Removing Lower Steering Shaft

[Jeff10]

Hi Again,

So far this 1971 Bronco has been a great learning experience.

Since being transported to me, the Bronco has only been driven once. The shakedown cruise was enough to start a fairly long list of repairs. (Besides the front driveshaft falling out at the transfer case, and the exhaust fumes being so bad in the cab that I still smelled exhaust fumes two days later, the steering was so bad that it was difficult to keep it between the lines on the county roads.)

At the recommendation of a fellow off-roader, I purchased a Borgeson replacement for the lower shaft and rag joint. (To say that the rag joint was shot is a gross understatement.)

I have searched but have yet to find much information on removing the lower shaft. (This Bronco has a 2-piece shaft and power steering.)

I have removed the bolt that runs through the coupling at the steering box. (With the welded hoops for the shocks and other mods done by the previous owner, I wondered if removing that bolt would be possible.... It was tough.) I have also removed the bolt that secures the top of the rag joint assembly to the upper shaft.

There isn't much left to the rag joint, so I could just pry everything apart at that point; but, with the brake lines and air locker plumbing close to that rag joint, I will need to be pretty careful.

I'm not even sure if separating the lower shaft from the upper shaft at that point is the right thing to do.

Am I going about this the right way, or, is there a better way to get the two shaft halves apart? (I was reading another thread that talked about pulling the steering wheel/upper shaft into the cab to separate everything. I'm not sure if this applies here.)

Thanks again for any advice that can be offered.

Jeff

 

[lasadoor]

anyway you could post a pic or 2 of how everything is setup. I replaced my rag joint a couple months ago. i was able to remove the old rag joint, then pull the shafts out of the steering box and the column, then put the new joint on out of the bronco made the process much easier. wrenching in tight spaces sucks.

 

[Jeff10]

Steering Shaft Photos

Hi Everyone,

Here are three pics that may add some clarification to my post. With things being as congested as they are, the picture of the shaft at the steering box is hard to see. (I had to take that picture from within the left from wheel well. You can see the bolt hole on the shaft between the bottom of the inner fender and the top of the frame, just to the right of the shock hoop.)

Thanks

Jeff

 

[lasadoor]

looks you could disconnect the brake lines and get to the rag joint a little easier. removing the shafts from the bronco will make it easier, you won't have to wrestle with the wires and hoses.

 

[Jeff10]

Some More Information

Hey Again,

I was successful at removing the lower shaft from the steering box. Now all I have left is the flange on the upper shaft with the pins that mate into the rag joint.

now for my problem...

I am installing a Borgeson steering shaft with u-joints at each end.

The install onto the steering box is pretty straight forward. The install onto the other end (i.e. the upper steering shaft) has me a little confused.

Is the upper steering shaft solid between the connection to the steering wheel and the flange that mates with the rag joint? If so, is there a recommended way to remove the rag joint mating flange? (Gear puller maybe?)

If I remove the steering wheel, will that allow the upper shaft (with the rag joint flange) to be pushed into the engine compartment so that it can be worked with more easily? (Maybe that was the main reason it was recommended to remove the both shafts.)

I have attached a couple of pictures that show the rag joint flange on the upper shaft and the column location in the engine bay.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[Jeff10]

Hey,

I should have searched the archives first.... I did find a thread that discussed this same issue. On that thread it was recommended to use a gear puller.

I'll report back on my progress.

Jeff

 

[Dan's73]

I'm gonna guess that your rag joint, like mine ('73, built in mid '72), is pressed on the upper shaft and the end of the shaft was slightly "mushroomed" to keep it on there. If this is the case, you can pull all you want but I doubt you'll do much more than bend it up. Mine was actually in great shape so I left it on there; you obviously don't have that luxury. Again, if this is the case, you have 2 options (as I see it): you can get a rebuild kit for the rag joint and make it good again or you can take a grinder to the end of the shaft to knock the "mushroomed" end off, hopefully allowing you to remove the rag joint parts altogether. Hopefully someone else has better tips or insight and it might not be such a big deal...

Either way, unbolting the column will allow you to move it around. If I was to do it again, I'd likely pull the whole column out and do the work out of the Bronco.

