Collapsable intermediate steering shaft

[FAKKY]

57 Task Force.

Going to keep the stock steering column for now attached to a new IFS.
But would like to add a little safety with a collapsable.

Any ideas of what would work orderable online ? Not sure this is a part I want to scour junkyards for given how far I have to travel.

I've seen these but honestly dont get how they work ... unless the 3/4 slides in the 1" (i.e the 1" is hollow)

http://www.jegs.com/i/Borgeson/153/4...AG4RoCuDvw_wcB

Any others ?

[FAKKY]

Looks like it's a 1" hollow with a 3/4" solid .....but really made for a steering column ....not intermediate

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by FAKKY

Looks like it's a 1" hollow with a 3/4" solid

yes, I just installed this on my truck and that is what it is. there is a groove machined in the 3/4 solid and pins in the 1" hollow to keep everything aligned and tight, not just a solid in a hollow. I will spin the wheel and take a picture.

make sure you measure measure measure for the correct starting length, you ideally want at least 5-6" of collapse (borgeson says to extend it all the way and make the length right, I am not sure if my steering shaft needs to collapse 12" because any impact that serious will likely give me entire sets of other problems)

[franken]

Probably need to know what you have to start with. I guess a something diameter round shaft going to a manual or PS box w/ a rag joint? Diameter and spline count on the box?
To make the one in the link work, you'd need a flex joint at the end of the column, weld it to the end of the existing shaft after shortening, or mill/grind/file a D into the shortened existing shaft and use a solid coupling.

Or maybe shorten the existing shaft, have a flat of X length milled in it, and use the female part of the linked shaft, or snag one from the scrapyard.

Personally I'd check the specs and see if a scrapyard Cherokee shaft (or parts) would work...

[joedoh]

here is a picture I found online of the groove

[FAKKY]

Thanks.
Did you use it as your main column shaft ...... or intermediate.

I think they make two sizes ....... (borgeson).

Other one I found was
http://www.parrautomotive.com/index....255/prd255.htm

[joedoh]

mine is from the 1" DD at the bottom of the column to the 30 spline at the box. I bought two u joints, a 1DD to 1DD and a 3/4DD to 30spline to install it.

I think you are asking if the shaft can replace the shaft inside your column and that answer is, not to my knowledge. The way I have seen stock columns adapted to modern steering boxes is to cut the outer tube of the column shorter so its just outside the firewall and leave the original shaft a few inches longer, then install a bearing at the bottom of the tube so the shaft is supported and grind the shaft into a DD so a u joint can be attached.

I dont know how you would replace the inside shaft with a collapsible shaft but I tell you, the guys here are pretty smart and have seen every variety of crazy before, so I will hesitate to say its not possible because the law of the internet says someone will post immediately after saying "actually..."

[FAKKY]

Well that helps.

I figured being 36" extended or whatever it had to be for the column and not really for the intermediate - which is what I really want and seems what you did . Thanks.

So basically just fully extend it, measure it ..... and cut it and get the right adapters.

[whitedog76]

Wouldn't a rag joint have the same effect? Rubber joint separates in the event of a an accident.

I pulled a steering shaft assembly out f an 03 van. It has a rag joint, a DD joint and 2 other joints. Should be easy o modify.

[FAKKY]

Mainly ....

If I can get to a yard easy enough sometime I might see whats available. I have to get my hydroboost and engine sometime ....... But in this case I need to get going on wheels and steering to move my vehicle for firewall/frame paint.

So just a timing thing.

but also ....


https://www.borgeson.com/xcart/home.php?cat=16

"Flexible couplings are only available in steel and should only be used when there is a perfect alignment between the connecting shaft and steering box."

I dont have a straight shot ....... so ujoint it is.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by FAKKY

Mainly ....

If I can get to a yard easy enough sometime I might see whats available. I have to get my hydroboost and engine sometime ....... But in this case I need to get going on wheels and steering to move my vehicle for firewall/frame paint.

So just a timing thing.

but also ....


https://www.borgeson.com/xcart/home.php?cat=16

"Flexible couplings are only available in steel and should only be used when there is a perfect alignment between the connecting shaft and steering box."

I dont have a straight shot ....... so ujoint it is.

yeah mine is almost perfectly straight. (before cutting)

[_Ogre]

adding a little safety is disc brakes
steel dash, 1 inch wide s curved A pillar and a 2 inch wide B pillar make these trucks as about unsafe as you can get
i rolled my 1st 58 back in 75, the roof and doors collapse like a house of cards
if you want safe buy a new truck

[mr48chev]

Well the first dead person I ever saw that wasn't laying in a casket was a guy who hit a VW bug head on in his 65/66 Mustang and got impaled on the steering column. It wasn't too pretty with that steering shaft sticking almost clear though his chest. I don't blame Fakky in the least for wanting to put a bit of give in the column.

The intermediate shaft between the bottom of the column and the box is easy as those parts are readily available but you either buy a collapsable column that fits or build one that fits and will still collapse.

[FAKKY]

Yeah thanks guys
I really don't know how much safety it adds given age of truck like ogre says .... But for $60 or less depending ..... Feel better about about having it like the other guys mention.

