Well.. my problem now is i have a saginaw box out of an early 90's f150 that im using for cowl steering and the sector shaft is too short, by about 3 inches. The way it sits now, the end of the shaft is about an inch from the cowl plus i need the splines sticking out for the pitman arm. So i took the sector shaft to a local fabricator/machinist to see if he could lengthen it. He said he could try but i went to pick up someother parts from him today and said it can be done but he advises against it. The parts are hardened and need to be annealed and just woldnt be stong enough after wards. I thought after i heard that, since its a saginaw box, find another one with a longer sector shaft. So does anyone know what would have the longer shaft? I was thinking jeep or 70's chevy truck/car. Thanks, John
hardened??? thats news to me... have your machinist make a splined shaft to fit over the exsisting end of the shaft... pillow block on the cowl side for suppord, and you should be good to go
Oh indeed.. it is hardened. He said the shaft was cast and then hardened so there wouldnt be a twisting force on it, like on an axle shaft. Well he said finding a new sector would be the best. But if i cant find one, i guess i could run that idea past him. Im guessing it would be like converting a banjo rear to open drive? Have splined coupler and through bolt it?
Check out this post. He managed to lengthen the shaft without hurting it by using the splined end of the steering arm welded into a tube. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142985&highlight=TECH+cowl+steering
My shaft is TOO SHORT!!! What do i do? Turn the lights off and use more 4 play (Coldest Beer in Town) Johnson's Half Way Inn Liquor in the front Poker in the rear
We both threw that idea around but i just didnt like the way it looked. Not sure that i want a 2 1/2" pipe sticking out of the side of the car. But i did a little more searching and found the sector shaft out of a mustang or corvette box would work, but i have to make sure its the same diameter since there are 2 different ones.
ok, I was about to post the same above link, but if you read through all 3 pages of the info there, you will discover that the years listed for the box are in fact INCORRECT!!!!!!!! However, there is good news. I did some homework and discovered that the box is infact a 70-79 "ranger" (i.e. 1/2 ton pickup, not toy truck sized) box. The other good thing is that these boxes are generally still in good shape and cheap enough to buy. I just bought one on ebay today for get this $9.99. Even if I have to pay the guy $30 to ship it. I have cowl steering for under $50!
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Whenever I..opps..my friend was complaining about having a shaft that is too short, I always said to just find a new smaller hole. Not that I have ever had that problem
It looks to me like you may be in luck. that shaft is long enough to cut off about 2" from the end of it. Then you will need it to be 5 1/2" longer, which allows for an extension and an external support bearing. If you can get a second sector shaft from another similar box, then you can cut it off and slide a machined sleeve over it, then pin and rosette weld the sleeve to the cut off end of the existing unit and put a support bearing on the outside of the sleeve. Be sure to use a 'self aligning' type of bearing, rather than a rigid bushing, as this will allow for any slight misalignment of the shaft without causing it to bind as it turns. Since your pitman arm will only travel through about 90 to 120 degrees total, it should work fine.
The '70s Chevy, Jeep, and Dodge truck stuff will either have a Saginaw 800 (inside the framerail) or Saginaw 805 (outside the framerail) box with the short sector shaft. Both IH Scout 4WD and '70s/'80s Ford 4WD used a box that mounts to the outside of the framerail with 3 or 4 bolts and has a pretty long sector shaft. Lots of 4WD guys swap them out for Saginaw 800 boxes because the sector shafts snap when used off road with large tires so you should probably be able to find a good used one pretty cheap.
Well thanks everyone. And brian.. thanks alot for all your help. Ill definatly try your idea if i cant find another shaft. My funds are dwindeling so a steering box from the junkyard would be cheaper than shop time.
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