Collapsed steering shaft? Help!

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BIG-B-Barracuda

BIG-B-Barracuda

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:blob::wack:

okay GUY I NEED SOME HELP ASAP.
I WAS WORKING ON MY 1968 BARRACUDA.
CHANGING OUT THE STEERING WHEEL I TOOK THE NUT OFF AND I WAS TRYING TO PULL OUT THE OLD STEERING WHEEL WHEN THE WHOLE SHAFT FROM STEERING COLUMN CAME OUT I HERD SOMETHING DROP OUT SIDE . IT WAS A LITTLE MERTAL SPACER FROM THE STEERING BOX WHERE IT DISCONNECTED.
IT DISCONNECTED FROM THE ENGINE BAY {STEERING BOX} I PUT THE NEW STEERING WHEEL PUSHED THE SHAFT BACK DOWN AND NOW ITS SHORT ABOUT 2 1/2 INCHES FROM THE STEERING BOX AND COLOUMN SHAFT-
IM GOING CRAZY - PLEASE HELP ASAP -
THANK YOU .
 
It sounds like the universal joint fell out. It's just a real small U-joint that connects steering shaft. It's got to be laying around somewhere underneath. Probably straight below the Master Cylinder. Or if it's still there then the shaft just "compressed" I think it's designed to shorten in the event of an accident. Should pull back out no problem. If Memory serves me on this.
 
just pull the shaft back out and you can just pull the shaft back to where it was it it is a 67 shaft, the thing you herd fall was the horn ground strap. get it out and but it back on the shaft and reinstall the shaft. Do not push down on the shaft, get it on the box and just grab the coupler and push down from there.
 
There is supposed to be a box coupling between the steering shaft and the input shaft of the gear box. The coupling should have had a roll pin through that would prevent pulling it off. I suppose one could jerk the shaft and small parts out of the coupling.
Pics would help
 
photo-3.jpg



and these are the couplings that go on either side to plug back in to the cylinder.

photo-2.jpg
 
i tried pulling it out further but it sounds like its stuck metal hitting on metal.
like i said I'm going crazy.
i checked for the universal joint its not there the only thing that fell was these couplings.
 
The pieces that fell out do belong in the box coupling.
Why the shaft falls short of reaching into the coupling is a mistery to me.
If the steering column is still bolted to the floor and dash the shaft had to have had the sheer pin broken. Sheer pins could have been defeated by a previous owner who needed to fit the shaft to a mismatch steering gear. There's about 3 inches difference between manual and power sterring shafts.
To fix all of that properly you would need to take the entire steering column and the box coupling to the workbench and buy a box coupling rebuild kit.
 
theres a nylon pin in the shaft the is probably sheared. Do a search, I know theres info about it some place.
 
I may be wrong but the shaft may not be good any more. If memory serves me right there is a small plastic pin in the shaft that will break in the event of a serious collision to keep the thing from impaling the driver by collapsing in on itself.
 
i think you might be right. i think that is exactly what happened .
but to break that easily? not sure i just pulled it with ease at first and hit it out gently with my hand. then the steering wheel came loose.
 
You can buy a new pin for the shaft. I find it hard to beleive you sheered that pin by hand though. That's why I suggested it was already defeated/sheered.
 
Here's an exploded view of the coupler for you. Don't worry, you can fix it
 

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Same thing happened to me, shear pins are probably done. If so, shaft is junk in my opinion. Some guys pull it back apart and re use it but I wouldn't.

The 40+ year old delrin or whatever it is probably loses its flexibility and shrinks. Once you put a little pressure on it, snap. Not really meant to be messed with too much.

When I disassembled a column I had, I made the mistake of tapping on the end of the shaft to dislodge it or something and the bottom half of the shaft slid out. :banghead:

Those four little blocks/bearings go inside the coupling like others have said already. They are held in place by a little tension spring that rests on the pin on the end of the shaft.

Have fun putting the cover back on the coupling!
 
i have a 440 in my barracuda. i have absolutely no room to work with. i tried doing what i could for today. the junkyard next to my house there is a 69 valiant and a 73 scamp I'm going to try and disassemble those tomorrow so i can get the feel for it before i take mine apart - practice if you may.

from that diagram which is the plastic sheer pin? that broke?
 
I thought that manifold in your pic looked to be in the way of driving the roll pin out.
I cant say if that manifold will need to come off or not.

The plastic pin that sheered is up inside the column so you would need a different drawing to see it.
 
davescuda said:
just pull the shaft back out and you can just pull the shaft back to where it was it it is a 67 shaft, the thing you herd fall was the horn ground strap. get it out and but it back on the shaft and reinstall the shaft. Do not push down on the shaft, get it on the box and just grab the coupler and push down from there.
Click to expand...

I tried this but won't work,
Maybe I misunderstood you.
 
The colum is not junk. Pull the colum from the car put it in a vise and pull the bottom of the shaft out far enough to line up the two holes in the center of the shaft. once the two holes are lined up, you can insert a brass pin through the two holes. In case of an accident the brass pin will shear off, and allow the colum to collapse as the factory intended. Once this is done you can install the shaft and it should fit fine.
 
When I put a manual box in my 71 Dart I pulled the whole shaft out of the column, drilled out the plastic pin or whatever it is, extended the shaft to where I needed it and reinstalled into the column without reinserting a pin or anything and never had a single problem with it ever.

But then again I was 17 and was just trying to get the thing to work and really didn't care or know better, and didn't know that that was what the pin was for, lol.

Looking back, I would prob reinstall something that would give easy in the event of a crash or who knows whatever else that chance may throw your way. lol
 
DARTLARRY said:
The colum is not junk. Pull the colum from the car put it in a vise and pull the bottom of the shaft out far enough to line up the two holes in the center of the shaft. once the two holes are lined up, you can insert a brass pin through the two holes. In case of an accident the brass pin will shear off, and allow the colum to collapse as the factory intended. Once this is done you can install the shaft and it should fit fine.
Click to expand...

I would NOT mess with factory engineered safety features, but that's just me. When I collapsed a steering shaft I was working on, I found another one. Easy to shear those pins, does not take much. I'd rather have peace of mind than have the idea that if I got rammed by some moron yammering on a cell phone the shaft would likely impale me to the back seat.

Have you measured the shear point of brass and whether it will behave the same way as the delrin in an impact?

Good luck with that. :rolleyes:
 
DARTLARRY said:
The colum is not junk. Pull the colum from the car put it in a vise and pull the bottom of the shaft out far enough to line up the two holes in the center of the shaft. once the two holes are lined up, you can insert a brass pin through the two holes. In case of an accident the brass pin will shear off, and allow the colum to collapse as the factory intended. Once this is done you can install the shaft and it should fit fine.
Click to expand...
X2 the heat from the manafold is what did the damage i'll bet
 
I wouldn't use brass as a substitute for the pin material. Nylon, lead, or even hardwood will be closer to what the engineers intended.
 
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