Hey guys, In order to remove my steering box, do I need to remove the engine? My pops was lookin at it earlier and thought that thats what needed to be done. Im at work and cant look at it right now. Any advice would be awesome. Thank you, Rocky
No,because these old boxes have the solid shaft the car has to be raised up high like on a lift so you can drop it out the bottom.You might send rustyfords a pm He has rebuilt the box in His '54 maybe some good advice he can share as He did post some pictures on 1954ford.com.
Are you positive you have to put it on a lift? My dad pulled out the on from the 4 door at home using jacks and jackstands. Hmmm wish he could remember how he did the 1st one!
The steering box removal is pretty simple really. I actually did mine the weekend before I picked up the parts from your house. I had to give mine to a repair shop to rebuild the thing because I had no idea how to get the races out and press them back in, but the dis***embly was pretty easy. If you have the 52-54 shop manual, there is a rough cut away picture on the dis***embled steering gear. Also the text explains it well enough that you can do it yourself without too much difficulty. I will look around for any pictures that I may have take during the process.
Sweet. Thanks man. I have the one from my 4 door still snd that's the one that will go in for now. It had no play at all and I will eventually rebuild the one coming out of the 2 door. Any idea what lubrication needs to be put in there?
I can't remember the exact lubrication but I know NAPA has it. I bought it from them the day I got my steering box back from the place that rebuilt it. I bought all the parts for the rebuild from C&G Early Fords and they had everything that I needed plus some. The total for all the parts that I got for it was $361.61 after taxes. I can send you the few parts that I don't need, but that will have to wait until next Monday at the earliest. Give me a call or text if you need more information. I will find out Sunday what kind of gear oil it is that you need when i got to work on my car.
The shop manual says to remove the steering gear box from inside the car. Remove the steering wheel and shaft collar with the shift linkage. Remove the pitman arm to linkage with a pickle fork. Pull back the carpet and remove the little screws holding the black tin plates around the column. Remove the three bolts holding the gear box to the frame. Move the front seat all the way back, and twisting the gear box, pull it up through the floor inside and out the door.
Wow, thanks ole don! I'll give it hell this weekend and try to take pics along the way. Thanks to you too 54HR
dragon I removed the steering column from the car thru the interior with not problem but, the front seat was out of the car at the time. Good luck, and remember to turn the column as you pull it out. Also disconnect the horn wire.
Try not to stick the steering shaft into the headliner and cover upholstery to protect it from the grease and grime on the box when you take it out,which is one reason a lot of folks take it out from the bottom.Now you could get fancy and wack off the spear and join the box to a tilt column.
jeff, I would love to do that one day. Also want to put a rag joint in it, just in case that accident ever happens. I'd rather take a chance of saving my life than being impaled on that damn thing. Just gotta do my research and see what column would work for it.
Dragonknucks , I used late '60's thunderbird tilt in Michelles ranchwagon . Works out about right for length - same spline at steering wheel end even . Pic in my Albums .
Fords used the "deadly spear" through 1967 here is an in depth article that should be a big help.http://www.fordfalcon2000.com/restoration/tiltcolumn.htm
Hmmm... maybe I should have done it this way since I do need to take the body off so that I can get the frame repaired, sand blasted and painted.
Damn pitman arm is a B to take off!!! Got a puller and it was still ****y. Oh well. Back at it tomorrow. Definitely dont want to take the body off just yet. but thanks for that idea!
OK. not trying to jack the thread but have a similar issue. Does this apply to the '56 as well? I actually happen to be in the process of removing my steering column/box and was trying to figure out how to get the shaft off the box. Having never done this before it has been a head-scratcher...
this has been said before but when it comes to pitman arm pullers most of them are junk. to get a good one will cost you a lot of $$$ and you only need it once or twice unless you do restorations for a living. so if you do have a cheap one put it on and tighten until you cannot tighten anymore..take a propane torch to the pitman arm for about a good 5-10 minutes then hit the pitman arm puller with a hammer a few times..let it sit for a while to cool down..come back and tighten the puller a little more..add heat and hammer again..repeat this and it should pop..if you dont do this you will break the pitman arm puller.. if you are going to use a ragjoint then just cut the steering shaft with a sawzall. leave about 2 inches of column on the box.you have to shorten the column and get a 3/4 x 3/4 smooth ragjoint and it'll need to be grinded out a little cause our steering shafts are a little bigger than 3/4". you will also need a bushing for the column.
I used a ballpien hammer and wacked it straight off. Its really one of those things that has to be forced down since it has splines.
Rocky- The gear oil you need to use is SAE 80W-90. You can get it at NAPA or Oreilly's. 56Mainline- If you have manual steering, the process should be relatively the same. To get the shaft off the box, there should be a small clamp looking piece close to the box that bolts on. Take that bolt off and remove the piece. This will allow the shaft to slid over the sector shaft and then you can unbolt the box from the frame and bring it through the toe board. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong or left out a step.
Thanks man, we finally got the arm off today. We soaked it in PB Blaster all day Sunday and didnt mess with it. Went out this morning and pulled and tugged and used a hammer and got it off. We will pull the shaft thru tomorrow and replace the box. Thank you to everyone for the help!
"jeff, I would love to do that one day. Also want to put a rag joint in it, just in case that accident ever happens. I'd rather take a chance of saving my life than being impaled on that damn thing. Just gotta do my research and see what column would work for it." Guys, I have resurrected this post because I have concerns about what is being expressed as composing a collapsible steering shaft. The rag joint is NOT the collapsible component of the steering shaft. It only provides flexibility of alignment and vibration isolation. The safety portion of the shaft consists of a shaft nested within a slightly larger shaft. These are usually pinned together by a plastic shear element to prevent relative movement. The collapsible column is completed with a jacket that can collapse. If you look under the dash of your newer ride, you will note that the mast has a section that appears to be expanded metal. This is the collapsible part. The referenced article appears to perpetuate the same error. See this: http://www.mustangmonthly.com/techa...mustang_steering_column_rebuild/photo_04.html I always wanted to investigate the use of 1988 Ford van steering columns for earlier vehicles. Mine had tilt, with the release using the turn signal lever. They looked old school, instead of the m***ive plastic shrouds used on later cars. Don't know how it would stack up on length, but a creative fabricator could probably make itr work out. Regards, Farmalldan
Farmalldan , I used a late '60s Thunderbird column when I did the power steer conversion in wifeys ranchwagon. works out right for length and is tilt as well . Photos in my Album ( Michelles ranchwagon ) .
I have an extra new sector gear if anybody wants its 54 ford/mercury, free just pay shipping or pick it up
Its one of the gears that is located inside the steering box. I don't have my books on me right now and can't remember where exactly its located, but give me a call later today and I can explain where it is located and what it does.
The Jalopy Journal