If I can grab one used easy enough I will .... But the only yard I really like going to is 45 mins away .... There are 5-6 much closer .... But the drama over a $20 part at those might just order it....

Thx for info

[mr48chev]

The cost of gas and the cost of time sometimes outweighs getting something cheap or even free.

Case in point I drove 132 Miles in my 454 powered 1 ton dualie flatbed to pick up a 1 ton dualie frame and front suspension and rear springs to use on a 1-1/2 ton 51 we have. I don't intend to use the frame on the build but it was free and came with a clear title in case we decide to use it I have proof that I own it legally. 260 something miles at about 8 mpg ran the cost of the free chassis up a bunch. No Idea of How I didn't get a ticket on the way back for having over 7 ft of truck frame hanging out the back almost 8 ft.

[Fiftee3]

These trucks wil never be as safe as today's trucks,cars. We know this. By adding discs, seat belts, collapsing shafts etc, we just help the possibility of a better outcome. With my new build, I even added a third brake light, I hate the look! Will it help? Maybe.
I hit a Buick on a major highway here in Nj years ago on a freshly painted 74 sportster, women crossed three lanes from a gas station, hit her on passenger side at 55mph. Flew over her her after my right arm went threw the window. After a night in the hospital, many stitches and scrubbing tar out of me with tooth brushes I was fine. I was wearing a half helmet. Not a scratch on my face! Point being, yes your truck can roll. But a tire that comes off a truck on the opposite lane cane bounce threw the windshield of your new Silverado.
I put Silverado seats in my 53, hate the look, but with 3 points and headrests? I feel safer.
I too was recommended a collapsible shaft by someone here. Will it help?
I hop I never find out. Here's mine. Good luck to you, and everyone else out there!
BE SAFE...

[Fiftee3]

Sorry, here's pic...

[1project2many]

It is good that people think of safety during a build. It is better if people understand how their trucks will react in an accident and build accordingly. Collapsible columns work with the notion that a portion of the vehicle will collapse in a crash, and the energy of the vehicle will not be reflected as violently through the passengers. Watch this video, especially around 4:26, and see how the entire vehicle crushes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpvCDDtHnKc

Light truck frame rails stopped being two pieces of straight steel in the '60s. The bends behind the engine compartment provide a crush zone in a frontal collision. The engine mounts are constructed to hold the engine in place, the cab mounts are designed stronger to hold the cab in place, and the truck folds in front of the cab. Our trucks with stock frames don't have these zones. Without a frame clip our trucks are much more like a race car with a solid frame than a late model truck with energy absorbing zones. In racing you built a rigid cage structure around the driver and you secure the driver as many ways as you can to restrict movement in a crash. The two approaches are very different.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEnmysbVqBg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siT-SIfOnQw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp85-dBwslE

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

It is good that people think of safety during a build. It is better if people understand how their trucks will react in an accident and build accordingly. Collapsible columns work with the notion that a portion of the vehicle will collapse in a crash, and the energy of the vehicle will not be reflected as violently through the passengers. Watch this video, especially around 4:26, and see how the entire vehicle crushes.

good stuff, thanks!

a million years ago I was into BMWs and a common modification on 74-88 models with mandated railroad tie bumpers (they werent railroad ties but may as well have been for how much spoiling they did to the appearance) was to drill a hole in the bumper shock and push the bumper closer to the body. safety know-it-alls on message boards were incensed, stating their opinions on how this ruined the crashworthiness of the car and all occupants would obviously die horrible mangled deaths if the car was ever in a collision.

what they didnt know and refused to accept is exactly what you are talking about, the car crashworthiness was derived from the CRUMPLE ZONES designed into the body and frame, the federally mandated bumpers were part of a policy to reduce insurance claims from crashes LESS THAN 5MPH. the sleek european installed bumpers would bend and scratch up or damage fenders requiring much higher costs to repair and since <5mph crashes are the most common (ever backed into or driven into a pole? a car? a garage door?) it simply gave a inexpensive way to replace a $40 shock instead of $1000+ fixing paint and chrome. The bumpers, in a crash over 5mph, would not offer any significant protection, and the know-it-alls were selling their snake oil opinions. they sure were hideous though, I had an 88 535is for over 200k and loved everything about that car except the bumpers. today they do the same thing with hidden egg crate material or styrofoam behind plastic bumpers that are formed with heat and have a memory to absorb these little bumps without damage to the body.


and also what you are talking about is one of two reasons why I like using the collapsible shaft. the S10 frame has a crumple zone behind the upper arms, but uses a slip joint from the factory. the second reason is because its pretty foolproof to measure cut and install, very easy to slide it together, get in place, and extend again.

[FAKKY]

Sorry guys hadn't noticed the updates.

Wow those old videos really show the damage that can be done in these older cars. Will definitely have to think about dual shoulder straps and reinforcing the seat attachments down the track.

One thing I notice now that I cut the lower shaft ready to join to the new IFS steering is that it's free to travel completely within the column.
Kinda crazy .... Didn't know it literally just a 1" metal rod attached to a steering wheel via a nut ....

Times have changed