WHAT NOW? How's this come off??

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pastortom1

pastortom1

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I'm changing out the steering bells from auto column to auto floor style.....Got this far, pretty self explanatory......removed a rigid outer snap ring, a loose fit inner snap ring, and came to this monstrosity under all the switches and junk.

I can see no way to get it off......tried prying lightly from behind while applying a light hammering to the steering nut.....didn't move.....No snap ring in sight....I have to get this off before proceeding to the bells I need to get off!

WHAT DO I DO, OH WISE AND LEARNED ONES??? :dontknow:

I assume this is the "Ignition Lock Plate", or something close.

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there is a pin,like a roll pin that holds that plate on.of course its impossible to get to with the steering shaft still in the column.Your gonna have to take the column out,take it totally apart.its fun i can assure you,if you like cussing,beating,etc.You have to cut the shifter arm off,the part that sticks out in the engine compartment,not the top,to get it apart.Thats how i did it anyways.
 
I just went through this Myself.:banghead:
The factory puts a tin ring around the shaft .Thus obscurring the roll pin holding the steering locking plate on.(You can actually see the gap in the photo you'll notice the lock plate is gold colored as is the innner ring but there's a thin steel shell around that.That's the ring you've gotta remove).
I cut through mine with a cold chisel .According to the manual your supposed to use a special tool to remove the pin.I used a punch .Then installed a new pin when I reassembled everything.
 
Thanks Mullinax.....You're a peach you are............

I twisted the outer sleeve off easily.......I got to the pin, but it's NOT a roll pin..........it's a stinking drift pin..........nearly a quarter inch in diameter and all the way through..........

I've tried with bruised knucks already to get it pounded out.......In the magazine spread they show it being pounded with the column OUT of the car......but that's what I wanted to avoid.........

The game is practically WON here guys.........all I gotta do is GET THAT PIN OUT............How 'bout a little fire, Scarecrow? Will heating it allow it to move a little? (awkward place to apply heat, I assure ya'...).............

It's simple really.....If I remove the entire column, which this endeavor was to avoid, I could drive the pin out at the vise easily.........I want to drive it out where it IS...........that's me.

Any suggestions? (and don't get smart...............) :poke:
 
I think I'm gonna try a drift (punch) on the end of an air chisel (for lack of an air hammer..)........I'll bet I can drive that booger out.....

....Now if I can just find that duct tape..........................
 
70Duster 440 helped me with this just the other day. I removed the tin ring with a very small pick and the rest came off easily. The pin I punched through with a phillips head screwdriver and a hammer. Hope this helps before you take the whole thing apart.
 
I probably got to this thread too late to be of any help, but I've done this several times. The pin you are wrestling with has grooves running half its length that dig in once driven flush. The pin appears to have a slight taper, smooth on the narrow end and grooved on the wide end. The trick is to find the slightly narrow smooth end and drive it out the opposite direction, otherwise, you will be trying to drive the wider grooved end deeper into the hole through the shaft, making it tighter.

That make sense?

You might try using a C-clamp with a small diameter 3/8" drive socket (maybe 3/32") on one side and a larger diameter on the opposite side (maybe 1/2"). Pressing the small socket on the narrow end of the pin will force it out the opposite side into the hollow of the larger socket. Just a thought. It worked on the steering coupling pin.

Jerry
 
If this is a solid pin is it a taper pin ? If so make sure your driving it the correct way !Otherwise you'll wedge it in there even more.
I'd soak it well with a good penetrant like kroil or PB blaster.
Have a friend supprt the shaft with maybe a big cresent wrench so the shaft does not flex that way all the force will drive the pin out when you wail on it.
Good luck !
 
jomoper said:
If this is a solid pin is it a taper pin ? If so make sure your driving it the correct way !Otherwise you'll wedge it in there even more.
Click to expand...

Ha, Ha, Jomoper, beat ya to it. I think that is actually the problem with getting the pin out. It needs to go out in one direction.

Jerry
 
Well, it's just about flush on one side, and sunk in a little on the other.......My assumption would be that the flush side is the larger if it's tapered. Comments?
 
pastortom1 said:
Well, it's just about flush on one side, and sunk in a little on the other.......My assumption would be that the flush side is the larger if it's tapered. Comments?
Click to expand...
Yep. Knock it out the drivers window (glass down). LOL
 
That would be my guess. A couple of good taps and you'll know. If it is the right direction, you'll begin to see the longitudinal grooves I mentioned. If not, it will probably start getting tighter. Look very closely and you might be able to just barely see the grooves from one end.

Of course, that's all "out the window" if someone has already replaced the pin with a different type.
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Jerry
 
I can barely see the grooves on the side that's sunk a little........

Taps don't work in either direction.....I've hit this so hard I thought the end of the hammer was gonna fly off........That thing is in there but good.......

I'm gonna put a big C-Clamp on there with a short drift on one end and a socket on the other and try to press it out.......if it works good, I'll weld up a special tool and leave it in the drawer for future projects.

I might as well keep busy in the garage.......that storm is headin' this way with a lot of rain..........darn thing gained strength over LAND this morning.....a real freaky storm........

......still haven't found my snorkel.......
 
pastortom1 said:
I can barely see the grooves on the side that's sunk a little........

Taps don't work in either direction.....I've hit this so hard I thought the end of the hammer was gonna fly off........That thing is in there but good.......

