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steering shaft


Guest Rich R

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Guest Rich R

Hi all, happened to find this forum while looking for answers to my problem. Any help is appreciated. I am restoring a 1956 Tbird and was working on putting the steering wheel back on, however, I was not able to as the shaft does not extend through the wheel to allow me to start the tightening nut. I was wondering if there is any adjustment somewhere to extend the shaft or do I need to remove column entirely and see what the problem might be.

Thanks, Rich

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Hi Rich,

Could you give us a little more information? If you just pulled the steering wheel to repair it then it should go back on without a problem. In that case what you will need to do is take a piece of pipe that is bigger than the shaft and gently hammer the steering wheel until it goes down the shaft far enough to allow you to start the bolt.

If you have been rebuilding the steering box then that is a whole different matter. Let's us know and we can give you a better idea of what to do.

Regards,

Lew

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Guest Rich R

Lew, thanks for responding. The steering wheel was not recently pulled for repair. I don't believe it was ever on this vehicle. The wheel that was being used for any steering is probably from another vehicle for moving it around. Everything is still in place and no work has been done to the steering box. I was wondering if someone may have used a steering shaft from a different vehicle. This shaft appears to only have 2-3/4 inches of space to the bearing stop on the shaft. I have a spare steering column that measures 3-1/4 inches to the stop, therefore my question wondering if the bearings could be short of the stop on the installed shaft or if a wrong shaft was used.

If I need to pull the shaft to check length I can do so or can I try to press the bearing on further without removing the shaft. Just need to know if that is a complex task.

Thanks, Rich

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Rich, it is possible you have the wrong shaft, but most of the ones for the passenger car are longer then the ones for the T-Bird so I doubt it. You probably know that the steering shaft telescopes in and out. I would make sure it is pushed in all the way and see if it makes a difference. If it doesn't then I afraid you may have to pull the steering column to figure out what the problem is. Who knows what cruel and unusual things have been done to your car in the last 60 years. The good news is pulling the steering column is not that difficult. Good luck with finding the problem.

Lew

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Guest Rich R

Lew, thanks for the reply. I thought it was the telescoping shaft initially, unfortunately, that wasn't the fix. So I'll move on to pulling the shaft.

Thanks again,

Rich

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It's been years since I pulled and re chromed my column. But I think the "slide" length on the steering shaft was longer than the "slide" length on the column. Try putting the column in the collapsed position, then pulling the shaft out. There's something in my old memory that's bothering me. Like the shaft would slide down before the wheel was on. So I had to slide the column up from the box, block it, put the wheel on, and slip it back down. Wish I could be more precise.

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Guest Rich R

Well I found out that the shaft bearing was not pressed on completely. Unfortunately, I am now not able to get the shaft back onto the spline. I was told I will need to pull the bearing and put everything back together and press a new bearing on. Any suggestions on how to get the bearing off now? It is on pretty tight. Do I need to cut it off?

Thanks, Rich

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Hi Rich,

Are you talking about the upper bearing, part # B5S 3517-A? I don't have any experience with doing this, but in looking at the parts break down I'm not sure why you can't just press the bearing on the rest of the way, unless the bearing is shot. If you have to take the bearing off I would suggest heating it which might expand it enough to be able to knock it off with some "gentle" persuasion from a ballpeen hammer.

Regards,

Lew

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Guest Rich R

All, I was able to clean up some burs on the spline which allowed me to put the shaft back together. I was able to press the bearing on tproblemhe rest of the way and now I only need to put the steering wheel on. Probably get to that in a day or two after my back recovers some.

I appreciate all your help in resolving the problem.

Rich

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