Cheap lower column bearing - floor shift conversion
I thought you guys might be interested in this.
I have always had a column shift column in my car...I had put some 84 Ram floor shift collars on it years ago, but I always felt that there was extra play as a result of the lack of a lower column bearing, and also I thought it was strange that the 3-on-the-tree and floor shift columns all had lower bearings.
If you have looked for them, a factory lower column bearing costs around $85 and is a small bearing in a cheap nylon cover.
I had to replace a few components in my column anyway, so I figured I would get the calipers out and see if I could find something off the shelf that worked well. Turns out my 1970 column had a 2" ID in the outer jacket and a 1" OD shaft. A quick search and I found this SA205-16 pillow block style bearing with a locking collar ( http://www.thebigbearingstore.com/servlet/the-304/SA205-dsh-16-1"-Insert-Bearing/Detail )...$6.53+Shipping...worth a shot.
So fast forward to today.
Excuse the crappy paint (I will fix it), but you get the picture. You will have to completely disassemble the column to install it but it goes on pretty easily. You'll want to put it farther to place it close to the coupler, reassemble the entire column and then adjust it into place against the clip and then lock the collar down. Its nice and smooth turning and the column feels great so far. I'll get it in the car soon.
I thought you guys might be interested in this.
I have always had a column shift column in my car...I had put some 84 Ram floor shift collars on it years ago, but I always felt that there was extra play as a result of the lack of a lower column bearing, and also I thought it was strange that the 3-on-the-tree and floor shift columns all had lower bearings.
If you have looked for them, a factory lower column bearing costs around $85 and is a small bearing in a cheap nylon cover.
I had to replace a few components in my column anyway, so I figured I would get the calipers out and see if I could find something off the shelf that worked well. Turns out my 1970 column had a 2" ID in the outer jacket and a 1" OD shaft. A quick search and I found this SA205-16 pillow block style bearing with a locking collar ( http://www.thebigbearingstore.com/servlet/the-304/SA205-dsh-16-1"-Insert-Bearing/Detail )...$6.53+Shipping...worth a shot.
So fast forward to today.
Excuse the crappy paint (I will fix it), but you get the picture. You will have to completely disassemble the column to install it but it goes on pretty easily. You'll want to put it farther to place it close to the coupler, reassemble the entire column and then adjust it into place against the clip and then lock the collar down. Its nice and smooth turning and the column feels great so far. I'll get it in the car soon.
