hey guys-

here's my setup- over christmas, i pulled a column, ps gear, pump, and bracket from a '72 f100 390/auto truck. the 390 wasn't original, and the tranny was already gone, so i'm not sure what the stock setup would have been.

i need to put the PS setup into my '68 f100, 360/3-speed.

i took the shaft from the PS column, put into my 3-speed column. had to hacksaw 1/2" off my tube, and slide the column about 1/2" further into the cab to get the rag joint to clear the bottom of the column. (the PS shaft was shorter than i thought it would be) no major troubles there...

but- the gear won't bolt up. i can only get one bolt in, and then the other two won't line up. it almost looks like the gear is resting on my motor mount, and can't sit down far enough on the frame (but i'm guessing). AND, now that i've got it in, the bottom seal by the pitman arm is leaking....(it didn't seem to be leaking in the junkyard- still had plenty of fluid in it)

so- here are my questions...

are the motor mounts the same between PS and manual steering trucks? since mine is a 360, and the donor was 390, i thought everything would bolt right up.

what can i do about this leaking seal? can i drop the pitman arm, and put a new one in, or should i use this as a core, and order a reman gear from LMC?

if the motor mounts are different, and i have to go back to the junkyard...how do i swap them? i have never messed with a mount before.

for now, my poor truck is sitting in the driveway...all i wanted for christmas was power steering...
thanks for the help-

sam
'68 f100 360FE

 

[FONT COLOR="#0000ff" SIZE="3" FACE="Veranda"]
There are about three or four models of PS gears. From 65-79 they all share the same bolt pattern, but some gears are physically larger and interfere with the driver's side perch. Get the driver's side perch from the other truck, assuming you still have it. I hope this helps. Take lot's of pictures of these two perches, as well as your project, so we can build an archive for the next guy.
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[LINK:www.hometown.aol.com/tbeeee|http://members.aol.com/tbeeee/page/67registry.jpg]

 

Rusty68! Loosen the motor mount perch bolts (4). Then take out the top two and rat file the holes a little, just enough to egg them out. Then take your grinder and remove a little metal from the perch, where it hits the gear. Then grind off a tiny bit from the gear itself. Push the perch forward and tighten the perch bolts, install the gear. When your finished you should be able to slide a playing card between the perch and the gear. If these two touch a little give her a shot of WD40. You can install a new seal but I would swap it out for a reman box froom your local parts store(about 150.00 after core). Now about sawing off that steering column? You should have swapped out the entire column. If your column to dash mount is different than the replacement you can move the clamp. I would not saw the column tube. And if the selector indicator isn't gone I'll give you $5.00 for it.
William in Atlanta

 

william-

i couldn't swap the whole column, could i? the donor was an auto, mine's a column-shifter.

to be honest, i was sort of happy to hack-saw it a bit...there was a clamp on the end of my column shaft, that was sort of getting pulled up into the column tube, and the bolt from the clamp was wallowing out the inside of my column tube. made occasional grinding noises. i think the clamp might have been meant to hold a bearing in place, but i'm not sure.

the indicator piece- do you mean the plastic part that says
P R N D 2 1? it's still around- i was careful when i pulled it off. just have to find it in the bag with the other small parts that were left over. i'll let you keep the $5. just tell me where to send it.

take it easy-
sam

 

Sam, I think you should go to the bone yard and get a three speed column from a truck with power steering, 72-79 fits (except for the lower dash clamp issue). Your column shell was ruined by the failure of the lower bearing. This is a common problem and also one of the causes of difficult shifting. The top bearing is the same as the bottom bearing on standard and automatic from 65-79. Top bearings last forever inside the cab, bottom bearings always rust up and fail. You should be able to find a standard column for PS. Maybe someone here has one? Thanks for the indicator, I'll send you an email with my address.
William in Atlanta

 

Sam as Thom suggested the left perch is modified to catch the next forward set of bolts on the trucks that came with PS and will avoid hitting the gear, and you wont have to do all of the mods that William suggested. I changed out the one in my 66, there is four bolts holding it in. It makes no difference because all FEs are pretty much the same on the outside. 352, 360, 390 pump brackets should work. Steering gears from 65 to 79 use the same bolt pattern.

Most of the time the leaking is from the seal at the top, but both can be replaced if needed.

You absolutly can change the whole column, as long as you get one that is a 3 speed.

John
jowilker


66 F100s
In the still cool hours of the night,
you can hear chevys rusting away.

 

I did a power steering conversion to my son's '67 by using a '77 power steering box which bolted in and for the steering column used a '64 Ford Galaxie unit. Bolted right in and is the right length.

