my whacked column rebuild

@idahovette,

The "73-79", etc. above is not part of the part number. It's just showing the year the indicator goes to so don't include it unless it asks for a year. I know you could figure that out it's just some part numbers are like that and in this case it's not. I tried to edit it but it wouldn't change.

 

@Raider L , thanks for that link. Mine is a 1975 K20 with the 350 turbohydramatic trans. I'll start looking.

 

Attention members!

Well, Inline Tube didn't want that intermediate shaft boot back they sent me. So if you have a early model Chevy car that has the small diameter boot, 2", and you want a new boot let me know through the message board and I send it to you! I can't use it at all and there's no need for me to keep it for spare parts either. So if you want it for a future rebuild of your shaft you'll have a new boot!

 

Well, I'm still waiting for my next pair of boots to come in, which will be about the 16th of March. I need to check usps tracking to see when the other one will be here but probably about the same time since I ordered them on the 7th and 8th of March. Then we'll see what my next step will be.

I look at it this way, the tech guy from Inline tube said that was the only one (the one I got ) that they carry. And out of three thousand vehicles there's not a single pickup truck on the list. Well, I've had a performance parts business and I endeavored to carry all the models of the parts I could so that if you had that model on your car or truck I'd have the one for it. They can't do that to? They know damn well they need to carry that 2 1/4" diam. one for trucks and maybe some cars and they don't? To me that's not providing service to the OE/performance enthusiasts. Whats the matter the Chinese are to cheap to spare a little extra rubber?

Or are they trying to drive the market towards those universal joint replacement parts instead of the original rubber boot? could be. Maybe they're coming to an end of the life contract with all the rubber tree plantations in Vietnam I saw when I was over there.

 

I had to go look under the hood to figure out what you were looking at - never been in to that portion of it.

I have played with a few of the Dodge ones, but do not remember a boot, or never played with it.

what a PITA - hope you get the right one.

Hard to believe someone does not make one as many of these trucks were produced ...



Best of luck !

Britt

 

@Goldie Driver,

Yep! Thanks. I got two I had ordered, today and they were both 2". Most guys don't ever fool with this part of the steering unless they absolutely have to. I did it because of course I was rebuilding my entire steering column from end to end. There are a lot of guys looking for this seal, boot. Most of these things are so caked with grease and filth you don't even see what it is I am talking about, but it's there even though you may have to dig it out. And you probably need a new one, like, years ago? It's split open and has dumped all the grease out of it all over the frame and suspension on that side and maybe even part of the end of the steering column to.

I called this random Chevy parts guy I found late one night called, "LuttysChevy" @ luttyschevy.com and he and I talked for a while. He understood what my problem was. He actually went and got the box of seals and measured each one and all his were 2". He really got it after that when he didn't have the 2 1/4" one, and agreed that out of the 3,000 Inline Tube's site showed, and I went through several hundred looking myself, there wasn't a single truck on the list. There's no way not one is made. That's like cutting out half the market. I told him all these Chevy forum guys were looking for one. What, they don't want to carry one more seal that might use a dab more of rubber to make the damn thing?
So, he said he was going to make some calls tomorrow and get back with me on this. Hey, maybe he'd like to make some money.

 

@Goldie Driver,

The next time you think about it take a ruler and measure the length of the coupler, from the top right where the steering shaft goes into the top of the coupler, that clamp. Measure from there to the end of the "bell", or the end where it's wider. That's where that wire clip goes on to hold the boot in the end of the coupler. So where the top of that clamp is to the end of the wide part where that wire goes on, just past the wire to the end of the thing. It should measure 4", like mine does. From all the ones I've seen, the one for the cars, theirs measure 3" long.

But why would it be 2" round at the end when the internals are the same as the ones inside ours, those little blocks inside the coupler. If all the parts are the same, the end of the shaft has the same pin in it I guess, and the boot clamps inside like ours does, GM went to the trouble to make a coupler that was an inch longer and a quarter of an inch larger in diameter? Why? To save production costs they could have at least made the coupler the same in diameter even though shorter. It doesn't make any sense. Those boots have to be somewhere. I know that car parts vendors took out a license to make those boots after GM stopped making them. What, the vendors didn't want to go to the trouble to have two instead of just the one? C'mon. If they knew they went to some vehicle, what, they didn't want them? C'mon.

