OK gang, I found a donor F1 for my 32 frame-based project. would anyone care to offer tips for removing the steering box in the field? Pitfalls, anything tricky in the removal process? Truck is pretty crusty, I-6 is installed. I will of course have jack, jack stands, battery powered impact, cutoff wheels and sawzall. Puller for the steering arm and wrenches. Hell, I might take my cutting torch but I dont want to scare the guy. Thanks in advance. The whole sorry episode will be posted on my PDQ 32 thread
I would try to get the whole truck. There is a lot there. Shock mounts, drums, spindles, ….other stuff you have not thought about. Just get the whole thing if you can.
Sawzall of the drag link, either sawzall the column drop or stick a step drill bit on the bolt heads and drill them off. breaker bar with a socket for rusty or rounded off bolts in your pocket for backup. Dead blow hammer and a can of kroil and I bet you could get it out pretty fast. if the truck is on the ground with a wheel and tire you might thing about a floor jack and 4 way wrench. The effort dragging it out would be more than worth the added room and reduced time of getting the bolts off the frame. I don’t recall exactly how the box bolts to the rail, might even just take a grinder to the end and pop them off. you havnt got to make a mess of everything for anyone coming for parts after you but there’s not going to be any tears shed if you cut a garbage bolt in half. To any further dis***embly with it sitting in your work bench in the comfort of your shop.
The hardest part will be pulling the pitman arm off the sector shaft. Maybe removing the floor board tin will be a pain too.
Wrench big enough for the nut on the steering box. 5/16 socket to get all the little screws out that holds the tin around the steering column
drag the whole thing home and save some parts for you or others projects,. .lets see a pic of the truck please.
Oohh grab the bendix brakes and the pedal box and pedals. Brakes will bee good for a core if nothing else. 15” wheels . Probably a lot of stuff.
You need a steering wheel puller. It may be a good idea to bring a tie rod fork. If you can’t lift the truck, you’ll need a shovel to dig a hole so the gear can clear underneath the truck. Don’t saw it. You may want to use the column.
The one I pulled a hundred years ago was pretty simple. I needed only the box and the spear of death, so I pulled the steering wheel, popped the drag link, removed the three or four frame bolds, and slid the shaft out of the column. No special tools other than a steering wheel puller. I recall dreading the job, and being quite pleased with how well it went.
Couple three cuts with a battery operated cut off grinder....remove 3 bolts...toss box in back of your truck band go home.
If you have any of those nice bags that tools or whatever come in, they make a nice way to carry an ***ortment of tools out in a field. Thats what I use when I visit a junkyard. Might want something to lay on if the ground isn't real dry.
Maybe if the hole in the floor is big enough. Then there is in the cab clearance with the column tube.
Had a yard pull one for me (no self serve, horrid hot). The steering wheel does NOT have the convenient puller holes! Using a jaw puller will tear up the plastic on the wheel. If you don't have the right sized puller for the arm or the drag link is a bear, you want 2 big hammers and/or pickle fork. And if you have the space, time and money, I agree that it might be a good idea to grab the whole carc***.
Yeah, there is no easy removal of that steering wheel without some kind of damage. Unless you have the proper (rare) KW Wilson tool.
Like others have said, good hot rod stuff to trade, use or sell. -Steering column/box with pitman arm. -Front brakes complete (backing plates, hubs, drums and all hardware) -Front upper shock mounts (both sides) -Pedal ***embly with crossmember
Only if you cut about a 12 inch square hole in the firewall/foot board . That rather depends on if you found the truck abandoned out in the woods, it is headed for the s**** yard after you get done or who owns it is selling each part off of it and doesn't want any sellable parts damaged. I'm late to the party and the steering box is probably already out (update stories and telling about the trials and tribultions of the job are nice) but with Every steering box with a solid shaft that I have pulled it is pull the steering wheel, take the column mount loose or off, undo what ever seals around the column at the firewall if there is something to undo or unclamp and then pull the pitman arm and unbolt the box and lift the truck high enough to slide the whole thing out. Safety first though BLOCK THE DAMNED THING UP SAFELY so that we aren't sitting here saying what a great guy you were because you got squished by an old truck out in a field when it fell off the jack. I agree that if the parts are there to get and aren't going to cost an arm and leg get the front brakes including backing plates, the front shock mounts that if you don't use them are great trading material, plus the pedal ***embly but if the engine and trans are in it the pedal ***embly and crossmember would be a lot of trouble to pull out and there are a lot of rivets to cut. I bought a 52 F-1 frame with axles and drums and steering box on it a few years ago for 200 brought it home and pulled the steering box, Crossmember and pedals, front shock mounts and front brakes and posted the left overs (seriously nice frame except for the missing parts) for 200 on Market place and a couple of guys drove up 180 miles to get it and gave me the 200 for it and the kid who was actually getting it didn't know that what ever he offered that day he was still going home with it. He had a F-1 that had a frame that had been butchered in a subframe job gone bad in the past before he got it.
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