steering box

[07Custom]

Alright, I just picked up my steering box from the post office. The idiots have had it there since May 16th. Anyways, I'm looking at it and with your guys' help have found out the right bolts to take off so I can remove my old one. But, now I have a question regarding the pin. Where the steering shaft connects, it only spins so much each way until it stops spinning. I'm assuming that I need to install it with an equal amount of movement each direction. Is there a way to find out exactly where center is, or am I just going to have to spin it all the way in one direction, count how many turns it was and go half way back?

Thanks guys.

 

[4speedfunk]

Pin?

Lock your steering wheel straight before you do anything. Then take some notes on the existing box (digital camera works great). Make sure you put the new box back in at the same clocked position. Most boxes have keyed splines so the pitman arm and the input shaft can only go on in one position.

This is assuming your steering wheel is centered and your front wheels are perfectly straight to begin with.

 

[07Custom]

haha The smaller shaft the steering shaft connects to? Sorry man, I'm no mechanic, but am deciding to do things on my own now. I'll lock the wheel straight and tie it down to make sure it doesn't move. I'm just wondering about the pin. There's a part of it where there's no splines so I'm sure a flat surface slides over that part to lock it in. I should probably make sure there's even amount of movement in each direction before locking anything in right?

 

[4speedfunk]

Well...you're dealing with something custom there, so the normal rules for "swapping an H3 steering rack" don't apply anymore. The stock H3 intermediate shaft has a whats called a female "double-D coupler". It has two flats on it and no splines. It also has a pinch-bolt that fits into a groove on the input shaft (pin). The idea is that the two flats along with the pinch bolt will make it impossible to come loose, or slip on the steering rack input shaft. Also the stock intermediate shaft has a small slip-shaft built into it (notice the rubber bellows sleeve), that allows you to shorten the shaft by shoving the coupler rearward during a rack swap...a nice feature. This feature is also there so that during a front impact, the shaft collapses and absorbs the blow thus saving your face from being pierced by a steel javelin. Ouch.

Here's a photo of an H3 steering shaft (bottom) along side a Nissan shaft (top). The rubber boot can be seen on the Hummer shaft, and it gives you approx. an 1.5" of slip to allow a steering box change. The corrugated part of the Nissan shaft is NOT rubber, its actually steel...and it is made that way to collapse in an crash. It has no "slip" built into it. Whatever you got...it probably looks like either of these...
View attachment 4938

Here's what the coupler ends look like. Double-D on the Hummer (right), and splined on the Nissan (left)...
View attachment 4939

Now...since you got something custom, you might be dealing with any number of issues. Obviously your steering box input shaft (pin) has splines on it, so somebody has somehow modified the connection between the box and the shaft. This can be done several ways...none of which matters if you are simply doing a same-to-same steering box swap. So, we'll assume that all of the shaft work has been done for you. One thing to keep in mind is...you might not have a slip shaft anymore. If this is the case...you'll want to put the collar on the steering box shaft before you bolt the box to the frame. Otherwise...you'll not have any "wiggle room" to get it installed afterwards. I believe Toyotas have a spline pattern with a master spline, (a big tooth on the splines that properly indexes the connection)...so you can only install it in one position. Same might be true for the splines on the pitman arm as well.

After you get the box swap done...its very possible your steering wheel will be off-center. If so...center your steering wheel, and make any adjustments to the front wheels by using the tie-rod ends. Of course you'll want to get a professional alignment as well. Always use Loctite on the pinchbolt, and any other steering bolts! Thats pretty much it.

In the rare case that your spline indexing is WAY different on the new box...you may have to do some mods to the intermediate shaft to compensate for it. That's another topic all together. Lets hope that you can swap the box without any issues. Keep us posted.

 

[07Custom]

Wow, this thing has gotten dirty and full of oil recently! Good thing I'm replacing it soon haha But this is the general setup. If you need more angles let me know.

 

[07Custom]

And...the newER box wire brushed, painted and ready to go in.

 

[4speedfunk]

Okay. I think what you got there is a Hummer intermediate shaft that has been modified. I can't tell for sure (tubing in the way) but, it looks like the stock H3 DD coupler has been cut-off and the Toyota coupler welded-on to the forward end of it. All things considered...not a bad idea. The only issue with doing this is that the small u-joint of the coupler is sealed and cannot be re-greased. So care must be taken during welding to keep the u-joint cool, and not boil the grease out of it. That's why Flaming River and Borgenson use set-screws and jamb-nuts on their aftermarket u-joints. Anyway...check that little u-joint for any slop while you got it apart. Even a teeny-tiny bit of slop will feel like a bunch up at the steering wheel.

This was probably a back-yard job because most fabricators & welders won't touch a steering shaft for liability reasons. Regardless...there's nothing wrong with cutting and welding steering shafts, and it looks very similar to what I plan to do with the Nissan box. The nice thing is...all of that messy stuff is done for you! It appears the stock slip-shaft is still in place, so you can simply unbolt the coupler from the box and shove the shaft rearward. This will give you plenty of room to get the new box bolted-up.

Take a few minutes in the middle of your swap to compare the boxes side-by-side. Make sure both the input splines, and pitman arm splines are identical on the new box. Logic says they should be but, on a heavily-modded rig like yours...you never know until you know.