Coupler Rebuild Kit

[JM Ferat]

Hi all-

Lots of slop in the steering of my 65 Barracuda so I decided to put in a new box and rebuild the steering coupler. I have a read a number of really helpful articles here on the coupler. Mopar discontinued its rebuild kit a while ago (04443436AC) and I am reading conflicting thoughts on the knock-off kits on ebay. Would appreciate any thoughts on trying to locate an original mopar kit or any advice on the best way to proceed?

Thanks much
JM

 

[cudamark]

What's wrong with your existing coupler? If the housing is worn out, a rebuild kit won't help much. If the column pins are worn out, same result. If the pucks were installed 90 degrees off, the coupler will have all kinds of slop in it.

 

[mopowers]

You may not be able to use some of the parts from the off-the-shelf rebuild kits in your '65 coupler. There were different coupler bodies used in some of the earlier cars.

 

[JM Ferat]

Thanks cudamark and mopowers. so I pulled it all apart and it turns out that whoever worked on this last did in fact put the pucks in horizontally instead of vertically, which was likely the main reason for the slop. The rubber gasket was completely shot anyway and there wasn't any grease in the housing so the refresh was required anyway. I bought this rebuild kit off of ebay (1964-78 Dodge A B C E F Body Steering Shaft Coupler Rebuild Repair Kit Mopar | eBay) and while the rubber gasket and face clip seem like they will work fine, the spring they gave me does not clear the top of the housing when compressed. Any thoughts on this and whether (1) I can find the right spring somewhere, (2) whether anyone out here has DIY'ed a spring for this application or (3) whether I can forgo the spring altogether (which I know is probably the wrong answer)...

 

[JM Ferat]

And btw, this is the style coupler that I'm working with....

 

[cudamark]

How about using your old spring?

 

[JM Ferat]

I would but prior numbskull didn't put it back in.... could I just use regular tube springs on both sides and just slip them over the pin? I am assuming you just need enough pressure to keep the pucks out against the housing right?

 

[cudamark]

Maybe trim the new spring, or, use a wavy washer?

 

[mopowers]

Yep, just as I figured. That's a the same coupler I have on my 66 Dart. Instead of one spring, they use two rectangular springs. Because of the way the couple body is shaped, you will not be able to use the universal spring in those cheap rebuild kits. The shoes are different too. If you don't have springs, you may be better off just picking up a different coupler body and putting it together with the kit you've already got.

1965 Steering Coupler Diagram?

You may be able to use the earlier style spring with the smaller "hump," but good luck finding one.

 

[68 CUDA FORMULA S]

I thought I had the correct coupler kit for you but then realized the coupler kit that I have is exactly like the one that you bought from eBay.
Bob

 

[JM Ferat]

Thanks guys, appreciate the follow up. I just ordered some good old fashioned coil springs and will cut them to size and slide over each pin. Hopefully will do the trick and put enough pressure on the pucks. I'll post pics before I close it up.