my whacked column rebuild

[Mr Clean]

It's really a shame I didn't see this thread sooner. I have probably enough spare parts to built two or three columns. I'm not far from you either. I have to work out of Shreveport every once and a while. My wife and I use to go to Shreveport before all the covid crap for Supper, or shopping. If you need anything or some parts...I kinda know something about Squarebodies....

 

[Dave M]

@Raider L , look at your keyboard above the number "2" key. Press the shift button and hit the "2" key for the @ sign then type the name you are trying to reach. You GOT this!! I just turned 72 a week ago so you will get this!!!!

Hey I'm 58 and l didn't know how that worked either, thank you for sharing this.

 

[idahovette]

@Dave M This forum has been a great learning experience, not only the knowledge of Square Bodies(and "other" bodies), but also learning a few things about the capabilities of myself!!! Just goes to show if I can do it, it aln't ROCKET SCIENCE!!!!!!!

 

[Raider L]

Mr Clean,

Well alright. Yeah, my wife works in Marshall. She's a Speech Pathologist at that first little elementary school off of 80 on the way into town from there.

 

[Raider L]

Okay, well today since it was so warm here it got up to 72 today, I figured it would be a perfect time to clean up the intermediate shaft. Uug, what a mess taking that coupler apart. Here's what the boot looks like on mine.

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It's badly split open almost all the way around.

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This is that bad ass split band clamp. This one has flat fingers that don't stand up at all. I used a small part of channel lock pliers and finally got it to move off the boot.

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This photo is the pin that carries the small blocks on each end that guide it down the shape of the coupler. I couldn't figure out how to get this off and went on line and found out it has to be pressed out the end of the shaft. Once that's done I can get the clamp and old boot off and the new one on. Then I'll press that pin back in. One You Tube guy said to measure how far out the pin sticks out on each side and it is .515" on each side, for what it's worth. I think so long as it looks even it's alright.

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Here's all the other parts cleaned up and they were okay. Now, here's the question: Why is there so damn much grease in the coupler? If you think about how little those blocks move inside the coupler they aren't going anywhere. They don't spin or are moving up and down constantly so I'm thinking I'll put some grease on those blocks and the groove shape of the coupler and put it together, screw it.
Mine was so full of grease that after some years the headers put so much heat in the engine compartment there, grease was oozing out of the splits of the boot that it was dripping down on the upper A arm and the frame right there below the coupler. I'll have a job cleaning that all up. It's on the top of the shock and everywhere down there

I went to two or three Chevy websites and found a company that makes the boot called "Inline Tube" and the part number is INL 12240 If anyone would like to take a look. It says it goes to a '70 Chevelle but I found another site that had one that said it goes to a '68 GTO. The same one is on Ebay to so the correct boot is available. Don't get the aftermarket one's that attaches to the shaft on the outside of the coupler, and has a bellows look to them. Those things are not factory looking and don't go on the shaft like factory. The one I'm getting is the factory looking one's. Those attach on the inside with the band clamp and the coupler slides down and covers it like it's supposed to go.

 

[Raider L]

See how the boot on mine is facing on the shaft? It's facing in towards the coupler, not away from it as the aftermarket ones do. and mine is clamped facing the coupler and not facing down the shaft where you can put some kind of clamp on the shaft out in the open.

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When you look at the end of the boot as assembled on the shaft installed in the coupler, that end of the boot on the shaft looks like a donut facing out. If you go to those sites that have the factory ones for sale, that's what you see, it looks like a donut and that's the one's you want.

 

[Raider L]

Okay people, which do you think would look better (stock) painted, or unpainted? I already painted the coupler (I can always strip the paint off)

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But now, the shaft. Paint or leave it with a natural patina (by the way I hate that word, "patina")

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"You mean RUST!"

 

[Raider L]

Well, I finally got my turn signal cam(s) tonight , but take a look at this package. Are they sure this isn't NOS?

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This package is literally worn out like it's been drug around and in and out of boxes for a long time, years.

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Here's a pic of the back. Like it's been taped and stuff, and it's dirty and marked on for something, ha, ha, ha.
Heuy, I got them, now I can finish my column....yeh!

 

[Raider L]

If anyone would like to see how to assemble the turn signal cam here are some photos I put together. The package I got had two cams and one set of springs. One cam was for some other vehicle and the other was for my type.

First you install the new springs. There is a Left and a Right spring. they go in only one way so you can't get them wrong. Fit the short wire into the hole and lift the long wire up over the little arm and usiong a small screw driver push the long wire through the space of the little finger and once you push it down far enough, it will pop into place.

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[Raider L]

On this cam, it came blank and had to have the signal plates on the back put on the new cam.
Each plate is attached with small bends on the ends of the arms on the backside of the slots made for them.

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In this photo you can see the bent ends of the arms how they clasp the back of the slot.

