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    Steering Shaft Question

    I'm doing the steering joint on the '87. Old one is super wasted from oil exposure. Separated the shaft from the steering gear box no problem.

    Question is, does the shaft actually separate into two pieces where it slides? It feels like there's a stop once its "fully extended". Don't want to damage anything, just figured it would be easier to deal with the rivets with it 100% out of the car. If it can't be separated, there's enough room to do the work in car.


    My Cars:
    -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
    -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
    -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
    -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

    #2
    Isn't there a u-joint under the brake booster you can remove the set screw from?

    Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
    rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
    Originally posted by gadget73
    ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
    Originally posted by dmccaig
    Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

    Comment


      #3
      Unbolt from steering box. Unbolt shaft near brake booster and after a lot of cussing and swearing (maybe only northern cars) you will have the shaft in your hands.
      ~David~

      My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
      My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

      Originally posted by ootdega
      My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

      Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
      But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

      Originally posted by gadget73
      my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




      Comment


        #4
        Yes, it separates, but is a pain as I recall since it takes a fair amount of force. There's a metal clip at the lower end of the top half that provides quite a bit of tension inside the lower half, iirc.

        Well that's for the part in the steering column, although the part in the engine bay may be the same.

        I don't think I covered this in the threads where I was working on the steering shaft (upper part in the steering column), but here is what I have related to the subject just in case:
        http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...ft-Interchange
        http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...aration-advice
        Vic

        ~ 1989 MGM LS Colony Park - Large Marge
        ~ 1998 MGM LS - new DD
        ~ 1991 MGM LS "The Scab"
        ~ 1991 MGM GS "The Ice Car"

        Comment


          #5
          Its two piece but there isn't much need to take it apart if it will actually slide. Mine was rusted fast and had to be heated considerably to move in order to get the box out and back in. Shoot some oil in there to keep it free though. Unbolt it under the brake booster and pull it that way.
          86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
          5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

          91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

          1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

          Originally posted by phayzer5
          I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

          Comment


            #6
            I never paid any attention around the brake booster for the u-joint. I know it’s there, but I didn’t inspect it further. Even though this is a southern car, I expected a fight given the mileage, but the shaft slipped right off the steering gear no fuss.

            Since I’m running a later air tube, I had plenty of room to do my drilling of the rivets in the engine bay after I had it off at the bottom and it moved freely enough on the shaft to make it easy enough, so I didn’t remove it at the top.

            Old rag joint was like jelly and was actually torn apart at the bottom, while the rest was badly separating. It was oozing oil from some encounter long ago. The car always had loose steering which for the longest I chalked up to old car, but once I realized it was the joint, I knew it needed fixing. I’m glad it didn’t tear apart entirely while driving. It’s nice and tight now.

            Old:


            New:


            My Cars:
            -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
            -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
            -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
            -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

            Comment


              #7
              Nice. I had a hell of a time removing mine from my car. I removed it entirely to adapt it to the later steering box. It was not fun. Then fabbing up the adaptor between new lower piece and existing upper was also an experience.
              ~David~

              My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
              My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

              Originally posted by ootdega
              My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

              Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
              But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

              Originally posted by gadget73
              my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




              Comment


                #8
                Did you use regular bolts in place of the rivets? I thought about doing that once my fails but Im afraid the bolts would back out as I was driving lol.


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by 87GrandMarq View Post
                  Did you use regular bolts in place of the rivets? I thought about doing that once my fails but Im afraid the bolts would back out as I was driving lol.


                  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                  I used a Dorman kit that included everything. The nuts they use are nylon lock type despite the assembly instructions showing lock washers.


                  My Cars:
                  -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                  -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                  -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                  -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Oh ok good to know. My old 98 p71 had a loose rag joint but I hesitated to replace it and I couldnt find a whole steering shaft for a reasonable price. Im surprised the steering in my 87 is as tight as it is and it looks like pretty much all of the steering components are stock.


                    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                    Comment


                      #11
                      the rags usually fail from oil exposure, and the only thing that should make a huge mess right in that area is something in the power steering system leaking.
                      86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                      5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                      91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                      1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                      Originally posted by phayzer5
                      I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                        the rags usually fail from oil exposure, and the only thing that should make a huge mess right in that area is something in the power steering system leaking.
                        I suspect mine leaked fluid onto it some time ago, and it's been left like that ever since. Also, my car is missing its "stone guard" as the literature goes, which is that two piece plastic cover that goes over it. I'm sure that also helps protect it some. I snagged a replacement off a junkyard car. That car's joint still looked really good, but it was clear that pump was leaking directly onto the cover as it was all greasy and nasty. I'll be installing that once I clean it and adjust the shaft. I thought I had it on straight, but slid it on tilted slightly right. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


                        My Cars:
                        -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                        -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                        -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                        -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Kodachrome Wolf View Post
                          I used a Dorman kit that included everything. The nuts they use are nylon lock type despite the assembly instructions showing lock washers.
                          Which Dorman kit and are you completely satisfied with its fitment for the job?

                          I'm seeing 31000 or 31005 as applicable to our actual vehicles and 31002 as a universal with no applications.

                          Current driver: Ranger
                          Panthers: 83 GM 2dr | 84 TC | 85 CS
                          | 88 TC | 91 GM
                          Not Panthers: 85 Ranger | Ranger trailer | 91 Acclaim | 05 Focus
                          Gone: 97 CV | 83 TC | 04 Focus | 86 GM
                          | Junkyards

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Dorman 31000. As fitment wise goes, I'll give it an 80%. It'll do the job properly once it's installed, but it'll also make you go "Wait, is this right?" during the install.

                            The disc really could do with the four holes being maybe a centimeter further out. You wind up with bolts passing through it at angles until you start tightening stuff into place, and if you look at my picture, there's a little metal tab you can see that is supposed to go over the disc some. There's two of those, one at the top and one at the bottom, and they're recycled from the pieces you drilled the rivets off of. I had to bend the lip on them up just a touch for it to clear adequately without it just cutting into the disc while tightening. The disc has enough give that you can make it all work. One thing I did find was that when re-installing the pinch bolt, the nut holding that upper piece on needs to come off so the bolt can actually be re-inserted, but that's just simply because the nut is much bulkier than a rivet head.

                            Looking at the difference between the 31000 and 31005, I really can't make heads or tails of that deal. It looks like the hardware is the same. Only thing I could consider is if the disc is a little larger, but all the stock images appear to be the same. If I remember, I'll see if I have both kits at the store and I'll try to compare them.


                            My Cars:
                            -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                            -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                            -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                            -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

                            Comment


                              #15
                              So the only product different I can find in the listing is the 31000 says ‘Material: Rubber’ and the 31005 says ‘Material: Steel’. Unfortunately the 31005 is special order so ordering it for observation isn’t possible.

                              All the dimensions are the same and unfortunately use the same stock photo, so I don’t know if the 31005 is reinforced in some way or if Dorman slings two of the same part, one just being slightly more uncommon. I think for most the 31000 will work fine as a OE replacement.


                              My Cars:
                              -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                              -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                              -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                              -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

                              Comment

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