Steering Column Woes and Questions - Connector, Lower Bearing, and Coupler

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Steve69Fish

Steve69Fish

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Sorry for the long post - 3 concerns/questions and a couple of pics to support them.

I ordered a new turn signal switch (Thanks Slantsixdan!) and pulled the column to make it easier on myself. While it's out, wanted to clean it up, do the coupler rebuild kit, paint, and all that fun stuff. Of course, ran into a few issues.

'69 Barracuda
Manual Steering
5-speed
Column looks to have been a column shift with the linkages cut when the 5-speed was put in.

The connector for the wires on the new switch is quite brittle. After I removed the old wires from it, I could see one of the sides is cracked, as is one of the clips that mates to the other connector half. Are these being repopped with any quality, and if so, where? I did see one on ebay, but worry if it's quality or if will break faster than the brittle one I have now, but it might be my only choice. I am going to try a dealership. I still find various parts still as many of them were used up into the 80s and even 90s as you all know, and of course it's the fastest way if they have it, and I'm hoping to get stuff back together this weekend. Napa guy had no idea.

Mopar 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 Turn Signal Switch Connector / Plug NEW

The coupler seems like it is welded on. I've tried many of the tricks I have found here - I have used a bunch of penetrating oil - Liquid Wrench, Marvel Mystery, whatever I could find, and pried, pushed, cursed, and even took a hammer to the thing (though not too crazy), but I don't think it has moved in the least. Roll pin is out, column is out, and it doesn't move. I actually was using a 1 inch open ended wrench as a prying implement since it contacts more of the coupler's bottom and I actually bent the wrench. Any other tricks anyone can suggest? I've never known one being this stubborn.
coupler.jpg


Finally, I pulled the lower column bearing. Found the seal over the balls was broken, so tried the ER16 bearing mod, but it doesn't seat far enough into the jacket - which is actually split from the old linkages, so it doesn't grab the bearing for 360 degrees. Instead, I have cleaned up and want to repair and reuse the original. This column bearing has a metal housing, not plastic. It is (supposed to) be held in the jacket via 3 bolts - which weren't there so the bearing could spin freely in the jacket and move around on the shaft. Gotta love what you find when you dig in. Anyway - anyone know if it is possible to get a new seal for the bearing? It's almost like a snap ring. I tried an industrial bearing place locally to no avail. If I can't get a new seal, I'm going to try to find a nylon or teflon washer that fits over the barrel on the bearing and hold it on with a snap ring as there is a lip that will work for that (pic below). Just need something to keep the grit and grime out.

Also - to make it a little easier than trial and error at the hardware store, does anyone know the proper size and length of the bolts that would be used so I can properly anchor the bearing to the jacket without interfering with the shaft?
lowerbearing.jpg


Thanks all!
 
It might be worth the chance on the connector?? But why do they only show one half?? You will need a male and a female. Or go with a totally different style connector.

For the coupler I would remove the steering box. Snug as **** if yer bending a 1" wrench lol. Might have better luck with box outta the engine bay.
Good luck!
 
Have you tried a pickle fork / ball joint splitter behind that box coupling ? Even hitting it toward further on the shaft can help. The slightest movement in any direction will break up the seize and create veins for your penetrant to flow through.
As for that connector, a crack and/or broken lock/keeper aint such a big deal. I cant believe it would fall apart. Good terminal to terminal contact is all we need. You can throw a zip tie around it or throw the 12 bucks at a new one.
 
Thanks. I'll pick up a pickle fork. I didn't try that yet. And if that doesn't work, out comes the steering box.

The male side of the connector still seems OK. The female side has a pretty decent crack in the side wall though. I don't think it will come apart, but the next time I need to disconnect will likely be its last.

Anybody seen that bearing before? It's housing is cupped to fit around the inner sleeve. I'd love to replace it fully if I could find it, but a repair would be fine as well as it spins very free once I cleaned it up. Just need to add some bearing grease and get some sort of seal over the ball bearing channel.
 
For anyone interested in the bearing, after some more cleaning, was able to read the bearing part number - 3575884. Apparently it was used until the 80s, but the dealership parts guy said it was no longer in service so he couldn't get it. Can't seem to get a seal for it or find a Teflon or nylon washer large enough to fit around the barrel to serve that purpose. So I've got to figure out what to do there. Now that it's cleaned, it spins beautifully. Hate to have to replace it for just a seal. I'm going to try a marine store. They may have large diameter nylon/teflon washers for water-proof applications.

As to the screws/bolts to hold it to the jacket, neither NAPA nor a large hardware store had the goods. It seems to be a 1/4 inch , but both coarse and fine thread bind immediately. I think I'm just going to tap it to 1/4 if I can somehow seal the bearing.
 
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Went to the oldest Chrysler dealership in the area today and the parts dept spent a good bit of time looking for the parts or supercede parts for them, no luck. So I'm going to buy the new connector online, but the only repop I can find for the bearing is the plastic body one. Has anyone else sourced the metal body bearing as in the pic in my originating post? I could hit the local Mopar yard but think I'd end up spending a bunch of time yanking steering columns out of half-buried 50-year-old cars only to find out their bearings are not usable.
 
