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Well, I got the new power steering gear installed, and I'm happy to say that it fits with some grinding and creativity. Here is the new issue I'm running into - I can't decide (mostly due to inexperience) what to do.
The steering shaft is about 1/4" (a little less) to the right of the steering gear output shaft. It's a ididit tilt wheel that was put in by the PO with a rag joint. The new kit i have has u-joints, but they are DD u-joints.
So - the question is: can I just buy a spined u-joint that will fit AND work with the subtle offset, or do I need to start from scratch, get those two shafts to line up (which I cant), or what? I am lost. I'd love to be able to shorten the steering shaft and put in a double-u joint and be done with it, but I can't even figure out how to get to the shaft in these aftermarket tilt-steering wheel setups.
Any opinion will be considered! I've even thought about buying a new steering column with a DD shaft to accept the u-joints I got with my power steering kit...
U-joint is the correct way to go it will allow for that slight adjustment you need. If you go on the ididit web site you can determine what type spline you have on the column and I assume dd to the box and order what you need. If you want to work with what you have you can make a DD out of the column spline with a grinder. You can find how to on Google search.
Borgeson offers a huge selection of u-joints. I think you'll find one that will allow you to shorten the shaft and modify it to work with one of their products. https://www.borgeson.com/xcart/home.php?cat=2
...good suggestions above. Also, you might be able to shim the steering box where it mounts to the frame, to align correctly and stay with the rag joint. Remember though, the rag joint is not intended to tolerate any misalignment. Also, as stated above, check out the Borgeson website. They give dimensions on all their U-joints and offer a variety of solutions. Measure carefully before you decide or alter. I did, as suggested, and shortened my steering shaft, had it milled by a machinist to a double-D and installed the U-joint. I wouldn't trust myself with a grinder to mill a double-D....where steering is concerned, I wanted precision.
Thank you guys so much for the help! This gave me the confidence to move forward. What I think I'm going to do is modify the shaft to a double D, and instead of trying to fiddle with the steering box any further (I'm running close to the exhaust manifold), I visited Borgeson and decided to do a 3/4" double u-joint. This will allow me a slight offset with the steering column in place (it was already maxed out on the mounting inside the cab) and avoid any binding issues I can see with a single joint with the offset.
I REALLY appreciate the support on this forum, and I will hopefully get the u-joint on Saturday, and send an update this time next week! In the meantime, I have plenty of work installing the new pitman arm and running the hydraulics to prepare for the shaft install.
Well, I wanted to update everyone on what ended up working... I took the shaft, and decided to bear down and do a double-D grind on the shaft after measuring for length. I received the double-u-joint and it had a 30-spline 3/4" to the steering gear, and a 3/4" double D on the other end. I just got it in, and I'm pretty jacked to show it to you - this thing works, and doesn't bind at all! Anyways - this is the first time I've ever done something like this...still need to pipe in the P/S pump and bleed it...
