Steering column bearing

[Jemezcrusher]

I have gone to Mustang II front suspension on my 50 but am going to retain my original column. I know Classic and others sell the upper bearing, but wondering if anyone has sourced a smililar bearing to support the lower part of the column when ditching the original gear. Seems the right bearing could be pinned in place.

I'm sure I could take the column down to Kaman or wherever, but was wondering if someone else had already established a part number that works

[IndyBowtie]

I did exactly that...MII with original column. Shortened it, took the needed dimensions to a local bearing house and they came up with a winner? But... Did not keep the number anywhere. My bad

[mdpaulson1]

I used my stock column with my Mustang ll, I cut the column to my desired lenght and used this kind of bering kit. I left the shaft longer and ground it to except DD ujoints and it worked out nicely

http://www.classicparts.com/1947-59-.../#.WE3cDC0rI_M

[Jemezcrusher]

I was thinking if i put a sleeve in the firewall for the column to slip in to, I don't need an extra bearing except in the column. SHould be able to go straight to the rack with universal joints

[Russell Ashley]

Take a look at this from summit.. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/clp-cp175bcs

[GreasyLikeaBurger]

Some on this site have used this one with good success.

http://www.ecklerstrucks.com/chevy-t...1947-1959.html

[mr48chev]

A 1635 2RS ball bearing is .75 inside, 1.75 outside and 1/2 inch wide. I haven't tried it yet but that looks to fit. Around 10 bucks from

A person may need to set up the column tube for a set screw to hold it in place though.

After studying the one from Summit a bit it does have the advantage of holding the shaft in place But I think a guy can work around that pretty easily with a pair of 3/4 inch lock collars. You might want more than one set screw to hold the bearing in place though.

[1958Warrior]

You can do it yourself for about $6 and about 30 min. of your time.

Buy a R12ZZ bearing (metal shielded) about $3 on ebay. (3/4"x1-5/8"x 7/16")
A 7/8"washer ( I believe that was the size I used od is the same as column )

After you have your column cut to length (with the shaft longer than the column)
cut 5 slits equally spaced about an inch to inch and a quarter long up the column with a cut off wheel,
bend the tabs out slightly to accept the bearing, insert the bearing and bend the tabs back
down ,and place a 7/8" washer at the end and tac weld it to retain the bearing , you can tac weld up the slits just go slow so not to damage the bearing. Ezzy Pezzy.

If you have a exhausts pipe expander you should be able to expand it, but you want it to be snug inside the column.

[dsraven]

there are also flanged bearings that can probably be sourced with your dimensions. if you need to find a smaller o/d try the size of the column tube down near the box where the tube narrows. then just shorten the main column tube by the same amount as the length of the lower piece you will be welding on, and weld the lower piece onto the shortened upper piece. use a pipe/tubing cutter to get the tubing cut square for a good fit. if you have found a non flanged bearing that fits for cheap, you can make an abbutment groove in the column, upstream of the bearing (so a stopper for the bearing to butt against) by taking the sharp edge off a pipe cutter wheel with a bench grinder or whatever (us an old worn out cutting wheel) then use that "new" cutter wheel in the pipe cutter to make a "tight spot groove" in the column above the bearing.make sure you are just grooving the column tube and not cutting it. install the bearing and shaft etc and when done use a bearing collar on the steering shaft, drawn up tight against the new bearing, with a set screw to keep the shaft in the right spot.

as far as a DD machine on the shaft, there is a kit I seen somewhere that gives a paper cut out pattern you wrap around your steering shaft, mark the shaft where the pattern indicates, then remove pattern and grind the shaft down to match the marks. better than a weld on because it comes apart (in my view). try the power steering upgrade kit instructions at classic? maybe where i seen that.

for the column support at the floor, try a flat piece of metal screwed down to cover over the old hole in the floor. weld on an "L" shaped piece that will fit against the side of the column tubing and then use a gear clamp, exhaust band clamp or exhaust u bolt clamp to secure the column to the new part . seal the thing up with a rubber gasket and/or some paintable seam sealer when you are done. if you wanted to get fancy or make it easy to get apart later, you can make the flat sheet in two pieces that overlap (good use for the flange tool if you have one). use some crimp nuts on the floor so the attachment method is less barbaric than screws when working in that area from the other side of the firewall, and it is a little fancier looking. take a look at the cpp site for a 55-57 chev car steering column floor plate for an idea of what it looks like.
http://www.classicperform.com/Store/1955_1970_Full...

[1958Warrior]

One other important tip.... Before grinding/milling the DD flats make sure your wheels are straight and your steering wheel is centered. Then mark where your flats should be.

The bearing only needs about .025 thousandths to fit into the column , so when I said slightly bend the tabs out, I meant slightly.

[Jemezcrusher]

Originally Posted by 1958Warrior

One other important tip.... Before grinding/milling the DD flats make sure your wheels are straight and your steering wheel is centered. Then mark where your flats should be.

The bearing only needs about .025 thousandths to fit into the column , so when I said slightly bend the tabs out, I meant slightly.

Picked up that bearing today and see that it is just slightly larger than the ID of the column. So, when you talk about cutting the tabs, you mean cuts running up the column an inch or so. With the column I mean, not across it. Don't want to sound stupid, just want to make sure I understand.

If the expander method is used, I'm sure caution needs to be used to avoid getting it too big, but does avoid the welding operation

[Jemezcrusher]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

A 1635 2RS ball bearing is .75 inside, 1.75 outside and 1/2 inch wide. I haven't tried it yet but that looks to fit. Around 10 bucks from

A person may need to set up the column tube for a set screw to hold it in place though.

