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I'm trying to do a cab swap - removing the old cab from my 86 F250 - it's taking forever because I can only mess with it in my "spare time" and when the weather's OK...... problem right now is getting the steering column out. Do I need to separate these two parts (see left of photo) and is it necessary to get this clamp loosened; the nut won't budge.... (see right of photo)???
I'm pretty sure the shaft will pull out of the slip coupler if you have enough room. Is that a 87+ steering shaft your working on?
The pinch bolt that is giving you a tough time will most likely come out if you get a 1/2" drive 6-point impact socket on it and a breaker bar. 3/8" drive tools don't have enough leverage.
1. The shaft and slip coupler are pretty well rusted together! Have been putting Wd40 on it every day and tapping a bit with a hammer....
2. Will try the impact socket / breaker bar.
3. Thanks! Oh, and as far as I know it's the original '86 shaft but I have no way to find out for sure.
I'll have to look, but I just bought a column from an 84 F150. I "believe" the yard separated it below the brake line, in your picture.
EDIT: Is that bolt closer to the steering box, or the cab?
I think it is closer to the cab.
If you see the prop valve in the picture and on your truck from outside the frame looking to the motor (valve cover in back ground) it has to be cab end no?
Also the other end looks to be part of the plastic cover that fits over the joint at the box.
Also that joint you see just to the left of the bolt/nut is part of the shaft that I have seen is hard to get now days.
Dave ----
Thanks all! I finally did get that nut off (It's up close to the firewall) with a 5/8" open end. Could not get a socket onto it at all. This truck was made in Canada and I wonder if that's why there's a weird mix of metric and inch sizes?
Still can't get the shaft out of the slip coupler but it seems like it might let go eventually....
Also, am I right in thinking that the flange around the column, just inside the firewall, will have to come off also?
If you try to slide the double d shaft out of the column, make sure and keep an eye for a small leaf spring. That is the way they took mine apart on my 89 while I had it in a shop during vacation one year, and after they put it back together the slop in the steering was terrible. Found out they just slid it apart and lost this important leaf spring piece that takes the slop out of the shaft, but will still let it collapse if you are in a frontend collision.
What I am calling the "double D" shaft is the shaft in the picture below that has the flats on it. It doesn't pull out where you have the red circle on the left, the shaft pulls out of the right end.
Wow, Franklin2 that is a huge help! I will turn my attention now to the other end! And also be careful not to lose the leaf spring; it's probably tiny and would be easy to lose if I wasn't looking for it! Thanks!
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