STEERING COUPLER PROBLEM SOLVED!!

[Ron Tanzi]

I also purchased the Scott Drake coupler and the splines were not correct for my SPA-T box in my 72 I wasted a lot of time trying to make it work. It is just plain wrong. I notified CJ Pony parts Via E-mail that they should not list this coupler for 71-73 mustangs with power steering. I heard nothing back. I did not send it back due to modifying the coupler in an attempt to make it work. For now I ended up using my press to reset the rivets to tighten the fit as the rubber itself was in good condition. I only had slight play between the steel and the rubber and now all is well until I find a proper replacement. Obviously I advise everyone not to buy the aforementioned steering coupler.

Ron

 

[red351]

Not to change the subject, but Scott Drake has a lot quality issues and they just don't care. My guess is that's why they using some other brand names. July will be one year since SD asked me to destroy the 2 wheels rims that had badly cracked and broken welds on the insides. So far they haven't lived up to their promise to replace them. So far its been a lot of phone calls and emails and pictures. The only thing they done till now is send 2 rims stamped blem that are so far out of round that the car can't be driven highway speeds. THEY JUST DON"T CARE. To add to this, the vendor in CT where purchase out right said to me on the phone to (call someone who cares) when I asked for help on this. The end of my rant. Sorry Rich

 

[Stanglover]

I also purchased the Scott Drake coupler and the splines were not correct for my SPA-T box in my 72 I wasted a lot of time trying to make it work. It is just plain wrong. I notified CJ Pony parts Via E-mail that they should not list this coupler for 71-73 mustangs with power steering. I heard nothing back. I did not send it back due to modifying the coupler in an attempt to make it work. For now I ended up using my press to reset the rivets to tighten the fit as the rubber itself was in good condition. I only had slight play between the steel and the rubber and now all is well until I find a proper replacement.  Obviously I advise everyone not to buy the aforementioned steering coupler.

Ron

 You're absolutely right Ron, a total pieces of junk. What were the Scott Drake management thinking to put that on the market saying it is for the 71-73 Mustangs, or Cougars for that matter. I for one am tired of these so-called reputable companies, putting product on the market saying it will fit our cars when it doesn't. They seem to take a "one-size-fits-all" approach which is just plain wrong.

The consensus here seems to be that the Lares 201 with the 13/16" splined input is the best available for power steering boxes even though the pin diameters are a bit different. We've discussed that in length in a couple of threads in the past day or two, so no need to go over it again.

Also, in the past, I have bought the so-called repair kit, which again is a total piece of crap.

Geoff.

 

[Ron Tanzi]

Thanks Geoff, I guess it was the cost of an education (although not very expensive in my case) I am very disappointed in SD. As side note the coupler was of course made in China.

I think most of us do not mind paying a little more for parts (preferably US made) if they actually work.

Ron

 

[thomas1984]

I bought a Doorman 31000 kit. I did not have any pins at all earlier, but now I have.  I think it will do the job as the old disc was torn and really worn out. I have had  a hell tonight trying to get the lower forged joint attached to the steering box. There is a flat surface on the splined stud comming out of the steering box where the lower forged joint is supposed to connect. It should only be able to be mounted one way but it wont get on no matter how I rotate the joint. Laying on my back with the car 3 inches above my face it's not easy to work, there are no more curses left, sigh! Any tips?  :chin:

 

[Bentworker]

I bought a Doorman 31000 kit. I did not have any pins at all earlier, but now I have.  I think it will do the job as the old disc was torn and really worn out. I have had  a hell tonight trying to get the lower forged joint attached to the steering box. There is a flat surface on the splined stud comming out of the steering box where the lower forged joint is supposed to connect. It should only be able to be mounted one way but it won't get on no matter how I rotate the joint. Laying on my back with the car 3 inches above my face it's not easy to work, there are no more curses left, sigh! Any tips?  :chin:

What came off should go back on.

You just used the kit to rebuild the coupler that came off the car right?

I can’t think of a reason why it wouldn’t go back on easily.

 

[Stanglover]

I bought a Doorman 31000 kit. I did not have any pins at all earlier, but now I have.  I think it will do the job as the old disc was torn and really worn out. I have had  a hell tonight trying to get the lower forged joint attached to the steering box. There is a flat surface on the splined stud comming out of the steering box where the lower forged joint is supposed to connect. It should only be able to be mounted one way but it won't get on no matter how I rotate the joint. Laying on my back with the car 3 inches above my face it's not easy to work, there are no more curses left, sigh! Any tips?  :chin:

 Thomas, looking at the Dorman website, the 31000 is NOT a fit for our cars, but that's not to say it might work. If you are rebuilding your 13/16" 31 splined center, the only thing I can think of is it is not lined up with that flat correctly. I say this because I had an issue trying to install the complete box, just couldn't get it to go on until finally it went on. You might try GENTLEY prying the pinch clamp apart slightly to give a bit more room. Could be the clamp is closed up.

If all else fails, buy the Lares 201 (Rock Auto). I KNOW that fits and is a good well made product. Don't be put off by the safety pins being the same diameter. They are there for back-up only, not to steer the car. At least they are long enough to reach the column receiver, not like the SD crap.

Good luck, I know the frustration.

Geoff.

 

[thomas1984]

Thanks a lot guys for the comforting. I was so frustrated and needed to share my agony with somebody. I'll give it another try later and report back.

