steering gear box removal

djpink1947

djpink1947

Member
Has anyone ever removed a steering gear box with the body still on the car? If you did how long did it take you and how long did it take to put it back on? Has anyone ever had their local auto shop do it and how much did that cost? again with the body on. I know you have to remove all the gear shift levers and drop the coluum in the car I've read all this in the manual. Also the headers have to be removed (mine has headers) my shop said around 400 to 500 hundred dollars just to remove and re-install the box and another 250 dollars to have it sent out to be rebuilt. This is getting more and more expensive with each passing day!!!...................... Dave
 
It all depends on the car. I changed out the steering column/gearbox on a Fairlane years ago. Its not that hard to do, just aggravating. If your car has the box made into the column you have to take it out through the bottom in most cases. You have to remove the steering wheel and all the turn signal/shifter mechanism so it will pass through the hole in the floor. So to do that you have to jack up the car pretty high or have it over a bay so that its entire length can can be passed through. Just like anything mechanical on a car, you can do it. Just one step at a time and put it back the way you took it out. It took me all day because I first thought I could pull it out through the interior but such is not the case. Most of my effort was trying to get the car jacked up high enough in my driveway to pull it through.
 
The original Ford steering box with the "deadly spear" never was all that great maybe save up some more cash and go this route:http://www.wurthitdesigns.com/ Another alternative is being done on the H.A.M.B. 1952-56 Ford Social group for less than rebuilding the old box using a Jeep Cherokee power steering box,if you are not a HAMB member send me a pm to join as I am the group moderator (It's Free!)
 
On a 55 sedan like in your avitar removal is as follows, disconnect battery, horn wire near the master cylinder, and turn signal wires at the block below the ignition switch. Remove the nut from the pitman arm and with a pickle fork, seperate. Remove the scuff plate from the left door sill and pull the carpet up to reveal a black painted plate around the steering column. Remove it and the steering wheel, and the column suport from the dash. Remove the bolts holding the gear box to the frame, and twisting same, pull up from inside the car.
 
I've removed gear boxes from many '55, '56 & '57 cars, single and dual exhaust. OEM exhaust manifolds do not require removal to remove gearbox.
Remove horn button by pressing down in the middle and turning counter-clockwise. Disconnect horn wire at the base of the gear box by un-plugging the bullet connector. Pull the horn wire out from the top. Get a steering wheel puller and remove the steering wheel.
Disconnect gear-shift levers at the firewall. Scoot the rubber grommet on the floor upwards along the steering column. Pull the floorcovering back at base of steering column and remove several sheet metal screws (some of the top screws must be removed from the firewall in the engine compartment), then remove the two sheet-metal halves on the floor. Loosen the rubber pad at base of steering column from the floor and pull it a little upward along the column. Remove the two screws that hold the pot metal cover to the dash on top of the column. On Ford-o-matic equipped cars, remove the PRNDL pointer. Disconnect all the turn signal wires by un-plugging them from bullet connectors under the dash.
Remove the two large Phillips screws from the column bracket under the dash and prop the column up with a board. Remove the giant nut that holds the pitman arm to the bottom of the gearbox. Use a pitman arm puller to get the pitman arm off the steering sector shaft. Remove the three bolts that hold the steering gearbox (the bottom bolt may have a locknut on the backside). You can pull the whole column/gearbox assembly out thru the interior of the car. When you pull the column up, you will need to twist and turn the column to one side, then pull the gearbox out thru the hole in the floor, then pull the assembly out of the car. Now you can loosen the bolt on the clamp that holds the column to the gearbox and pull the column off the gearbox.
 
All sounds pretty much straight forward. I currently have everything disconnected but it looks like I would have to remove the exhaust manifold. Waiting for help to arrive at this point and will proceed.
 
I did have to remove exhaust manifold because there was no other way. Fortunately it had been off before I got the car and all the bolts came off without problems. The only issue with reassembly was getting the shifter set up. Car steers great now and will be a pleasure to drive!
 
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