It is called the "rag joint". The body shop where I was having my work done
tore mine up twice
trying to move the truck around so when I got it back I bought a U-joint
that has the correct spline on the gear box end and had a smooth bore on the
other end that I welded to the shaft. Never had a problem since.
Terry Stellman
1949 3600
Missouri City, Texas
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bobby D Keeland [SMTP:bob_keeland@usgs.gov]
> Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2001 11:55 AM
> To: oletrucks@autox.team.net
> Subject: [oletrucks] Steering Mechanism
>
> Hello all,
>
> I have a question for the experts. My 51 is still sitting on an 83
> Silverado frame (that is bent) and I need to move it into the barn so that
> I can actually do some work on it. The problem is that part of the
> steering linkage is broken and the local chevy dealer does not even show
> the part that is broken as being available. A friend at work thought that
> the disk looked like something off a Ford.
>
> At the top of the (power) steering box is a yoke that attaches to a
> flexible rubber disk (could this be a rag joint?) that is connected to
> another yoke, then a u-joint, shaft, another u-joint to the steering
> column. I'm not sure how much of this is original and how much was jury
> rigged to connect a steering column through a 51 firewall to a 83 steering
> gearbox. The flexible rubber disk looks like a large washer (3 3/8" outer
> diameter) with 4 equidistant holes through it (plus the hole in the
> middle)
> and has an odd shaped metal piece that bolts to it. The metal piece bolts
> to two holes opposite each other and when the steering wheel is turned the
> metal piece strikes two shafts that come out of the other two holes. It
> looks like the rubber disk reduces vibrations, etc when going in a
> straight
> line, and the metal shaft takes the pressure off of the rubber disk when
> turning the wheels.
>
> I bought a new rubber disk at FLAPS but without the metal plate
> (which
> was mangled beyond repair/recognition) the rubber disk tore out the first
> time I tried to turn the steering wheel. I only need to have this work
> long enough to move the truck into the barn. When I put the 51 body onto
> my 54 3600 frame it is entirely possible that I will have to use something
> else (?) and so I don't really want to do anything that will be very
> expensive. Does anyone on the list have any idea of what I am talking
> about and how to go about repairing this. Any help would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> BobK
> 51 3600 5-window (project)
> 89 F150
> 98 RAM (hers)
> 99 HD Sportster
> Arnaudville, LA
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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