Upper Steering Column Bearing

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eekvonzipper

eekvonzipper

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'65 Barracuda...
I have a Gritty, Squeaky Noise at the Steering Wheel on my 3-on-the-Tree Column.
I'm Doing a 3-Speed to 4-Speed Conversion this year So,
I bought a Floor Shift Column and it has the same Bad Bearing in it...
Where do I source this Bearing and What is it called?

older bearing.jpg


newer bearing.jpg
 
The last 2 I had, I removed from the rubber isolator. Rinsed them out really well in lacquer thinner, blew them out with compressed air, then applied some fresh aeroshell 22 synthetic grease to them. Worked just fine. Most of the time the old grease is dried out and there is dirt stuck in them.
 
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Hi, I am also contemplating changing from a 3-on-the-tree to a 4 speed including overdrive. To do this, will I need to change the steering column like the OP is doing? Are any four speeds 4-on-the-tree, or are all 4 speeds floor mounted?

PS - so if anyone has a 4 (or 5) speed box for sale, let me know please. Thx.
 
No 4 on the tree. Easy to convert 3 on the tree to floor shift. Gut column and leave the bearing intact at both ends. Cut off column shifter nub off upper collar. File the collar concave where you cut the nub off, and thoroughly clean the grease out of it. Then fill the hole from the column shifter with JBweld. File it smooth , body work it and prime and paint. Here is my 67 3 on the tree column I made into a floor shift column. I also welded a cover on the lower tube where the shifter ears come out after I removed them. Some just make a thin sheetmetal cover.

downloadfile-48.jpg


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Coolvibes said:
Hi, I am also contemplating changing from a 3-on-the-tree to a 4 speed including overdrive. To do this, will I need to change the steering column like the OP is doing? Are any four speeds 4-on-the-tree, or are all 4 speeds floor mounted?

PS - so if anyone has a 4 (or 5) speed box for sale, let me know please. Thx.
Click to expand...
The Column has two Shift Rods and the 4-Speed requires 3. One of them is for Reverse...
 
and if you don't change the column you'll have that ugly shifter hanging there that doesn't work...
 
I have converted 67-69 automatic column shifts to floor shift this way too. Just an extra step cutting the indicator off and grinding and filling with JBweld to . Theres a groove in the indicator collar that fits in the lower that has to be made. A bit tougher but can be done. I know, I've done it.
 
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