Thought the bearing was good...anyway,make a washer. Rough cut a thin piece of aluminum or nylon drill a hole for a bolt and chuck it up in a hand drill. Bring it down to size like you would on a lathe. Then drill out the center. Finish the center with cutting bits in your drill. Should take less than a hour. Way less time than looking for one.
 
hangn0ut said:
Thought the bearing was good...anyway,make a washer. Rough cut a thin piece of aluminum or nylon drill a hole for a bolt and chuck it up in a hand drill. Bring it down to size like you would on a lathe. Then drill out the center. Finish the center with cutting bits in your drill. Should take less than a hour. Way less time than looking for one.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That's a lot less time than I've spent already. I had figured on replacing rather than cobbing in a homemade seal until I found I couldn't source a replacement, so making my own seal is the way to go to keep the metal body bearing and that's a good method to do it.
 
I did order that connector. It was good, but was only the female side, not both.

That coupler, however has caused me to invent an entire series of new curse words. I've now tried multiple size pickle forks which just resulted in stuck forks that took a small sledge to free. 2 foot wrecking bar just demonstrated how surprisingly much that bar could flex. Claw hammer. Sledges. Blackmail. Voodoo.

Nothing. Not a bit of motion. I'm stumped.
 
Steve69Fish said:
That coupler, however has caused me to invent an entire series of new curse words. I've now tried multiple size pickle forks which just resulted in stuck forks that took a small sledge to free. 2 foot wrecking bar just demonstrated how surprisingly much that bar could flex. Claw hammer. Sledges. Blackmail. Voodoo. Nothing. Not a bit of motion. I'm stumped.
Click to expand...

I have never encountered one I couldn't get off. Manual steering does seem to be more difficult. Forces applied generate more distortion and/or burrs in these ? I don't know.
I have needed to put the front end on stands so I could rotate the coupling and attack it from different positions.
Only 3 bolts and a ball stud holding the gearbox in there. That would require jack stands.
Then at reinstall, proper torque of its footprint to K member so those bolts don't work loose, and clocking centering check before reattaching the column and wheel. Good luck with it.
 
RedFish said:
I have never encountered one I couldn't get off. Manual steering does seem to be more difficult. Forces applied generate more distortion and/or burrs in these ? I don't know.
I have needed to put the front end on stands so I could rotate the coupling and attack it from different positions.
Only 3 bolts and a ball stud holding the gearbox in there. That would require jack stands.
Then at reinstall, proper torque of its footprint to K member so those bolts don't work loose, and clocking centering check before reattaching the column and wheel. Good luck with it.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I will try putting it up in the jack stands and prying at different points. Maybe all the beating on it has pushed it a little crooked on the spline.

I've got a feeling I'm going to have to pull the steering box though - which I don't want to do as I don't have a lot of space where the car now sits. Plus, if I do, I'd probably just say "screw it" and get a new box and coupler. Which then means I should go on and get an entirely new column. And, of course, all the suspension components in the front end. And can't have new up front with old out back, so...... ;) Yep - pulling that box is going to lead to a lot of trouble and expense.
 
Steve69Fish said:
That coupler, however has caused me to invent an entire series of new curse words. I've now tried multiple size pickle forks which just resulted in stuck forks that took a small sledge to free. 2 foot wrecking bar just demonstrated how surprisingly much that bar could flex. Claw hammer. Sledges. Blackmail. Voodoo.

Nothing. Not a bit of motion. I'm stumped.
Click to expand...
If you must remove the coupler you can try packing dry ice around it. It should create enough shrinkage to break the bond between the parts. Assuming the roll pin is completely out. Make sure your hands are well insulated.

Why are you removing the coupler anyway? If it is that hard to move I would just wipe out the old grease and put in some fresh and be done with it. Yes, I am lazy.
 
Rustedwrench said:
If you must remove the coupler you can try packing dry ice around it. It should create enough shrinkage to break the bond between the parts. Assuming the roll pin is completely out. Make sure your hands are well insulated.

Why are you removing the coupler anyway? If it is that hard to move I would just wipe out the old grease and put in some fresh and be done with it. Yes, I am lazy.
Click to expand...

As I am going through the various stellar efforts of previous owners, I'm finding myself a little less than enthused with the quality of a lot of the work. Any time I take something off, I have found it is a good idea to take everything off around it to inspect and repair as needed. This thing being jammed on there like that is giving me pause enough that I want to pull it for a very good cleaning, inspection, and taking a file to clean/de-bur the splines before installing the coupler rebuild kit. Plus with all the effort and beatings I've given it, I can't let it win! I would not be surprised in the least if the master spline was not lined up and someone just pounded it on with a sledge or something at 180 out to line up the pin hole.
 
Funny you should ask. I took a break from it for a while as I was just too damn frustrated, so finished up refreshing and rewiring the column itself, and getting some other under-dash projects started. Recently went back to it though over the past couple of weeks, and was in fact beating on it some more today and still no motion at all. I did consider attempting a cleanup right where it sits as I'm worried about damaging the steering box with all my struggles, but I also want to check out the splines because I'm worried if everything is OK there. Maybe the right thing at this point is to just get a new quick ratio box and coupler, but I hate admitting defeat and I have more pressing projects on the car that need those dollars.
 
Remove the steering box. Heat the coupler with a torch. With a glove pull the coupler away while tapping it with a hammer. If that fails, air chisel, and if that fails, call FirmFeel.
 
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