In working on my Problem Child, a mostly 1923 Runabout, I have found that the project just keeps getting bigger and bigger. As recently as Christmas holiday, my intentions were to install the new motor and leave everything else as it was. One thing led to another and before I knew it, the steering gear and firewall were out on the bench and looking pretty shabby. I really ought to look things over . . .

Sure enough, what I had needed lots of work. The column was wrong for a '23, as was the bracket and the bushing and gears were worn. The column itself was rusty and full of dents as was the firewall. Thanks to a little help from my T buddies I rapidly had parts from three columns to work with and tackled the project with the intentions of correcting everything and making it look nice. TWO MONTHS later the column was at last correct for the year and looking good. It is now way better than the rest of the car.

This weekend I installed it and working by myself marred the new powdercoat finish when it slipped out of my hands while I was struggling to fit the carriage bolts. Aaaagh! At least it is in an area that will not show.

Here is a picture of the new steering gear installed and looking good:


Great, we are making solid progress at last and I was looking forward to fitting the steering gearbox with its gears and cover. Taking part number 3519, the steering wheel stub axle (or whatever Ford called it) and trying it in the bore of the steering shaft I was surprised to find that it would not fit. Both parts are new, ordered at the same time from the same supplier. They are the new 5:1 ratio. Here is what I found:





Has anyone else had this problem? If so, how did you fix it?

Vintage Paul

Someone else more experienced than me probably has a better answer, but I'd just mic the inside of the hole and have a machine shop turn down the black gear shaft maybe .001" smaller than the hole. It probably wouldn't cost much and would be a lot easier and more correct than trying to drill the hole bigger.

I forgot to mention that the stub fits fine in all three of the 4:1 shafts I now have so it is the bore in the steering shaft that is undersize.

Vintage Paul

Thanks Seth, that would allow the shaft to remain in the car. Pulling the pittman arm is not a job I look forward to.

Has anyone else had this issue?

Vintage Paul

Make sure that you have the 5 to 1 stub. They are different from the 4 to 1. Give Texas T a call as it is clear that the main shaft is a Texas T 5 to 1 from the stamping. Are there any stampings on the stub?

Do the triple gears fit? Maybe you can put them in, then slide them up about halfway, and then verify that the center gear IS in fact a 5:1 and does fit. Basically, just make sure that somehow you didn't get a 4:1 center gear with 5:1 triple gears.

Yes the triple gears fit on the pins of the steering shaft in the case and the stub has a smaller gear than the 4:1 that I have here on my desk right now. The shaft is stamped with a 5. Was there a difference in bore size in the 4;1 vs the 5:1?

Vintage Paul, still head scratchin'

There is a list of folks who have had difficulties fitting 5 to 1 gears into earlier steering columns, me included. Check everything very carefully before you start machining to fit. As an amateur machinist I can tell you that trying to remove .001 from a hardened steel item is not easy and usually you have to have it ground but that assumes that there is something to chuck it up on that is centered. I suspect if you do end up grinding and or turning/drilling that the maker is not likely to give you your money back if it all doesn't work. On the speedster that I got volunteered for I ended up putting in a NOS 26/27 column in total and that worked fine but none of the then current 5:1 setups would work in that 26/27 column nor would they work in any other column so it was all returned and we opted for the 26/27 setup as Ford supplied it. Our problem was that the planet gears would not fit the case. Some folks recommended valve lapping compound be we couldn't even get the gears into the case to start with. Your mileage may vary.

Paul,

I would measure the shaft then use an appropriately sized reamer to open up the hole in the steering shaft. The shaft will be hardened and difficult to resize but the hole in the shaft should be soft. You don't have to remove the shaft if you are very careful at running in the reamer with a hand drill. I can't imagine that the hole is any more than a few thousandths too small.

Be careful to pack the housing with rags to keep chips out of the internal gear. Then blow the housing out with compressed air. I would use a variable speed drill so things don't progress too fast and get all "bulloxed up".

I believe being a brand new part, reaming anything is bad advice. It appears to be quite a bit more than a few thousands - judging from the photo.

Simply contact the vendor you purchased the offending part from or Ben at TTP himself - he will make it right !

Paul,

Were ALL the parts you purchased marked "TTP" or are you attempting to "fit" parts from other suppliers/manufacturers to TTP's shaft?

Thanks guys, I think I have a handle on this now. I just spoke with the vendor and he confirmed that my shaft was one of a batch that had undersized bores. The vendor will ship me a new shaft and I will return the existing one to him. The shaft was from TTP but the gears & stub shaft are from another very reputable maker who specializes in making gears. They are fine, everything fits as it should. This just turned out to be one of those unfortunate errors that happen from time to time. Everyone involved is trying to do the right thing here and we'll just write the time & extra expense off to experience.

Vintage Paul, grateful for a solution