After studying the one from Summit a bit it does have the advantage of holding the shaft in place But I think a guy can work around that pretty easily with a pair of 3/4 inch lock collars. You might want more than one set screw to hold the bearing in place though.

I bought a 1635 2RS and it is a bigger diameter than the 12RZZ mentioned above. The ZZ is a closer fit

[dsraven]

good catch there on the steering line up before grinding those double D's.

[Tod59]

Good information here on this topic. Can someone please post some pictures of the procedure? Maybe step-by-step? A little hard for me to visualize the splitting process of the one inch cuts on the old shaft.

Thanks

[1958Warrior]

Yes cut the slits up the column, about an 1-1/4" , just enough for the bearing to fit inside, then tac the tabs back down to the washer, the column thickness is really to thin to use a set screw to try to retain the bearing. You probably could use some seam sealer to seal up the slits but I just went ahead an tac welded them up. Just remember to go SLOW so not to over heat the bearing.

Tod59 I didn't take any pics when I did mine, I cut the column and shaft off about 2" above the stock steering box. Remove the shaft from the column . Then cut the column to what length will work for your application ( I did a Camaro clip) 2" worked for me. I used a thin cut off wheel on a angle grinder to cut the slits in the column NOT the shaft. Shaft will be longer than the column , and will need flats ground to accept a DD ujoint, but you do that very last after your sure your steering wheel and wheels are all lined up.

[1958Warrior]

My column ended up being 32" , with my Camaro clip, was not able to fix that in above post .

[Jemezcrusher]

Originally Posted by 1958Warrior

Yes cut the slits up the column, about an 1-1/4" , just enough for the bearing to fit inside, then tac the tabs back down to the washer, the column thickness is really to thin to use a set screw to try to retain the bearing. You probably could use some seam sealer to seal up the slits but I just went ahead an tac welded them up. Just remember to go SLOW so not to over heat the bearing.

Tod59 I didn't take any pics when I did mine, I cut the column and shaft off about 2" above the stock steering box. Remove the shaft from the column . Then cut the column to what length will work for your application ( I did a Camaro clip) 2" worked for me. I used a thin cut off wheel on a angle grinder to cut the slits in the column NOT the shaft. Shaft will be longer than the column , and will need flats ground to accept a DD ujoint, but you do that very last after your sure your steering wheel and wheels are all lined up.

Got any tips for pulling the upper column bearing? My horn wire is original and probably needs replacing. The shop manual calls for a bearing puller but am wondering if someone has a shade tree method for getting it out

[dsraven]

I remember replacing the one in my buddies '54 but don't remember any special tools. it was straight forward enough so I don't remember having issues. no new vocabulary......

[1958Warrior]

Mine came out pretty easy also, it is in a brass sleve inserted in the column , I would spray some penetrating oil (PB BLASTER is some good stuff) inside the column give it a few minutes , take a broom stick or equivalent (NOT METAL) insert it in the column to tap it out from the bottom. That brass sleeve has some rubber on it to keep it from grounding out and sounding the horn. The horn wire is soldered to the lower edge of the brass sleeve .
Now if you want to replace the bearing itself inside the sleeve , I'm not sure if it can be driven out without damaging the brass sleeve it also has rubber around it I believe to keep it from grounding don't remember on mine, but just by looking at the pic. See Pic here:

http://www.classicparts.com/1960-66-...tinfo/76-813/#

Come to think of it a person probably could use a upper bearing for a lower also, if he just had a extra one on hand, and use a few small screws to hold it in the lower column.

[1958Warrior]

Found this online has some good info and pics on cutting and reusing stock column, however they do not add a lower bearing I guess because the power steering box used is supporting the shaft, hope it helps someone.

And the CCP floor plate shown in the article would be easy to Fab/reproduce


http://www.hotrod.com/articles/power...traight-axles/

[1958Warrior]

Hey Jemezcrusher any update ?

[Jemezcrusher]

Got a little distracted due to the holidays. Put the column back in so I can determine the proper length. I am considering the splitting method. Will put a bearing collar on both sides of the lower bearing and before the washer install on the bottom. Not positive about the collars as I would not be able to get the shaft out later if I wanted to.

As a follow up, the upper bearing came out very easy after a treatment of Kroil. Might replace that as it is a bit sloppy, but not sure how tight it is to start with

[Hampshire]

As a follow up, the upper bearing came out very easy after a treatment of Kroil. Might replace that as it is a bit sloppy, but not sure how tight it is to start with

...it is sloppy to begin with - as I discovered when I replaced mine with a "new' bearing. That's why I eventually replaced my column with an Ididit standard (non tilt) hot rod column. Another outfit (an Ididit dealer) modified the column so I could use a 54-55 steering wheel. A nice extra was getting self cancelling turn signals.

[Jemezcrusher]

Originally Posted by Hampshire

...it is sloppy to begin with - as I discovered when I replaced mine with a "new' bearing. That's why I eventually replaced my column with an Ididit standard (non tilt) hot rod column. Another outfit (an Ididit dealer) modified the column so I could use a 54-55 steering wheel. A nice extra was getting self cancelling turn signals.

Looks cool. Is that a T5 tranny? If so, what shifter did you use

[Hampshire]

It's a Tremec TKO 600 with a Hurst stick on a mid-shift kit. Very sturdy.