Took Big Red to a shop while the family and I went to the Bahamas. I had him swap out the driver’s side engine perch for me. So, Friday and Saturday I did my power steering. The gearbox dropped in right behind the new perch without a hitch. The pump bracket was a real bear to get in. It took a lot of filing on the holes and grinding on the bracket to get it in with the after-market a/c that’s installed. I put a new rag joint on and had to salvage a couple pieces from the old one. The new column had 2 wide slots in the coupling instead of one wide and one narrow so I had to use the big dowel from the old rag along with the one from the kit to get both slots in the column coupler filled. I need to do some adjustment on the column’s position relative to the steering shaft. The shaft sticks up about 1/2" too far and the horn ring won’t snap in place. I think I should be able to slide the column up then reposition the collar at the bottom to snug it up to the lower bearing. Finally, I got it all plumbed up, I used some old (already shaped) steel lines and new rubber hoses. I poured in some fluid, cranked it up, turned the steering wheel some, poured in some more fluid, turned the wheels some more, lock to lock with the wheels off the ground, so I think I got all the air out. I have to replace the belt, it’s too long and squeals like crazy when you turn more than about a quarter turn with the wheels on the ground, but other than that all seems well. I have one question. Should I have replaced the Pitman arm? The one on the manual box is almost straight on the bottom end. The one on the power box is kicked up several degrees on the bottom which causes the rest of the linkage to be rotated more toward the back of the truck. It doesn’t look like it will be a problem, but then, neither did that engine perch until I got right down to it.

Thanks for all the help from everyone. Maybe we’ll do power front disks and a wider rear axle some time.

Dan Blackwell

 

Dan, The solution for the steering shaft sticking up 1/2 " is to saw it off. I screwed the wheel retaining nut on, installed a new blade in the hack saw and carefully sawed off the end of the shaft. Backing off the nut will clean up the threads. Use a thread restoring file if you need to clean them up more. I would not slide the column up and down or move the lower bearing retainer collar.
William in Atlanta

 

Thanks William,

I'll do it. I had thought about that but for some reason I was figuring the shaft was too hard for a hacksaw to cut and didn't even try. That was dumb, though, 'cause whoever had this shaft before me sure didn't have any trouble crossthreading the nut onto it. DB

 

Dan, I don't know why the shaft is sticking up, mine didn't move at all when I switched it out. I wouldn't think that you should be cutting it. As for the pitman I exchanged everything from the donor, so that wasn't an issue. If you just changed the gear, and used the three holes in the frame for the gear, the old pitman should fit the gear. yes?

John
jowilker

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

 

i have a donor truck myself(76 f-150) but the problem i ran into is that the steering shaft was too short when using the original steering wheel and column to adapt the ps over. i have all the entire setup but have a little problem in front of me. i would sure like to adapt the ps over instead of the existing power arm steering.

 

Mike if you take care of the wiring, rag joint, bolts at firewall & under the dash, the unit should move undisturbed. I don't understand how the shaft is being moved, either up or down.

John
jowilker

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

 

Chirs, the simplest thing to do is to change out the whole column complete. I used the 76 from my donor in my 66. That is why I recommend buying the donor and when you are finished using parts and have sold others, your parts should be cheap, or better free.

John
jowilker

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

 

Here's what's in mine. The gearbox no older than '77, the part number starts off D7... The column, shaft and shift tube are from a '70 but the shift bowl and the top bearing block are from a '73. For the time being I have the old '68 wheel on top. The threaded part of the shaft sticks up almost an inch above the nut. I don't know where the extra length is from unless the top bearing block is thinner than the one that was originally on the column.

John, why do you recommend not cutting the shaft?

Dan Blackwell

 

Dan is the column from a truck with power steering?

If it is, everything should directly bolt up without anything being out of alignment.

I would find out why it isn't the right length.

John
jowilker

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

 

The steering shaft has an adjustable collar at the lower end. This collar is used to position the shaft within the column and allows some preload adjustment. The column shell is also adjustable by moving it on the slotted clamp that holds it to the dash. The upper end of the steering shaft has a rounded end that will interfere with the installation of the horn button when using an original steering wheel. Saw off about a 1/2 inch, (depending on where the adjustable collar is set). When transplanting an entire late model column including the original or after market steering wheel there is no need to cut the shaft. I just prefer to have an original steering wheel and horn, so I sawed off the shaft. Works perfectly. Later I intend to shorten the steering column about 4" while maintaining the stock column shift, neutral start switch, backup lights and my favorite original steering wheel with the chrome ring on the horn button.
William in Atlanta

 

William, You summed it all up very well. I saw the adjustable collar at the bottom and the slots in the mount and they seem to be just for what you say. I'll readjust everything this weekend. I'll just leave the horn ring off for now because I do want to go with a smaller diameter wheel whenever I can find one and the extra length may not be an issue with it.

John, No all my parts are not from a p/s truck. I used the shift bowl and t/s switch block from a c6-manual steering column. The column and shaft are from a '70 p/s-a/t truck.

Dan Blackwell

 

Dan that is most likely the reason for the mis alinement of length. :-)

John
jowilker

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