 

[Jeff10]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah... this is one of those seat of the pants moments for me.

I had looked at the end of the upper shaft previously, and it did look a little deformed, although it didn't seem too bad.

I'm going to throw a couple of other questions on the table hoping that someone has experienced something similar. (I would like to install the Borgeson replacement shaft; but, if it's going to be too much of an issue I can always go back to the rag joint.)

1. For anyone who has ever pulled off the upper shaft flange, was the shaft splined for the flange mating?
2. If I choose to remove the entire shaft, I see bolts at the firewall, and a plate on the dash. Is there much more to removing it?

Thanks

Jeff

 

[brocken]

You'll need remove the steering wheel, there's a nut holding it to the shaft. Loosen that clamp that's near the rag joint and you should be able to pull the steering shaft through.
Sorry I'm a little foggy on the details, I pulled mine last Summer. It was fairly easy to do though.
You'll see an upper and lower shaft bushing that you'll probably want to replace.

 

[Bartonatl]

I have a 74 and I replaced the u-joint on the bottom and put on a new rag joint at the top. Easy as pie. Cheap too!

 

[Dan's73]

To remove the column through the dash you need to (as best I can recall):

Under the hood, make sure that the shafts are disconnected, remove the bolts, collar, & plate from the firewall.

Remove the dash plate that goes around the column (4 screws and the 2 pieces are held together by little metal spring clips; one piece slides off of the other front-to-back so don't try pulling them apart top-to-bottom).

Get under the dash and disconnect the wiring from the column; while you're under there you should see 2 holes in the bottom lip of the dash. These are access holes to the bolts & strap on the column that hold it to the dash. You need to remove these. They can be really sticky so you might need to soak 'em a bit with PB Blaster or equivalent for a while. I've had them snap off. Once everything is disconnected you should be able to pull the column out, likely having to rotate it a bit as you pass the the shifter linkage through the firewall & dash. Careful not to snag any of the wiring as you pull through.

I may have missed some details, it's been forever since I pulled a column. I have to ask, though, if there's a reason you can't just rebuilt the rag joint? Odds are that the plate on the shaft end is OK, you just need a rebuild kit for the "rag" part. Oh to answer another question: the shaft that I pulled the rag joint off of WAS splined on the end (though I don't recall the dims). Hope that helps, at least a bit.

 

[Jeff10]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the help.

To answer your last question, Dan... I was mainly going off the advice of two off-roaders (one Jeeper and one Bronco owner).

I have attached pictures of the lower shaft with the rag joint attached. I should mention that I didn't damage the rag joint in any way when removing the lower shaft... this is the condition of the rag joint when I first looked at it.

This rag joint was in the '71 Bronco that I just purchased less than a month ago. During the time we were discussing the purchase, the previous owner told me that there wouldn't be any issues driving it from his location (outside of Denver) to my location (Indianapolis).

The only day I have driven it after it arrived here highlighted some very serious problems... the steering being pretty close to the top of the list. I am thankful I didn't plan on driving it any further than I did.

The advice I received was from guys that wheel quite a bit, and that is what I bought the Bronco for... I have no idea what happened to this rag joint; but, as well built as the rest of the steering system is... I think the rag joint was the weak link.

Knowing how much hassle this has been so far, I may have opted for the rag joint replacement. I bought the Borgeson replacement already, so I figure it's probably worth it to go ahead and install it. (I am going to find someone to try to press the flange off the upper shaft tomorrow. It really was good advice not to do this with the upper shaft still in the Bronco. I tried a puller, and I had no success... that flange is really on there.)

Thanks again for the advice.

Jeff

 

[amc78cj7]

Not sure if this applies here, but I am installing a borgeson lower shaft on our '72 column- '77 power gear box and was told by jbg that it may be necessary to separate the slip joint and shorten the shaft by chopsawing the splined shaft. Just eyeballing mine it looks like this will be necessary. The slip joint should then help in mounting to the upper column shaft without actually removing the column.

 

[Bartonatl]

@jeff10: don't get discouraged. It will be this way on everything you try to fix. ;D it's not a hobby. it's a desease.