Steering column lower bearing

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Tadams

Tadams

Tadams
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I ordered the bearing from eBay. Is it supposed to be this tight. I would have to force it in.the inside is a little loose on the rod. Thanks

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Thanks. I know its not original. My seal was missing so when I did a search it seemed this was what was recommended. At a cost of $8.50 I thought I would give it a try.
 
Tadams said:
Thanks. I know its not original. My seal was missing so when I did a search it seemed this was what was recommended. At a cost of $8.50 I thought I would give it a try.
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The bearing is a better solution than the flimsy factory seal!
 
That bearing may bind. you would have 3 bearings in line on your steering shaft: Upper, your middle and the steering gear bearing. IIRC the A-body shaft sort of wobbles in the tube lock to lock as the coupler is not a U-joint, hence the pliable (?) construction of the OEM. You may be able to get away with it but thats what I noticed when I made a straight shaft to my offset steering gear.
 
pishta said:
That bearing may bind. you would have 3 bearings in line on your steering shaft: Upper, your middle and the steering gear bearing. IIRC the A-body shaft sort of wobbles in the tube lock to lock as the coupler is not a U-joint, hence the pliable (?) construction of the OEM. You may be able to get away with it but thats what I noticed when I made a straight shaft to my offset steering gear.
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Interesting, I just replaced my lower bearing on my 68 fastback. It had the nylon lower w/ a very small ring of bearings in the bottom of it/factory. It was wobbling a hair, so I replaced it w/ a sealed bearing, 1" inner hole, and 2" outer diameter. I machined the orig. out side diameter of the lower orig. bushing part tha that fits in the tube to accept the new bearing. The bearing swelled the outside diameter of the bushing enough to be tite in the tube. Since there was no bolt holes left from the machine work, and the new bearing set in that area, I made a couple of retainers that clamped over the bushing and in the bolt holes in the tube to make sure it would stay in place. No slack at all now. The bearing was 16 bucks at a bearing supply place. jfyi
 
cool, your mileage may vary. I wonder of the early A's had a different shaft angle. I had my steering gear offset 1/2 inch for header clearance.
 
pishta said:
cool, your mileage may vary. I wonder of the early A's had a different shaft angle. I had my steering gear offset 1/2 inch for header clearance.
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I got mine jacked over too !


Steering shaft !!
 
So Early A's have only one bearing on the steering shaft, at the top. The lower is positioned by the gearbox itself. The seal on the lower shaft is just that, a seal. No supporting at all there.
 
My 1964 Dart just has the rubber seal with the hard plastic bushing. Be careful this modification does not make the whole steering column "too perfect", because the lower end of the shaft actually needs a small degree of "wobbliness" to enable the steering flexible coupling to function... The rubber seals have been a bit hard to get hold of until recently (I'm in Australia) and I have seen guys using those universal (stretch-on) CV Joint boots, with the small end stretched over a short piece of electrical PVC conduit, works just fine! Might not win Top Authentic at Pebble Beach...
 
Nigel Hely said:
My 1964 Dart just has the rubber seal with the hard plastic bushing. Be careful this modification does not make the whole steering column "too perfect", because the lower end of the shaft actually needs a small degree of "wobbliness" to enable the steering flexible coupling to function... The rubber seals have been a bit hard to get hold of until recently (I'm in Australia) and I have seen guys using those universal (stretch-on) CV Joint boots, with the small end stretched over a short piece of electrical PVC conduit, works just fine! Might not win Top Authentic at Pebble Beach...
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Wouldn`t a flexable coupling flex just the same on a non wobbling shaft ? It would here in the states !---LOL
no wobble , u joints on mine.
 
Here is my ‘67 steering column rebuild
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No one makes the ‘67 only driveshaft bottom bushing replacment. I had to come up with a solution.

The bearing below is the ebay bearing
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Here are the worn pieces from the original
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I used the ‘68-‘75 repair kit but made modifications to accommodate the bearing. I purchchased the lower bushing from dynamic renovation based out of Michigan.
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I didn't think that particular snap ring bearing worked on the early A cars because the shaft is only 3/4 and then the late A's went to a 1" steering shaft. But I have been mistaken before.:(

Mobarracuda, great writeup on the ‘67 steering column rebuild!:thumbsup:
 
Keith Mopar said:
I didn't think that particular snap ring bearing worked on the early A cars because the shaft is only 3/4 and then the late A's went to a 1" steering shaft. But I have been mistaken before.:(

Mobarracuda, great writeup on the ‘67 steering column rebuild!:thumbsup:
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Here are a few more pictures of the final assembly with some tips and tricks.

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A4CCEB18-78E1-4AA2-A81F-1E2BFD51A395.jpeg


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I installed the ebay bearing in the lower column of my 66 Dart. it was snug going into the column but once in it was a great fit. Works fine and looks nice.
Rod
 
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