Boneheaded move today..HELP!!

[gladrich]

In a completely moronic move, I drilled a hole in the splined shaft coming out of my power steering unit. Didn't realize that this was hollow and directly connected to the fluid resevoir. Now the fluid is all draining out. I was putting my new steering shaft on and didn't think the set screw in the new U-joint was enough to hold the thing in place. I decided to drill a hole through the U-joint into the splined shaft and put a bolt in for some added saftey and security. AYE yi yi!!!! I am assuming that I will need to replace or have the PS unit rebuilt with a new splined shaft.. Can anyone tell me if the shaft is something that is usually replaced when the PS box is rebuilt?..Any other ideas out there on how to fix this idiotic thing I did???

 

[jpoore]

Ouch! Assuming that you have an original EB box, the best hope is that a ford 2wd box uses the same valve body. If they do (I don't know) it should be easy and cheap to find one and swap them. Otherwise I fear you might be SOL.

I'd call West Texas Offroad tomorrow morning http://westtexasoffroad.homestead.com/contact.html

When you get this done, don't drill the shaft again (duh). The set screw should be plenty good enough. If you still don't trust it, simply put another screw in the joint. Drilling the shaft weaks it and gives stress a place to concentrate.

JP

 

[dwiriea]

Brother, I sympathize with you. I did the exact same thing two weeks ago on my power steering gear box trying to get a little more bite into the shaft for the set screw on my new Borgeson u-joint. Who knew those shafts were hallow? I sure didn't. Turns our there is a torsion rod that moves inside the input shaft. I tried welding the hole, but that didn't work either. I don't believe the input shafts are changed as part of a rebuild. I was able to get a local steering gear shop (San Jose, CA) to take my damaged gear box on trade for a reman F150 4x4x2 box ($395 + mydamaged core).

Good luck.

 

[broncnaz]

You should be able to use any saginaw steering shaft(GM cars and trucks) if its a stock bronco box.

 

[gladrich]

It's a stock box so that is really good news. I thought about tapping it and putting a tap screw in with some locktitght to see if that would plug the hole. But maybe I will jus go to the junkyard and see what I can find there. Is it a big chore to replace the shaft? Any special tools etc?
Thanks you the rsponses guys.

 

[EricLar80]

You may have a tough time tapping it because you would have to make sure that there are no bits of metal left in the box afterwards, otherwise you may run into other problems. If you do decide to tap it, you may want to go with a NPT thread instead of a standard screw because it will work better to seal the hole under pressure. Just be sure and not tap it too far, NPT is tapered threads and that means it will be tap-depth sensitive.

I'm not positive, but I think that when I had my ps unit rebuilt and had it changed to quick turn ratio they changed the input shaft. Something to look into, you could kill two birds with one stone.

-Eric

It's a stock box so that is really good news. I thought about tapping it and putting a tap screw in with some locktitght to see if that would plug the hole. But maybe I will jus go to the junkyard and see what I can find there. Is it a big chore to replace the shaft? Any special tools etc?
Thanks you the rsponses guys.

 

[Skuzzlebutt]

I've no helpful hints here, but I would like to say thanksto gladrich for bringing attention to his problem. I'm sure there are other members here who have thought about doing the same. Learning from other's mistakes is part of what makes this board so successful.

 

[scottmcwms]

Be careful with the screw idea. I'm not sure what kind of pressure we are dealing with on the power steering unit, but it could be enough to shoot that screw out and damage your unit.

Scott

 

[gladrich]

Well I tapped it and put a tap screw in. I had to grind the screw down to make it just long enough to fill the hole and not stick out into the inner workings of the PS shaft. I put some Locktight on the tap screw, installed it and let it sit overnight. Put fluid back in and started it up this morning and it held without leaking. Hooked the steering shaft back up turned the wheel all the way back and forth several times and it still held. Took her for a ride, came back and still no leaks. I guess time will tell if it leaks or if I have metal shavings in there... I'll be keeping a close eye on it.
I appreciate everybody's input. It's always enlightening! I would have bet a million bucks that the shaft was solid! Live and learn!

 

[BurntOrange74]

I wished i had read this thread a few weeks ago. i was putting a new steering shaft on like you guys. wanted to get a little more bite with that set screw. fluid EVERYWHERE! i had PSC in Azle, Texas fix me up. i went to their shop and they had me fixed up in about 30 mins.

 

[Salgood]

WHOA!!! I had no idea about this!!! I will be installing mine soon and probably would have made the same mistake - phew!!! Thanks for bringing this up!! Saved my balls!!

BC

 

[BurntOrange74]

That set screw has lured a few of us in! also if you have a rag joint...you can take the rag joint apart, then you will try to take the end piece off the steering shaft, but it will not JUST slide off. ford flared the end of the steering shaft into the end of the rag joint piece. i had to cut my rag joint end piece off-carefully not to mar the splines, then i took a dremel and cut the flare or fluted part off the end of the splines. then my new collapsable shaft slid right on. hope this helps...