I purchased a spherical support bearing and some double D shafting from Borgeson for the steering on my 40 Ford Sedan Delivery. The original shafting was carbon steel and it did not fit through the support bearing. Since it was carbon steel, I mic'd it and found that it was out of tolerance across the "corners" of the flat. So, I just took a file and leveled everything out. This worked fine for my mock up. However, since the fit was so tight, I knew I'd never get a painted shaft through the support bearing, so I decided to buy some polished SS shafting that I wouldn't have to paint, besides with it being polished it should be undersized. When the polished shafting came in, it wouldn't fit either. The spherical bearing measured exactly .7500, so again i mic'd the shafting. Across the radius, it showed about .0015 to .002 undersize but across the "corners", it was also greater than .750. I called Borgeson and they were no help, so I decided I would hone out the spherical bearing rather than mess up my pretty polished shafting. I decided that a brake hone was the right tool for the job but the auto parts stores around me no longer stock or have any demand for brake cylinder hones. The NAPA store ordered me one that was supposed to do 3/4' to 2". When it came in, it would not collapse enough to fit in the 3/4" bore. Then, I ordered a Lisle 10500 off Amazon, which is supposed to go down to 1/2". It did fit and with a little honing oil and my my trusty drill, we honed it out for a nice slip fit to the shafting. If you encounter this problem, the Lisle 10500 is the ticket. Good luck!
Thank You for taking the time to share that. Lisle has helped me before with jobs. Been too long to have instant recall.
Never liked or use DD steering shafts on anything I have built. I only use splined shafts. Borgeson makes splined shafts in virtually any size you need. When mocking up, I use 1/2" conduit, ground down a little to fit snug into the joints. Once done mocking up, I just measure the conduit and order splined shafts. Pricier than a DD shaft that you are able to cut to size, but much better final results in my opinion. Bill
I've used their splined shafts before, they are just a pain to align if you have to ***emble/re***emble and you do have to mock up first so you know what lengths to order. I prefer the double D. To each his own.
Glad you got your problem solved but there are special rod ends made just for supporting steering shaft. The ID of the ball is .757" instead of a regular rod end at .750" ID Lynn
I bought this car and it came with a lot of parts that someone else bought, including the steering joints, shafts and the support bearing. I have no idea where it came from but it looks exactly like the ones I have bought from Borgeson in the past. Perhaps it came from McMaster or some other source. Thanks.
The look of a .757" ball ID rod end is indeed the same as a normal standard-type rod end with the difference being the bore in the spherical ball. For applications like suspension or industrial use you would indeed want the ID to be .750" to have a close tolerance fit with a bolt Lynn
Grab an old DD type steering column tube and chop off a piece about 2" wide. It should be ~1" OD .... then use a 1" rod end instead. The OD of the tube can be easily machined to suit a standard 1" rod end if necessary ..... also fit a pair of 1" split collars on each side of the rod end to keep the sleeve where it's needed to be. Clamping Two-Piece Shaft Collar, for 1" Diameter, Black-Oxide 1215 Carbon Steel | McMaster-Carr
The Jalopy Journal
