daily_driver

just got the fedex overnight with the complete rag joint and flange... this flange from ecklers is a bit longer than the stock one it seems... beefier too...

and it doesnt use those cheaparse bolts either!!!! it uses a really huge bolt with a 9/16 head. (grade 3 i think it was)..

i am so sorry i bought that cheap 10 dollar rag joint repair kit in the 1st place...

so for those of u thinking of doin that----DONT!!! your threads are probably so bad that itll disintegrate like mine as soon as u undo it.

the steering is SO TIGHT NOW!! woohoooo!!

:smash: :smash: :smash: :crazy: :crazy: :yesnod: :yesnod:

this is definately what it was like new :)

Randy 71

Question. If replacing the orginal steering box is it a good idea to replace the rag? I am on my last adjustment on the box now.

Randy

jimduchek

Hey. I've got a brand-spankin-new steering box sitting on my living room table right now (god bless being single, eh? ;) I was gonna take a hack at installing it but have decided to wait since I'm going to rebuild the steering valve/cylinder as well as rebuild the front suspension at the same time. At any rate, how tough was it to get out? Did you take it out the top? If so, did you have to remove the master cylinder? If out the bottom, did you have to remove most of the steering?

Jim

daily_driver

yes !! order the complete rag joint and flange assembly from ecklers... they charged me 40 bux for it but in the catalog it says 60 bucks... it comes with a new flange bolt too.

the reason that i had to replace mine is becuase when i undid the flange bolt from the steering input shaft it blew up!! all the bolt threads fell off of the bolt and the flange too hgahahahahahah...

thats why i do not recommend just getting the 10 dollar rag joint repair kit.... u really need to swap that flange out also.

oh and the rag disc that comes with the new setup is thicker than the one that comes with the replacement kit that i got...

:)

daily_driver

well its pretty easy... you do need 3 special tools.

(1) a pickle fork to get the pitman arm off the steering valve.

(2) a pitman arm puller to get the pitman arm off the steering shaft of the gear box.. but you only need this if you are reusing the old pitman arm. if you are using a new pitman arm then u dont need the puller!!! let the guys who do the core checkout worry about it hahahah.

(3) a 1 5/16 big sturdy wrench. i bought this biiiig wrench at sears for like 20 bux. this thing is so big it looks like its used to take bridges apart!! hahaha


now heres the steps..

1. 1st undo steering coupler bolt on flange and use a pickle fork to slide flange off as far as u can go (it wont come all the way off YET). also undo coupler 2 bolts that hold to steering rod./

2. undo pitman arm to steerin valve with a pickle fork.

3. undo stearing box bolts... 3 of them.

4. now u can angle the gear off the coupler flange. pull the whole thing up through the engine bay... youll have to rotate it to get it out... YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REMOVE ANYTHING.... bare in mind i have dynomax ceramicoat headers and i got it up through with no hassles.

5. now if u have a new pitman arm just center the steering gear and slap that baby on, use your old gear and arm as a guide to get it perfectly right.....

6. to get nut off old gear u use the arm and the mother of all wrenches to form a 90 degree angle and hammer on the pitman arm.... it eventually will break loose... u can use this same method for tightening it.



:jester

82dukman

Hey dailydriver, glad to see it was not problem! I'm thinking about just doing the rag joint for now. Can I do it without taking the box out? I saw the coupler in the Resto store on sale. :confused:

Steve Grodin

The new steering box I bought from Chevrolet came with a new rag joint. :chevy

jimduchek

I hear that about the big'un wrench. In my old Dodge Shadow, I managed to melt down the 5th gear in the tranny. I pulled the tranny, pulled the side cover off and I had a spare tranny lying around (don't ask, long story ;).. The gear itself was flat on two sides opposite each other, so I got a HUGE crescent wrench to fit on that, and put a socket and my 15" breaker bar on the bolt. No love, damn thing wouldn't move. What I finally had to do was put a BUNCH of extensions and then a big deepwell socket together, slide it over the end of the breaker bar (to make about a 3' breaker bar) and then a 4' fence post over the end of the crescent wrench. Braced the fencepost against the ground, and put my full weight on the big-long breaker bar.... Finally broke loose. A friend of mine calculated how much torque I was putting on the thing, I don't remember, but it was insane ;)

Torque is a man's best friend, right up there with beer and his dog ;)

Jim

daily_driver

well u still need to looses the gear box bolts to replace the rag joint and flange...

u DO NOT have to undo the pitman arm connections..... since the steering valve is on a joint, it will allow the box to move in any direction...enough to install the new rag joint and coupler anyways....

so just take all 3 bolts off completely and your all set.

:conehead

daily_driver

hahahahahah

i remember back in the olden days when i used to go junkyard hopping...

always took a section of fence post with me

:jester

82dukman

well u still need to looses the gear box bolts to replace the rag joint and flange...

u DO NOT have to undo the pitman arm connections..... since the steering valve is on a joint, it will allow the box to move in any direction...enough to install the new rag joint and coupler anyways....

so just take all 3 bolts off completely and your all set.

:conehead [/QUOTE]

Thanks for the response, now I think I will do it :yesnod: