Re: '70 Bee. Column shaft supposed to collapse so easy?
[Re: PAINT IT BLACK]
#784720
08/26/10 02:53 PM
08/26/10 02:53 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,269
NY
70440+6bbl
master
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master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,269
NY
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Quote:
I bought a pwr steering shaft on ebay to convert my manual column. The shaft I received is easily collapsible. My manual shaft cannot be collapsed and neither can my pwr e body shaft.
There appears to be two dowels in the shaft and I know this is in case of a wreck. But I am worried that the dowels are broken on my "new" shaft.
Is there a problem with installing it this way?
Yes, they are broken. You will see where the holes were filled with plastic shear pins. I have always just converted power columns to manual by collapsing the pin, pulling the shaft apart until the next set of holes line up and using a roll pin in it's place. Probably not ultra safe, but these are usually strip only cars... I once built up a 340 A-body and converted it to manual steering. The column I bought had a broken plastic shear pin and I figured once it was all bolted in the car that it would be fine, well one evening, I had a couple of buddies in the Scamp doing some "spirited" driving on the highway very late in the night and once we arrived at my house, while turning into the driveway, the steering wheel just spun around with no resistance at all! I realized shortly after, that with body flex, the shaft started to compress and eventually became too short and pulled the shoes and spring out of the pot coupling. Very scary to say the least 
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Re: '70 Bee. Column shaft supposed to collapse so easy?
[Re: PAINT IT BLACK]
#784722
08/26/10 05:44 PM
08/26/10 05:44 PM
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 408
Manhattan, IL
SixPackRT
mopar
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mopar
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 408
Manhattan, IL
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They are not drilled through as you would think. The inner shaft is undercut around the area where the holes are from my experience. Jules had a post on this a while back maybe contact him to see what he used. When I took mine apart I was going to drill straight through the inner shaft and use a small plastic bolt to secure the inner and outer shafts together. I opted for a JB weld type epoxy just in that area instead. I used very little as I wanted it to still function properly. But I figured if I ever neede it to colapse because of a collision like that I would have bigger problems. Hope this helps  Scott
70 Coronet RT 440+6
64 Dodge 330 - Future Hemi Clone
17 Challenger Hellcat - Green Go Driver
86 Buick T-Type Turbo V-6
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Re: '70 Bee. Column shaft supposed to collapse so easy?
[Re: PAINT IT BLACK]
#784729
08/28/10 03:44 PM
08/28/10 03:44 PM
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,319
Chicago Burbs
sthemi
master
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master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,319
Chicago Burbs
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You need to take the column apart and then take the shaft comletely apart to remove the broken plastic pieces. Then clean the area and use a single mix super glue product. It need to be very thin to penetrate the small opening. The measurement is simply to center recessed grooves in the inner column to the holes in the outer.. there should be some dirt marks or clean spots on the pieces to help find the right place. Here is a couple of photos of my 68 B body column.
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