Is it possible to rebuild a Mercury steering column? The shifting part, I mean. The H pattern shift is all ragged out to the extent that it's hard to tell if it is in a gear at all and if so, which gear. Because the worm gear at the bottom is pressed on, I took the steering wheel apart and dropped the whole gearbox/column out the bottom of the car. I was able to slide the shift tube off the steering rod, but I don't know how a person would access the gear shift levers, much less how to repair them. Anyone have ideas? Also, the turn signal apparatus is a die cast box held onto the column with a hose clamp. Surely this is not how it was done on a Mercury in 1950? A hose clamp?? How does one put a nicer turn signal system onto the column. Thanks. P.S. I got a wonderfully helpful PM from a member here who sent me to a source for rebuilding the column, but that source only does Fords, not Mercurys. Nevertheless, i am thankful for the heads-up on the potential source for help.
The shift tube has to be pulled out the top end in order to remove the shift levers from the bottom end. This required removing the shift lever and bowl but it's not too hard to do. Be sure you make a diagram of which goes where and the correct direction. There is also a spring down in there that has to be situated correctly to provide the tension for the tube. The original turn signal switch set up is a pretty good unit. I haven't had to replace one yet since it can be taken appart and cleaned up and new wires can be soldered on. That clamp is in there for the horn contact. You will need a parts break down to make sure you have all the correct parts. You will need to buy a copy of the 49 thru 51 Lincoln /Mercury overhaul manual to get most all the info for maintenance you would ever need. They are reproduced now and can be had off flea-pay for a decent price sometimes. There is also a CD available from Detroit Iron Information Systems that will get you shop or parts manual information that is a must for these old cars.
Did you replace the grommets on both sides of the shifter arms? That's pretty easy and makes a big difference. I can't think of much that you can rebuild in the tube mechanism. If it's broken you'll probably have to source a second hand setup.
Repainting the tube & replacing the shift rod grommets was most of what I did with mine. I just wish that the repro folks would make the br*** grommet sleaves out of sheet br*** instead of the lathed out bar stock. It makes it kind of a b!tch to swage the damn things without cracking the br***. The hardest thing there was getting the new wires for the turn signal switch & horn back into the conduit inside there. The newer wire insulation is a tad bit larger in diameter than the original wire was so it made it a bit frustrating but it worked out OK.
Thanks, guys. I didn't have wires inside my shift column; my wires to the switch box were electrical taped together into one cable and taped to the outside of the column in a couple of places with bands of electrical tape. the switch box was clamped to the column with a hose clamp that is plainly visible on the outside of the column. Yuck. I can't imagine this was how the car rolled out from the factory.
All the 49-51 Mercury cars had the turn signals inside the column. There were several changes to the way the cancelling system worked in that time frame but they are interchangeable as long as all the correct parts are mated up. that's where a person really needs the parts breakdowns in the shop manual and parts catalogs. It sounds like someone installed an aftermarket external set up. A lot of folks wouldn't have liked to go inside and repair the existing stuff. It was probably beyond their tool or skill set. After the old cloth covered wire insulation crumbles to dust it's common to have shorts in there which could render the horn, turn signals, and brake lights to become inoperative.
I just purchased an original steering column and steering wheel for my 1950 mercury in order to replace the 1980ish stuff that was put in the car. I'll be repainting the column and cleaning it up, but I also suspect I'll be needing to deal with the wiring in the column as well. If anyone has any pictures dealing with breaking down the column and reworking the wires they would be appreciated.
Rotorwrench, I understood earlier how one is suppose to remove the column tube by removing the steering wheel and column shift bowl/gear shift socket (see diagram). When my new setup shipped to me, the oil flowed throughout the column so now I need to clean it up. I also think I need to rewire the column as well so I need to figure out how to dis***emble. I partially took it apart to get a quick perspective on how to break it down but stopped short of removing the column shift bowl/gear shift socket from the column. My questions are: 1) What’s the best way to remove the spring that is lodged behind the woodruff key (I think that what it’s called)? 2) After removing the turn signal plate ***embly, how do you remove the turn signal switch in order to remove the shift bowl? Do you have to cut the wires and pull them through the entire tube and shift bowl or is there some other trick? 3) Any pictures of your previous column work would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Here are a few pictures of my column. It's a 1951 with a Mercomatic column, so you'll probably see a few differences, but the turn signal switch and woodruff key areas I believe are the same. I don't recall the spring under the key being under a lot of tension. Using pliers or a screwdriver to pull out the key wasn't difficult. The turn signal wires do run down inside the column. I don't know how you'd replaced the wires without pulling the column apart. I bought new turn signal wires for mine from Macs for about $30. Had to solder the new ones onto the old switch. I've seen new wires and turn signal switch for around $60 from the Old Ford Store (I think it's called), but they didn't specify it was for a 50 or 51 Merc, but they looked the same.
You have the same column as I have in my cars. I did the same thing as Doctor Detroit with the wires. You will have to cut the bullets off the old wires to get the harness out then plan on purchasing the wire kit from Macs unless you have the funds for Rhode Island Wire's stuff. Getting the new one back in there can be a challenge but it is doable. If the woodruff key is stuck in there, you can tap it out with a br*** punch and a small hammer. If it gets deformed you will have to file or sand it back to shape or replace it with a new one if need be. It's a standard woodruff key. A person used to be able to get them at any auto parts store but I know they are available on-line from any number of sources. The spring just holds tension on the bearing ***embly in there and it should come out easily after the woodruff key is out of the way.
Instead of soldering all the connections you can snake the wires through the tube, but it isn't easy. I hooked and taped mine to a thin br*** brazing wire as a snake. Make sure you lube everything up. Electricians use a special wire lube for pulling wires, but you can probably get away with dishwashing liquid.
Thanks for the inputs. I hope I'm not hijacking this thread but it all seems relevant to the original post and topic. I'm going to attempt dis***embly here in a bit.
Attached are the pictures I took dis***embling the steering column this afternoon. I didn’t dis***emble all the way to the shift levers because I didn’t see the need for my specific situation. Everyone’s inputs were helpful. I stripped the paint and repainted the exterior parts of the column. I’ll re***emble at a later date after the paint has dried and I find the parts to rewire the steering column. The pictures are in order of my dis***embly.
I found the steering column wire ***embly on www.macsautoparts.com. I can ask them tomorrow, but can you use their wire ***embly with a 12-volt system? Will there be anything special that I will need to do in order to use their kit?
I'm using the new factory reproductions wiring harnesses from Macs, even though I am converting to 12 volt. I'm replacing the all of them. The wiring in the 6 volt harness can be used for 12 volt, but 12 volt wiring should not be used for 6 volt. I'm changing up the fuse panel though, and using a Painless fuse panel.
6-volt systems require larger guage wire than 12-volt so the wire size is kind of overkill for 12-volt but it works just fine. Using 12-volt you can drop from 16 gauge wire down to 18 guage if you want to wire it yourself. Marking the wires for placement can be a pain but it's preferable to finding the OEM wire colors. It would cost more than buying a repro harness to buy all the different color wire spools.
I'm going to throw a link on here to cross reference the other 1950 Mercury column thread: 1950 Mercury Steering Column Guidance for FNG http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=723949
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