I decided to replace my rag joint today. Glad I did. The steering is being done by the two stops. The 2 bolts are very loose on the old rag joint. In my pulling and prying of the two halves, the steering column pushed its way back into the passenger compartment. I have yet to install the new one since I do not have enough clearence to install the new one (I got the old one out. Thats how bad it was). I am removing the steering box to give me the added clearence, but my pushing the steering shaft into the passenger compartment, what did I just do? I hope I can pull it back down when I put the two halves todether. Thanks in advance....

--Andy

 

I've just done mine also. As I tried to pry the ywo parts apart :boxing I too felt like the column moved towards the interior of the car.Is this possible or did I imagine it ? :confused:Maybe it was just the bracket moving up the column shaft, i'm not sure ! :confused: I'll be keeping my eye on this thread andyg. Sorry I couldn't be of any help. VettePaul.

 

Mine definatly did move. I saw it. Now I have a large space between the two halves. I guess I have to see if I can push it back from the interior of the car.?

--Andy

 

Not sure what help it can provide but I think the latest issue of Corvette Fever was doing an article on rag joint replacement. Start to finish with pics.

 

That's what I was using. Unfortunatly they faild to describe there could be movement in the steering shaft!?. Now I am SOL since I have too much space between the two halves. Anyone taken a steering column apart and know what I just moved? I have a bad feeling I have to remove the steering column......

---Andy

 

When you say "too much space", is it too much to get bolts in and pull it together by tightening the bolts? Just a thought, as I've never done this before.

Avery

 

I can get the two pieces together, but the pinch area on both the steering shaft side and the steering box side has very little area to grab onto. I would feel very unconfortable with the amount of steel being grabed by both sides.

If anyone has taken apart a standard (no tilt/tele) steering column, please let me know. It appears there is a shaft in a shaft for the steering column side. Not sure since the pictures I have in my manuals don't show the best view.


--Andy :mad

 

Do you suppose the movement might have been part of the collapsable feature of the steering column and you should be able to pull it back into place??

 

By the way, Andy, what's the deal with the Vette REDgistry??

 

Looks like you need to register you RED vehicle.

I believe you are right in the collapsible point. I have tried pulling back by hand, yea right, and by placing locking pliers on the shaft and pulling, but I can't move it. It's hard to get in that area and there isn't much leverage. On top of that I am tired from this problem and a few other maintenance issue I was working on today. Maybe tomorrow will be better. But for now the car is undrivable. :cuss

I should take a picture of the joint. It looks ratty, but the two screws that join the two halves together are eaisily moved by hand. I would say one of them was about to seperate from the joint itself. That could have caused a bad day. I think this will take care of the large amount of freeplay while driving. I had about 2" of movement in the steering wheel before the wheels would turn. I thought it was a steering box or suspension problem, but I think this rag joint had a large part to do with the amout of freeplay.

---Andy


[Modified by andyg, 12:45 AM 3/31/2002]

 

I have found what seems impossible to do one day, if I just walk away from it, think about it a little and go back at it when fresh, it seems to usually just fall into place or at the very least go much smoother. :crazy:

 

As far as I know it's supposed to telescope like that, precisely to allow you to replace the rag joint. Get hold of it with some vice grips and pull it back out. Tap on the grips if you need to. You won't be able to push it from the wheel.

-Noel

 

You are correct Noel. Thanks. I used vice grips, a block of wood, and a small crowbar. Pushed that bad boy back into position.

The PITA was getting both joints lined up so the pinch bolts wound not bind on the shafts. My steering is tight as a drum now. It's amazing that small component was causing such wild steering. Defiantly a wise choice in replacing.

---Andy

 

I believe the telescoping thing is some sort of safety feature. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why my steering column was too short. I took it ALL apart and discovered that. Even after repeatedly pulling it out and pushing it in and lubing it up, it was VERY hard. I had to "slam" it from one extreme to another.

 

You need Jim Shea's paper on this. The column is supposed to be pulled back into the cockpit a little bit so you can do the replacement. It is also recommended that you support the steering wheel with something to keep it somewhat close to it's original height until you are ready to push it back towards the motor and connect the two halves of the rag joint.

Good Luck (page Jim Shea), Mark

 

I don't think you broke anything, just forced the loosening of the steering column. Go inside and look under the center of the column. There is the small steel plate with a couple of screws - take it off. Then there are several bolts holding the column to the dash supports, take them out. It is possible you just forced the column on the bolts and bracket. If you did take them out and replace when you realign. The column is made to have about 2" of clearance to the inside of the cabin to replace the rag joint, or to come down and backward when you pull the tach & speedo dash panel - so you don't crush the material when you remove it. You should not have to remove the steering box for the rag joint replacement.
The article in Corvette Fever is pretty good.
Good luck.

 

I sent a long eMail to Corvette Fever concerning their "how-to" article on the flexible coupling (rag joint). I expressed my concern that they were recommending prying on the coupling to gain clearance to disassemble the parts. I pointed out that they very well may be collapsing the steering column shaft. I also pointed out that their pictures seemed to indicate that after they reassembled the coupling the steering column flange seemed to be assembled just on the very tip of the steering column shaft in order to get the parts to mate up. (If the steering column shaft is shortened there will be a larger "gap" between the steering gear input shaft and the end of the steering column shaft. Something will have to be stretched or misassembled in order to connect across the gap.)

So far I haven't received a reply from CF.

The steering column shaft is designed to telescope in a severe frontal collision. The lower shaft (the one that connects to the flexible coupling) is hollow. The upper shaft is solid that connects to the steering wheel. The two shafts come together about midway inside the steering column. They are sized so that they have mating flatted sections that insure 100% steering integrity. The section where they overlap is injected with molten plastic and it "locks" the sections together so that they don't rattle. The plastic is easily broken if the column is called upon to collapse in an accident.

If you break the plastic injection, (by prying on the column, dropping the column while it is out of the car, etc) you still have 100% secure steering. However, it could develop a little lash or a rattle over time.

My biggest concern is that a person may not recognize the fact that the column shaft has been shortened and now tries to assemble the coupling flange and/or the steering column flange just on the very tips of the gear or column shafts. This could lead to loss of steering if they parts are not connected correctly!!!

I am on vacation so I don't have access to my data at home. But when I return I will be able to give you the design length of steering shaft that should be sticking out of the steering column. That dimension will tell you if your steering shaft has been collapsed or not. Also all of the above information applies to the T&T column as well as the standard (non-adjustable) column.

I hope to hear from Corvette Fever so that some additional info can be placed in their magazine to clarify this topic.

Jim Shea

 

ttt

 

The perils of a 30 year old car. If there is any consolation to me on this issue, I did ensure the column length and the pinch flanges were back in the same place. One good thing about 30+ years of crud and oxidation. When you remove something, it leaves a mark on where it was originally installed. :crazy:

---Andy


[Modified by andyg, 5:19 PM 4/1/2002]

 

I changed out my rag joint on the 73 a few days ago. I went with the steering gear removal. I looked at both and the steering gear seemed easier. Had no real problems, hardest part was getting the joint to come loose from the shaft. A little tapping with a hammer got it off and getting the new one on, lined up and tight took all of 5 minutes. Bolted steering gear back up and I'm done. Old rag joint was original and in sad, sad shape. Car feels much more responsive now. Got the part from Jeff Kopp for $45.25, part number is 7818568, bolts are P/N 7807271.