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Gently lift up on the end of the plate at the arm you want to remove with a small screw driver like one of those pocket screw drivers as shown here.

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And remove the plate. Take the little springs out of the old cam and put them in the holes of the new cam. They are kinda long but don't drop them, you'll never find them if your shop floor looks like mine.

 

[Raider L]

Put the springs into the holes in the new cam.

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Then put the plate onto the springs and at the same time ease the arms down into the slots. Then with equal pressure push down on the plate far enough so the bent ends of the arms lock into the back of the slots on the back.

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This is what it should look like with the plates installed onto the new cam. A little gentle Scotchbrite on the plates will give them new contact and will look better if they are shiny.

Next I will show how to get those flat spring plates onto the turn signal switch.

 

[Raider L]

This is the assembly of the flat springs. I found out that I couldn't put the top flat spring in first because I couldn't get the bottom larger spring in and swing the end of it over the attachment place with the top one in the way. So, the bottom flat spring is hooked behind the end post. The end of this spring has these finger pads so you can push on it and get the slotted end of the spring onto the attachment point post that sticks out. When you look at how it goes on you can see how it hooks onto the post.

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Next is the thin flat spring and it has these bent ends that just hook over the edge of the posts. You can see why you have to put the larger flat spring on first because you have to swing the slotted end of the larger spring over the top smaller flat spring, and you can't do it, it's in the way. So this smaller thin flat spring goes on second.

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You can see now what it looks like on the left side of this above photo how the hooked end of the top spring is attached. See how the round finger pads are in front of the top thin flat spring.

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And don't forget the turn signal lever nut, above photo, that goes in the hex shaped hole in the back of the switch plastic. Push it all the way in and the round base sits inside the shaped part of the hole in the switch plastic. Now you can screw the turn signal assembly onto the front housing.

 

[Raider L]

Screw turn signal switch assembly to the upper housing. Make sure the emergency light switch part

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is showing on the right side 4:00 o'clock position window. The above photo is also showing the turn signal lever is installed.

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On the shaft, just on the grooves for the lock plate is that "band" I have refered to that I found in my Camero Haynes book that called it a "thrust washer", whatever.

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this photo shows next the spring, and the horn contact/cancelling cam.

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This is that tool that you have to have to get the lock plate on so you can replace the lock plat retaining ring. (And don't forget to put the lock ring on before you put this tool on, otherwise you'll have to take it off so you can put the ring on and then reinstall this tool.) Did that happen to me?? NAAAAW!

IMPORTANT!! When you are putting the lock plate on look at where it goes on the shaft, closely.
On the shaft where the lock plate goes you will see that the grooves are all the same narrow size except for one, and it is wide.
Now, look at the center hole of the lock plate and you will see teeth around the edge of the center hole.
They are all spaced equally apart except there is a wide space.
This wide space between the teeth in the center hole goes onto the shaft lined up with the wide place on that part of the shaft.
If you encounter resistance while applying the tool this spacing may be off on the lock plate and the shaft grooves, and may become jammed onto the shaft and may be difficult to get off.
As you are applying that tool, if the lock plate is on properly it will slide easily all the way down to where it needs to go in order to install the lock ring.

 

[Raider L]

@bucket,

I tried what you were saying about the horn contact/cancelling cam pushes the turn signal cam off the detent as you turn the steering wheel back. After I put the switch and all on the column I tried to make the cam come off it's detent, say, in a Left turn. Since the steering shaft is loose I can spin it. So I put the signal to make a Left turn, turned the shaft far enough to make a Left turn and then turned the shaft back, and kept turning it while watching in there where the cams are and it never did come off the detent. I had to lift the lever up to unmake the switch.

So unless something else happens when the steering wheel is on, I can't see where that happens. I shinned a flashlight in there while slowly turning the shaft with the lever in both Left and Right turn positions and the cancelling cam doesn't come anywhere near anything in there. It must be magic then. I looked at the exploded view in my maint. book to see if somehow I left something out. Better to catch it now while I have it right there than wait until it's in the truck. I knew I didn't leave anything out. And what you said made perfect sense, but something else is happening I don't see because I couldn't get it to cancel.

 

[Raider L]

Note to all following this rebuild:

I know the way I'm showing this rebuild seems rather elementary, but I'm not doing it this way for guys like you and me, gee I took my whole truck apart, modified it and put it all back together by my self. A friend painted it, and another friend rebuilt the engine, had a machine shop do all the machining, and stuff like that, and I helped some with that to learn myself. I've owned a dozen cars and trucks and they were all old and had to work on all of them.

No, I'm doing this because there are still young guys who have bought their first old truck and don't know much about it. And I'm glad they are out there, and there are places like this forum they can come to asking for help. Because when the young don't care anymore about old trucks and we die, they may all be gone after that and our hard work will end up in the wrecking yard. That is unless the tree huggers declare them all a danger to the environment, and melt all the metal down and make windmills out of our Square's.