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1967 Eldorado rag joint/steering coupler replacement gotchas?

Started by 67_Eldo, September 11, 2017, 06:09:35 PM

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67_Eldo

It's time for me to replace the rag joint that some of you recommended a few months ago. I read Bruce Roe's thread on his rag joint experiments and that was helpful.

The Dorman 31002 "Help Steering Coupling Disc" kit is available nearby, which seems to be the one most closely aligned with the 67 Eldo.

The job looks simple. I assume you mark everything in place, remove parts, replace parts, and make sure everything is still aligned.

Is there some sneaky aspect of this job I'm missing?

Thanks!

Glen

I last did this on my 68 ELDO many years ago.  I remember trying to slide the coupling off the splined shaft after loosening the clamp, but it would not move.  Turns out the shaft is notched and you must remove the clamp screw completely before the joint will come off.   
Glen Houlton CLC #727 
CLCMRC benefactor #104

67_Eldo


67_Eldo

I found a few more "quirks" in the (ongoing) steering-coupler-replacement.

* The only socket that would fit the odd 12-point bolt that clamps the "front" half of the coupler to the steering box was an old, worn 12-point 7/16th socket. A newer 12-point 7/16ths socket didn't fit. That little bolt is rather particular about what it will accommodate. I might replace it with an Allen-head bolt.

* The original coupler has two long pins that run through the "rubber" section. It is difficult to tell whether or not these pins may be unscrewed from the steering-box-side plate. It turns out that they cannot. You have to grind the tops of those pins off and then punch them out of the steering-box-side plate to make way for the new pins that are included in the Dorman 31002 kit.

* The Dorman 31002 "Help" steering-coupler overhaul kit supplies a 2.5" (O.D.) coupler. The AutoZone online catalog said it would fit a 1967 Eldorado. Alas, the O.D. of the Eldorado's original coupler is 3.25", so the Dorman 31002 kit will not do the job.

* Advance Auto/CarQuest sells a complete steering coupler (not a "rebuild" kit) that sports a (seemingly) very stout "rubber" disk. All the necessary hardware comes with it. Alas, out of the box the metal center splined hole (to accommodate the shaft protruding from the steering box) is not (by default) quite opened up enough to allow the new coupler to easily slide onto the steering-box shaft. So right now, I have the new part in a vice, using a wedge to open up the splined section enough to make it fit.

A side note: The original coupler internally contained a "wire" that electrically connected the two halves of the coupler. There is no electrical connection built in to either the Dorman or Advance Auto parts. I'm hoping I can use the original "jumper" on the Advance Auto part, even though there is no obvious way to make it fit.

In the classic tradition, what I thought would be a one-hour job has taken all day. :-)

In the attached pic you can see (from left to right) the original coupler (sliced up by me), the too-small Dorman donut, and the brightest-hope Advance Auto complete coupler.


bcroe

You are more optimistic than me, to expect an adventure into new territory
to only take an hour.  Never owned a 67, but I really wonder what is the
story on that bolt?  Metric?  My late 70s are 7/16" six point. 

I have a 31000 "HELP" (Dorman) kit that has a 3.25" dia rubber disk. 

I believe that wire is to assure your horn works. 
good luck, Bruce Roe

67_Eldo

My journey is complete! It took a while longer than I thought. :-)

The Advance Auto/CarQuest coupler looked good, but it turned out to have a splined-shaft opening that was about .5mm smaller in diameter than my original. I thought I could simply pry open the newer coupler's slot and it would fit on the shaft, but that never panned out. The new coupler became more elliptical than circular and, even after much prying and wedging and hammering, it never took the shape it needed to neatly fit onto the steering-box splines. There was no way I was going to try to hammer that new coupler directly onto the existing steering box, so I moved to Plan C.

Out came the Dremel. I ground off the pins on the new coupler, freeing the all-important rubber donut. Then I used the pins and nuts from the Dorman kit, along with the splined flange from the original coupler, to assemble a Frankenstein coupler: Old flange, Dorman pins, and Advance Auto donut.

The nice thing about the Frankenstein coupler is that I was able to include the original electrical conductor in the mix. My horn still works! :-)

When I went to tighten the weird original 7/16 bolt (on the coupler flange), I realized that the Dorman bolts were now taking up too much space. I couldn't get my 7/16ths socket onto the original bolt. So I went to the hardware store and bought an Allen-head bolt. The Allen bolt is a perfect replacement! It slid right past the the new Dorman bolts and tightened the coupler flange just the way Mr. Cadillac himself would have wanted.

What a difference this makes! I hadn't realized that my old "rag" wasn't just worn but actually torn until I got it out of the car. Now it practically drives like a Miata! I no longer feel a weird catch in the mechanism as I turn left. I no longer feel extremely compelled to buy a new steering box.

However, when I took the car on a test drive, the speedometer that I reinstalled last week went dead. Oh well.

I've attached pictures of the evolution of the steering coupler and the Allen bolt that replaced the original "porcupine" bolt.

Bruce: I guess I should have searched for the 31000 kit instead of the 31002. But the Dorman listing said that the 31002 kit fit a '67 Eldo while the Dorman site only said "maybe" for the 31000 kit. You can't trust these new parts lists.

bcroe

Quote from: 67_EldoMy journey is complete! It took a while longer than I thought.

I used the pins and nuts from the Dorman kit, along with the splined flange from the original coupler,
to assemble a Frankenstein coupler: Old flange, Dorman pins, and Advance Auto donut. 

Good work, results trump originality.  A lot of stuff like that happens here.  Bruce Roe