 

update on my conversion...

so far, so good. my junkyard man is evidently quite lazy, and didn't want to pull the engine from my donor truck, so i could have the motor mount perch.

so, i spent saturday standing in my engine compartment with a grinder. took enough off the motor mount to get the steering gear seated.

replaced the seals in the gear- fairly easy job, if you've already got the gear out. managed to get the seal kit from the local ford dealer.

now, i just have to get the pump mounted, and hook everything back up...

later
sam

 

Sam, You are going to have to deal with the junk ,man again. You will need the vibration damper, drive pulleys, PS pump, and all the brackets and spacers to mount the pump on the engine. Consider new hoses and look for the small cooler that bolts on top of the PS pump. This is easier to work with than the wandering zig zag steel line used on some of the older applications. gathering all this is usually the hardest part of these conversions. Ford used a three and a four bolt mount pattern for the vibration damper. And better yet! two different three bolt patterns. Save the old damper someone here may need it.
William in Atlanta

 

okay william- now i'm getting worried...

i've got the pump, the pump bracket, the drive pulley, and the hoses...but what is a vibration damper?? also, the setup didn't seem to have a cooler...

(i pulled everything that the donor truck had on it, except the motor mount perch, but i guess i have no way of knowing if the donor actually had everything it was supposed to...)

thanks for the help-
sam

 

Sam, The vibration damper smoothes out vibration caused by the engine (cylinders firing in rotation). It bolts on the front of the crankshaft and all your drive pulleys bolt to it. It also has the timing marks on it. Ford used several different bolt patterns (three that I know of) to hold the pulleys on the damper. Label and save all your old pulleys. In a few years we will need them for this hobby. To remove the vibration damper you will need a puller. But you may not have a problem if your drive pulleys bolt to the damper you have on the engine now. I'd pull the radiator for this operation but if you don't put a heavy piece of cardboard between the work and the radiator to protect it. Re-installing a vibration damper can be tricky, if your not careful you will have a leaking front seal. Shine it up on the seal bearing surface with emory cloth and oil it before you push it on.
William in Atlanta

 

Whoops! Forgot to cover the cooler. Some people don't use a cooler. I always do. Look for a small rectangle cooler about 2 inches by four inches. It will be bolted near the top of the pump. If your donor didn't have one I'd get one from another truck or car. Trucks used a steel line in the return circuit to cool the fluid. They are ugly and a pain to mount. If you want a really snazzy cooler and protect the hydraulics in the PS system consider a remote oil filter. This can be mounted on the frame near the pump and plumbed in the return circuit. The benefits are this are it is easy to do, fairly cheap, filters all the crap out of the used parts you are using and the filter will cool the fluid nicely. Looks trick too. Poop Boys have this for ahhh I forget, wasn't to bad thoe! I use OEM stuff when ever possible.
William in Atlanta

 

okay guys...it's in and working-

only thing still holding me up is the seal where the rag joint goes into the gear- it's leaking like a sieve. should have had the presence of mind to replace it before i put the gear in. 20/20 hindsight-

anyway- truck steers like a dream...feel like i'm driving one of those mid-60 caddy 'land yachts'...

one question- is there a trick to putting those c-shaped clips on the transmission linkage? drove me absolutely nuts- had a friend come over and do it for me. they're a little bent now from on all the removal/installation, so i'm getting new ones.

also- do you think it's possible to replace that seal by just pulling the column again? i'd hate to take the gear back out.

william- you were right about the cooler. it will definitely need one. the pump was pretty warm, just from driving around the block.

take it easy-
sam

 

Sam you can replace the seal while it's in the truck.

I have found that pliers work well for pushing the clips on.

You can use a small aftermarket tranny cooler on the return line to cool the fluid.

Good luck

John
jowilker


66 F100s
In the still cool hours of the night,
you can hear chevys rusting away.

 

hey guys-

after a long vacation, i'm back, and still working on the p/s conversion. i've gotten the leaky gear taken care of. everything is bolted in, and working properly.

only thing left...the new, much larger p/s gear holds my column tube at a slightly different angle. a slightly higher angle...just enough to keep the column shift lever from engaging the two "bottom" gears...first and third.

i attempted to adjust the linkage rods, but after 30 years, they seem to be rusted tight. contemplating buying new ones. just wanted to check with you guys- is the slightly different angle, and new, slightly longer linkage rods going to cause me any trouble?

thanks,
sam
almost done with 68 p/s conversion...