 

[thomas1984]

After some more cursing it finally worked out for me. I had to remove the steering column a second time to swap places between the two studs in the lower forged joint. One of the studs had a 1/2" nut that made it extremely hard, next to impossible, to use the bolt that tightens the forged joint to the splined shaft in the steering box. The nut is seen in the first picture. I believe this will be a good improvement to the handling of my car. 

 

[Stanglover]

Hmm, not sure if I'd do that, but that's just me being Mr. Perfect!

Am I looking at this wrong, but It looks like what I call the safety receiver has been removed from the column, unless your car's year is different to my 71, can't remember what you have. The old picture I attached is of mine before I switched to power, but the coupler is the same. I arrowed the "safety receiver" where you can see the larger pin engaged into the slot. These are there in case you rag joint fails so you won't end up in the ditch........... hopefully!

 

[thomas1984]

I have a '73. I do not have a safety receiver, but the studs should engage the forged joints in case the rubber disk fails, right? My rag joint did not have any studs earlier.

 

[Bentworker]

You have a tilt column...right?

 

[thomas1984]

You have a tilt column...right?

Yes, that is correct. Not working at the moment though.  :-/

 

[Bentworker]

You have probably figured this out already but the tilt column is a different ballgame.

I have never seen one in person, West Coast Classic Cougar has a pretty good video on youtube about the tilt columns.

All I know about them is that they don't have the coupler flange with the slots for the safety pins welded to the end of the shaft like the fixed columns do.

All of the boxes are 13/16" diameter shaft, pretty sure the spline count is 36 if you were to count the splines where the flat is machined.

Just looking at photos I think the tilt column shaft is 3/4" or 1" "D" or "DD". If you really want the safety feature of the pins to function you might want to reach out to WCCC and see what they think. I know that Borgeson makes some pretty nice flanges for D or DD shaft, but they are not cheap. If it was 3/4" DD I'm pretty sure you could use a Borgeson Universal Rag Joints 054052. Anyway, measure it if you are curious. Don't be afraid to tacke the tilt column, I did the one in my GM pickup and it is so much better now.

 

[thomas1984]

You have probably figured this out already but the tilt column is a different ballgame.

I have never seen one in person, West Coast Classic Cougar has a pretty good video on youtube about the tilt columns.

All I know about them is that they don't have the coupler flange with the slots for the safety pins welded to the end of the shaft like the fixed columns do.

All of the boxes are 13/16" diameter shaft, pretty sure the spline count is 36 if you were to count the splines where the flat is machined.

Just looking at photos I think the tilt column shaft is 3/4" or 1" "D" or "DD".  If you really want the safety feature of the pins to function you might want to reach out to WCCC and see what they think.  I know that Borgeson makes some pretty nice flanges for D or DD shaft, but they are not cheap.  If it was 3/4" DD I'm pretty sure you could use a Borgeson Universal Rag Joints 054052.  Anyway, measure it if you are curious.  Don't be afraid to tacke the tilt column, I did the one in my GM pickup and it is so much better now.

Thanks a lot for your reply and input Bentworker. I really appreciate it!  :thankyouyellow: 

I'm going to leave the tilt column for now. It will probably be a future project. Right now it will suffice as it is. Most of my sloppy steering should dissapear after the new rag joint. I'll report back when I got the car back on the street.

 

[Stanglover]

You have a tilt column...right?

Yes, that is correct. Not working at the moment though.  :-/

 Ahhhh! That explains a lot I guess. Sorry if I confused you.

 I too have not seen the bottom end of a tilt column, didn't know or realize they are THAT different.

Looking at the Marti Tag Book, it only list the Tag Code for all 71-73's, but does not indicate the input shaft size. I would think they are all 13/16th 31 spline (need to double check that) Saginaw 800 boxes, but I could be wrong on that too. I have a sheet with some ambiguous data that states either Saginaw or Ford integral power steering boxes. Anything I personally have seem was definitely Saginaw.

Again, I learn every day!

Geoff.

 

[Bentworker]

Something that Stanglover mentioned made me think.

The spline count of the coupler is one of the most confusing things. You need to make sure that whomever you purchase from is on the same page as you as there are two different ways to describe the exact same thing.

The power boxes are all 13/16” shaft.

If you don’t count the imaginary splines where the flat is you come up with 31, if you do it is 36. Basically the exact same part can be described two different ways.

 

[Don C]

There's a good chance you can find the correct complete rag joint from this guy. You'll just need to determine what the tilt column connection is, diameter and number of splines. These also have the safety flange on them.

http://stores.ebay.com/High-Performance-Parts/Steering-Parts-/_i.html?_nkw=rag+joint&submit=Search&_fsub=3570918&_sid=10422829

They are good quality, nicely made. I bought one for a different application.

 

[Stanglover]

Something that Stanglover mentioned made me think.

The spline count of the coupler is one of the most confusing things.  You need to make sure that whomever you purchase from is on the same page as you as there are two different ways to describe the exact same thing.

The power boxes are all 13/16” shaft.

If you don’t count the imaginary splines where the flat is you come up with 31, if you do it is 36.  Basically the exact same part can be described two different ways.

 I just checked on Rock Auto and the Lares 201 lists as 13/16th 31 spline. This is the one I have and as mentioned before, the only difference is it has both pins the same diameter but amply long enough to engage the slots. This, I have come to find out, is for a non-tilt column. It would be nice if the if vendors would mention that little fact!!

Don's link also adds knowledge to this subject. Thanks.

Geoff.