Steering coupler question
Well, over-thought semantics aside, the main reason most go this way is their tired of the header hitting it, the seal leaking, or not staying put and tightening the link between the steering.
Screw the rest of the "if's". The benefit outweighs the problems that don't exist.
Pushed, steel flexes, it doesn't shatter. If the u-joint wears out, like the rest of the car does, you replace the thing. Big deals.
Nice attitude. I'm aware of why most people do this conversion, the stock joint is usually in the way of the headers somehow. And the cap falls off and they're a pain to service. Which is why *I* did the conversion as well.
If you think the u-joint will wear out first, go for it. I tend to think the nice soft steering box bushings will wear out faster, especially if you have a bushed steering box and not a bearing steering box (most are bushed). These cars FLEX. A lot. The steering U-joint doesn't if it can't slide up and down. If you think that's over-thought semantics, then don't worry about it. Your car. 8)
The stock steering shaft is not solid, the lower solid portion telescopes inside an upper tube. The only thing holding it in place is a pair of nylon shear pins which usually break loose as soon as you disassamble the column, or at least they did on mine. The u-joint is bolted to the lower shaft and the set screw retains it on the steering box spline. Any up and down movement simply moves the solid shaft inside the upper tube.
Yes, this is true. The original shaft is NOT solid, it has a collapsing section. But, that section is between the C clip'd end at the steering wheel and the bearing at the lower column. Which means its out of the loop as long as the lower bearing and upper c-clips are in place and doing their job.
Also, while that section is made to collapse, it doesn't actually slide very easily. It's just supposed to move in an accident. By comparison, the stock coupler slides MUCH easier. And the telescoping section that I added to the bottom of the steering shaft on my car slides easier than the collapsable upper section too. Plus, on my upgrade the lower column bearing is attached with set screws to the steering shaft, so, the collapsable section is even further isolated than stock. It would still move in an accident, but its not in the loop for body flex.
Look, I don't care how any one modifies their car. I put my modification up on the board so that others could see what I did and why. And I point out the issues with eliminating the slip joint because they are
real. How long it takes to wear out the u-joint, or the steering box, or the column bearings, I honestly don't know. Maybe never considering how infrequently a lot of these cars get used. Regardless, I think people that want to do this mod should be aware of the potential issues.