 

OK - that s not easy w/ one person !

See the below - hopefully they help.

 

@Goldie Driver,

Yeah, by looking at where you measured your coupler, I can estimate that yours is roughly the same size as mine. You can see mine is the same, 4" long. I wish I could find one off a car so it could be compared. But you get the idea. GM only made these for trucks? Whats the difference? Except for the fact those little blocks in there, in the shorter ones, would have less distance to travel in case of a frontal impact, if there had been damage on the drivers side. If that's what the engineers were thinking, but why smaller in diameter than ours? That's my question. You can clearly see that it's 2 1/4" in diam. in the top pic.

 

I know it's more money spent, but this is always an option.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/73-87-Chev...E&pageci=f971ea6a-1777-4287-8ac5-6e595abd379a

As far as different sizes, who knows.

You would think that the bean counters would have demanded as much be the same as possible.

 

@Goldie Driver,

Man! That would be the long way around just to get the correct boot, or I think you may be indicating, just replace my shaft with another one. I'd rather keep mine, really.

So I got my factory maint. manual out to see if I could find any kind of diagram of the coupler and lo and behold I did. Except look what it was: The damn short coupler!! But it does show the donut boot at least. For what it's worth there is that. But of course it doesn't say anything about the size. But if the mechanics back in 1974 know there are two different sizes did they have to go on safari to find the right one? And what happened to all those 2 1/4" ones? And like I'm still trying to impress on the vendors that if they are offering the OE part they should offer both sizes and if not, why not?

 

Hats off to @Raider L for attempting this rebuild and might I say your postings/picture insertions are vastly improved. We've taught you well.

Have to say I'd be looking for a new or already rebuilt one. My current shop conditions would never have a positive outcome attempting this.

 

On "Removal (Fig. 44)", #3, you don't have to remove the bolts holding the steering sector on the frame. Just the bolt holding the intermediate shaft at the rag joint. I kinda cut the top off of the one before this pic above, you can see part of the word "Assembly" at the bottom of the pic before this one. Below "Assembly" there's a #1 and says, " 1. Be sure all parts are free of dirt. Slide seal onto steering shaft. With lip of seal against step in shaft *(my words, the collar that is at the end of the shaft where the pin holes are, the end of the seal(boot) that is shaped like a tube behind the donut front part is clamped at the back of the collar on the shaft), *back to the book), clamp the seal. (at top of above pic) 2. Press pin back into shaft from chamfered side." Now, in above pic continue to read from "Caution", Locate pin in shaft using scribe mark as reference. *(my words, this only applys if one side of the hole is chamfered. I don't see where this matters.
I read about measuring the distance each side of the pin sticks out of the hole in the shaft, somewhere but not in this maint. book, and mine measured .515" each side. This is so those blocks won't bind in the slots in that coupler housing in case it does move. It's so if the coupler does move and those blocks bind it could cause the steering shafts to break loose of those plastic binders holding the two halves of the shafts together and the shafts would slide over each other. Then the steering shafts might seem loose and you'd be wondering where the looseness is coming from. And it was because you didn't make sure you got the ends of the pin at the end of the intermediate shaft equal on each side, and the blocks hung up inside the coupler.

 

The other two sections left.

 

I'm just posting these above pics of the pages out of the factory book that if for some reason someone might want to see what the factory book might have to say, then here it is. It's posting is of no other value than that. Really I'm just trying to keep the posting on this build, that has seemed to hit a snag, while I wait for something to come up about this stupid seal (boot). Last night I was thinking that if worse comes to worse I can always get one of those bellows looking seals and invert it and install it on the inside of the coupler. But then I thought, "Man, what's to prevent those being just 2". Then what the hell would I do?"

I believe putting one of those little universal joints up there on the end next to the steering shaft coming out of the steering column would completely defeat the purpose of the sliding blocks inside the coupler as a safety feature in case of a frontal impact. That's what it's there for. I need to go over to the four wheel drive Jeep/truck place and talk to those guys and see what they can come up with. They're always doing things like that over there.