MTFCA Forum

I am removing the bushing in the steering bracket of a '27 steering column. My question: once the Steering Arm and Ball (aka pitman arm) and bracket bolts are removed, is it possible to remove the bracket without removing the entire steering column from the car?

I removed mine out of the car but I believe you can remove the bracket with the steering column in place. Remove the pin and timing lever below the bracket. If you find that you need to move the steering shaft up and out of the way, unscrew the steering gearbox cover and remove it and the steering wheel. That gives you access to slide the steering column shaft up and out of the way. My steering shaft was corroded inside the column so it took some work to get it to slide out. You may only need to move it a few inches, if at all, to get clearance.

The spark rod lever that is braded on the spark rod that extends the length of the column has to be removed so the bracket can be pulled of the column. I think it’s the only thing that keeps it from sliding off.
It can be done while the column is in the car but not real easy. You can use a file or dremal to smooth the flattened end down so it can be driven out with a small pin punch. Sometimes fairly easy and sometimes not.

It is possible, but as was said above you will have to disconnect the spark timing rod and remove the spark control lever from the spark lever rod. This involves driving out the pin that holds the lever to the rod. This is in a confined area and most likely will not be as easy as it sounds. If you decide to attempt to remove the frame bracket with the column in place, my order of operation would be to first remove the cotter pins from the castle nuts holding the frame bracket. This will reduce the chance of you cutting yourself when working on step 2. Step two would be to disconnect the rod to the timer and attempt to drive out the pin holding the short spark lever. If you are successful at getting the pin out, step three is to congratulate yourself with a wee dram of Jim Beam. Now you can remove the bracket without having to fuss with those doggone cotterpins.

It is possible, but as was said above you will have to disconnect the spark timing rod and remove the spark control lever from the spark lever rod. This involves driving out the pin that holds the lever to the rod. This is in a confined area and most likely will not be as easy as it sounds. If you decide to attempt to remove the frame bracket with the column in place, my order of operation would be to first remove the cotter pins from the castle nuts holding the frame bracket. This will reduce the chance of you cutting yourself when working on step 2. Step two would be to disconnect the rod to the timer and attempt to drive out the pin holding the short spark lever. If you are successful at getting the pin out, step three is to congratulate yourself with a wee dram of Jim Beam. Now you can remove the bracket without having to fuss with those doggone cotterpins.

My plan- First- I'll remove the pitman arm & key, then loosen the bolts where the column passes through the firewall. This will give me some wiggle room on the entire column. Then I'll remove the pin, and the spark control lever, then the cotter keys/pins from the bolts that connect the unit to the frame.
My thinking is the bracket should slide off at this time. If not, I'm half way there at this point, I'll remove the entire column. Problem being the car is enclosed (almost a 2 man job) and there's not much room to manipulate the column and all of the wires for the flasher that are tucked under the dash. Just thought this may be a bit easier and quicker.

Thanks for your advice.

Bill, I love your faith that you will just remove the pin and then the timing lever. Best wishes with that. Getting that little pin out is about the most trying thing in the whole job. First, you need to accurately identify what is pin and what is surrounding lever. Then you need to grind off any surplus pin which may have been rivetted over. Then you need a fine pin punch and good eyesight to line up the pin. With one hand on the punch and the other on the hammer, who is going to hold the necessary deadweight on the other side of that shaft? Once you have burred everything over with the pin punch and nothing has happened, you will need to again identify pin from lever so you can get a centre punch lined up to make a drill start. Good luck getting the drill lined up over such a small pin. Proceed to drill. It may help to have a few spare drill bits of the size you are using, as they break easily. The problem then is how to get the remainder of the pin out of the hole after the drill ran off centre. You can resort to a couple of oversize bits and that will do it. Then all you have to do is fill the holes in the lever and the shaft so you can refit it after you have finished.

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.

That sounds like a reasonable description of the process. Doing it with the column on the work bench is challenging enough! I did it last week.

I have heated the area around the pin with a torch getting it red hot after grinding/filing down the ends of the pin. The pin will show up almost immediately as it won't heat up as fast. Let it cool down completely by itself, don't cool it. The heat will break down the rust making it much easier to remove. I replaced the pins with ones made from 3/32" stainless steel welding rod. I purposely made them just a tad (yes, that is a known measurement ) longer to make them easier to find at a later date if need be. Dave

Report on the bushing replacement in the steering bracket:
*Why did I replace it? I had a shimmy- a death wobble- at slow speed on a potholed road. I could hear a click, click, click with each wobble. While on a ride last week Paul and I tried to find the clicking and he saw a pretty good side to side movement in the steering shaft at the bushing with drastic steering wheel movement.
*Everything came apart easily as described earlier. It was not necessary to loosen the bolts at the dash.
*About the only problem I had was getting the bushing to fit. Our vendors warn “some machine work may be required”. YEP! Believe ‘em. Not hard, just time consuming. Everything fits good now.
*I went for a test drive today, no wobble yet. Too early to say for sure. I’ve got my fingers crossed.

With no machine shop handy, this is how I fit the new bushing to the steering bracket. It worked pretty good.

Excellent idea Bill. Done like any farmer in the past may have done, if he had those tools. A lathe and micrometers aren't always needed for a T. Dave

Dave - Yeah,....sort of compares to methods that can be used to replace disintegrated babbitt in the rear end with bronze without a lathe when careful use of a belt sander will do just fine, right? ......harold

Bill, you have done well. That kind of work fits well with doing the best you can with limited resources. Even if you are a bit off, it's going back on a worn shaft, so you couldn't have done much better.

Allan from down under.