Steering coupling joint rebuild - you can do it!

Sat 26 Sep 09 19:53

Steering coupling joint rebuild - you can do it!

I decided to put this in the tech section in case it was useful to others, but its part of my overall restoration project, generally.

I have read a few threads on a few forums about people having trouble rebuilding the steering coupling from the 'rebuilt kit'. These folks seemed to either doubt the safety of the finished article or just plain gave up after getting the bits jumbled up and loosing orientation of parts. Others didn't seem to have the right bits in the kit or there were too many bits in the kit! I bought one of those kits ages ago and now came the time to see if it was going to be as bad as had been made out.

Appologies for the poor pics I have a shite camera, but its better than just a description.

First no matter how bad your camera is - take some pics of it to ensure you get it back the way it should go. It is very orientated and is important that the slots in the column and steering box shaft are the right way round.

As you can see my joint is shot. The pad is very badly worn and totally split. The whole thing could move on the pins at least 1/4 inch, which is alot at the wheel.

The kit itself is crap in many respects. It has no instructions. In my opinion this kit is a generic kit that contains bits that cover other car types/makes/models/trucks etc. . That is why it seems to have all the wrong bits.

The main thing is the engineering of the parts is good and is sufficient and it does have the main bits you need, the disc and the pins. The rest of the parts you can reuse from your old one as they will be fine.

In terms of disassembly, it's a bit of a pig to hold in a vice and you need to grind the heads off the rivets on the pins and punch them through. Follow the pics....

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82 Corvette C3 - Just needs waxing + total restoration!

Sat 26 Sep 09 20:00

Re: Steering coupling joint rebuild - you can do it!

The kits come with a whole load of tosh, most of which is only good for your spare nuts and bolts tin !!

You only need the pin with the splines on, the shoulder nut, the medium sized pin and a nut, and the new rubber disc.

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82 Corvette C3 - Just needs waxing + total restoration!

Sat 26 Sep 09 20:07

Re: Steering coupling joint rebuild - you can do it!

Starting with the small half of the joint, fit the spline pin into the side where the pinch bolt enters. The small flush head leaves clearance for your socket doing up the pinch bolt! You could fit the other pin in the kit which bolts on but you will have to use a spanner on the pinch bolt as the nut will be right in the way!

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82 Corvette C3 - Just needs waxing + total restoration!

Sat 26 Sep 09 20:18

Re: Steering coupling joint rebuild - you can do it!

Place the disc on the flange and fit the collar nut on the spline pin and the normal nut on the medium pin. I could not seem to get a washer on as the disc was a bit 'fat'. I'm not fussed. It's done up tight against the shoulder and is cover by a brace later so it cant come off. You can always add some loctite if you want.

The finished joint looks very safe to me. It is centered and strong and the pins protrude the correct depth, nothing touches where it shouldn't and so I am a happy bunny. One point of diffence between the old and new parts is that one pin is a smaller size than the old 'pair'. The reason for this is because a bigger pin would not fit through the rivet hole. I doubt it compromises safety and could be a higher grade of steel to compensate. Again I am not fussed by this. If you look at the whole thing as a structure its going to do the job without question.

Hope you found this useful.
Jon

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82 Corvette C3 - Just needs waxing + total restoration!

Mon 28 Sep 09 21:35

Re: Steering coupling joint rebuild - you can do it!

good work - I just did mine 3 weeks ago as I needed to reconnect the steering to move the car out of the garage.

I didnt use the same parts from the kit as you though, and didnt use any of the old bolts.

Bizarely, this was about the oly thing i could not find details of in the assembly manual I have.

One thing I struggled with was putting it in situ between the steering box and steering shaft that by then were back in place. Probably I did things in a stupid orrder as usual.

Secondly, having raised the body and settled it back on new mounts, I think the shaft was then out of alignment with the steering box spline, and i didnt have time to re-shim the no 1 and 2 mounts.

Is there anotheer way to alter the alignment? didnt have to move car too far so didnt worry as next year body will come right off so joint will be undone again. But it must be stressing the joint/steering column at the mo.

another good paint i used from halfrauds was stove enamel - used silver on the two plate parts of the rag joint and baked in the oven for an hour. Worked a treat!

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1974 C3 Convertible 350ci L48 Auto. Met Blue
1967 Ford Mustang Convertible 289ci V8
2004 MG ZT 260 V8 SE (1 of 882 made)

Mon 28 Sep 09 22:30

Re: Steering coupling joint rebuild - you can do it!

Glad to see that someone else had a stab at this.

There is a definate order to fitting the coupling and you are right that you tried doing it the hard way, but you done it so it doesn't matter.

The alignment is important as it will stress the joint and could also end up with pins hitting and knocking as you turn the wheel, maybe not now but over time.

The order for adjustment given in the assembly manual is that the column bolts are all loosened (in particular the 2 that clamp the bottom through the bulkhead) Basically you let the column centre itself 'unstressed' upon the joint and then tighten bulk head nuts then work your way to the 2 nuts under the dash making sure the column doesnt hit the clock surround. You can also slacken and move the dash bracket to adjust for this. This should ensure its all running true and looks riht from inside the car as well. If you haven't got this adjustment sheet in your manual I can scan and email to you no problem just PM me.

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82 Corvette C3 - Just needs waxing + total restoration!

Tue 29 Sep 09 23:50

Re: Steering coupling joint rebuild - you can do it!

Ah, yes if you have a sheet like that it would be great! But I am wondering if maybe there is any difference between the later post '77 cars like yours and mine where the column, dash and bulkhead are concerned?

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1974 C3 Convertible 350ci L48 Auto. Met Blue
1967 Ford Mustang Convertible 289ci V8
2004 MG ZT 260 V8 SE (1 of 882 made)

Wed 30 Sep 09 18:02

Re: Steering coupling joint rebuild - you can do it!

Well I guess things do vary slightly but I expect the procedure is similar. I mean it still has all the generic parts, Box, Joint, Column bracket, Column. send an email to jon @ firstpowerservices.com and I can fire it off by return.

Jon

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82 Corvette C3 - Just needs waxing + total restoration!