Steering Column Removal

Ok, so I am doing a tub of rebuild of my 1961 CJ5 and the last thing I had left was getting the steering column out some how.

For three hours I tried everything to free the column, but in the end I pulled the steering gear with the column but that still leaves me with some questions. How on earth do you get the column detached from the steering gear? How are you suppose to get the column out (I know might be the same answer)?

I have been working on cars for probably over 20 years and I have never ran into anything that difficult unless it required either a special tool or trick. I am guess there is a trick here

Any idea's?

 

I was in your shoes about a year ago. I struggled for days to get the steering column detached from the steering box. It was hopeless. I eventually cut the column off at the base and ripped out all the guts of the Ross steering box. After the fact i realized it can be done by removing the side plate of the box and using a narrow metal rod and hammer. Try to knock some of the ball bearings out form where the are seated and the comlumn will come loose. Also, try knocking the circular metal seal at the top of the box, base of the shaft out from the inside. This is easier once you get some of the ball bearings loose. Reinstalling all new ball bearings was even more painful. good luck.

 

Inside my steering gear is nothing but red sand and small rocks -I kid you not. But the gear is ok believe it or not.

 

I have a fsm - it was no help at all, I did search and everything I read was very vague. I can't find one person who told or explained how they got theirs out. I took my steering box apart in the jeep and then pulled it out

I will say this but one time and that is all I have to say about it - telling someone to use the search is an extremely bad way to communicate on a forum. People find new ways of doing things, just want to talk, ect - the quickest way to chase people away is to start that. If I had managed to find an old thread and asked something in it people who have been like "Holy thread revival batman". Not too mention it comes a point when there would be no reason to post at all anymore because everything would be covered.

Anyway, to be clear rebuilding the box is not a problem at all - getting it out was and I still don't know the trick to it. I improvised a way but it is completely not a good or effective way to work on the steering. No matter though - I will pull all that stuff out, I will not have something in my car that difficult to work on.

 

It seems to me that the problem is you are trying to do something you're not supposed to do.
The column and steering box are an integral unit (the column shaft is also the worm gear in the box),
and it should be removed and installed as a unit.

 

If i remember right i took off the steering wheel and pulled everything out from underneath then install a saginaw from a newr cj5

 

"telling someone to use the search is an extremely bad way to communicate on a forum"

Bob, I can understand why you might take that badly, but I would urge you not to. I think the search suggestion is good, in the sense that it will often bring up a great depth of archived information that is not always completely covered in the real-time conversation. Think of it as an additional resource, not a brush off.

This forum is the most friendly and useful I know of, on any subject. Howard is one of the wisest and most helpful contributors in my experience.

Give it time and I hope you will find the same. Good luck with the steering, and I am interested in the solution.

 

Not according to the FSM and I do have them apart now, it is not hard once you manage to get it out of the Jeep. But that was actually my question what is the trick to getting it out because I am sure the way I did it was not a good way. It worked but it was pretty hookey

 

Thanks Blevisay, that is exactly what I did and that is by no means easy. But if that is the trick that is the trick - I stumbled upon it by trying different things. To do it the way recommended in that thread takes hours of effort on an old crusty Jeep. I am certain some people can get those steering columns out in like ten minutes, I have seen it done but did not go under to see how. I think that is another reason to remove the stock steering ;P

 

Assuming I did NOT search is the problem. I did and did not find a better answer. I am also not a new user

But look it is fine, I was just mentioning it because it is becoming more and more common on forums for people to get right to that "suggestion" before even trying to help.