I'm gonna put a big C-Clamp on there with a short drift on one end and a socket on the other and try to press it out.......if it works good, I'll weld up a special tool and leave it in the drawer for future projects.

I might as well keep busy in the garage.......that storm is headin' this way with a lot of rain..........darn thing gained strength over LAND this morning.....a real freaky storm........

......still haven't found my snorkel.......
Click to expand...

Do you have tornado sounders there pastortom1?
You be safe and let me get that pin out for ya!!:angel10::blob::naka:
 
Quote:

Ha, Ha, Jomoper, beat ya to it. I think that is actually the problem with getting the pin out. It needs to go out in one direction.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Yeah I type slow LOL:tard:

Any luck yet ?
I deal with these things all the time I work on German made printing equipment and the engineers love to use taper pins because the machining aspect is relatively simply=cheap as things dont have to be indexed prior to assembly.just assemble it in a jig drill hole ream it for the taper and drive the pin in while the metal's still hot .Therein lies the problem the metal cools and shrinks around the pin holding it tight. Sometimes we'll drill down the center of the pin to allow it to collapse a bit. But you've gotta go slow and be careful that the drill doesn't wander.Funny I had the same Idea about the C-clamp. Great minds think alike !
 
to hold the steering wheel to support the shaft helps. If you think that pin is tight you should try removing the pin inside the box coupling. BIG HAMMER for that one.
 
OK............got it licked...........

C-Clamp and socket just won't work....too tight.....I went back to the punch and it came out this time....just a little solvent first (a drop), a couple of taps, and then drove it out....and it IS tapered.

From what I can see, and with all due respect to other opinions, I do NOT believe changing out the whole column would be easier......The ONLY difficult thing about this was the pin, not knowing exactly what it was and how to remove it.

Everything, from start to finish (except the pin), was clearly evident and self-explanatory to a modest mechanical intellect (such as myself....emotional modesty optional). To be honest, if I had all of my tools gathered FIRST, including the proper punch and allen wrench (for the set screw on the inner bell), this job would probably be flat-rated at 1.5 hours, and I could clean and refinish the parts in that amount of time. (I mean 1.5 from old bells to new ones installed and key in).

No joke guys........if it weren't for that stinking tapered pin, this would have been really easy........Just gotta watch the grease on your white buckets.

Now that I've conquered the thing, bring me all of your tired, your oppressed and rejected auto columns, and I'll set them FREE! (no phone calls or e-mails please). #-o (By the way, I used 78 Dodge Truck bells to replace the old ones in the dart Sport). Thanks to the guys who gave me the heads up on that tapered pin!! :cheers:
 
Now, a question for you, oh Enlightened One...

Have you already swapped out all three sections of the housing?
On the third (rearmost) section with the gear select lever, you
tapped out a roll pin and removed the lever. Under that lever was
a set screw holding the housing in place on the tube that has the
shift linkage attached at the bottom. Right so far??

When you replaced the third section with the one from the truck
(smooth, with no shift lever), what did you do about the set screw?
What holds the housing in place? There wouldn't be a hole in its
side to access the set screw (where the shift lever would normally
go). Does the truck rearmost housing have the spring-loaded "remove
key from ignition" feature?

We recently did this same swap on my son's Dart Sport column shift
automatic and installed the housing components from a floor shift column
from a Duster. The third section of the housing has a tension spring inside
and the whole section pivots approximately 10 degrees clockwise to allow
you to remove the ignition key. Is the truck housing different?

Just curious,
Jerry
 
'74 Sport said:
Now, a question for you, oh Enlightened One...

Have you already swapped out all three sections of the housing?
On the third (rearmost) section with the gear select lever, you
tapped out a roll pin and removed the lever. Under that lever was
a set screw holding the housing in place on the tube that has the
shift linkage attached at the bottom. Right so far??

When you replaced the third section with the one from the truck
(smooth, with no shift lever), what did you do about the set screw?
What holds the housing in place? There wouldn't be a hole in its
side to access the set screw (where the shift lever would normally
go). Does the truck rearmost housing have the spring-loaded "remove
key from ignition" feature?

We recently did this same swap on my son's Dart Sport column shift
automatic and installed the housing components from a floor shift column
from a Duster. The third section of the housing has a tension spring inside
and the whole section pivots approximately 10 degrees clockwise to allow
you to remove the ignition key. Is the truck housing different?

Just curious,
Jerry
Click to expand...


No "remove the key" lock arm....I HATE those things.......

The inner bell DOES have an access hole for the set screw...about a 5/16" hole from the factory....good thing too.

Tension spring is the same as well on the column lock...the one for the old lever we just eliminated..........No problem matching everything up.........

Gotta take a break from this now......Been married 30 years today.......I'm cookin' my wife some Chicken Parm from scratch.............

30 years.....:rolleyes:......does that add any to my "enlightenment" ?
 
pastortom1 said:
Tension spring is the same as well on the column lock...the one for the old lever we just eliminated..........No problem matching everything up.........
Click to expand...

When (If) you get a chance (the ol' "Chicken Parmesan Cooked from Scratch on the Anniversary" routine might garner you a late night rendevous with the missus
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), please post a pic or two of the column components. I would like to see the rearmost section and the set screw access hole. It would be nice to be rid of the "push to remove key" feature. I would like to see my options.

Of course, you did say it was your 30th anniversary, so we might be hearing from you very soon.
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Jerry
 
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