hits is the corner of the frame on the inside corner of the bracket. The bracket is so thick that it's not possible to tighten it down enough to get both the horizontal and vertical attachments to touch the body. As the car is driven the bracket teeter-totters slightly around the radus which fatigues the nutcerts... I tried revising the shape of the bracket by force with a bench vice and a 3# hammer but it didn't budge...

To get good 3 point contact for the bracket I'm going to try some different fender washers between it and the frame to see if I can keep it from teeter-tottering.

Coupla nice welds will render that clearance problem unimportant.

 

[htwheelz67]

I had that happen too, just weld it on, if you want to put headers on at some point then weld on a drop bracket.