Hey Everyone,

So I am taking my steering box in to get rebuilt and therefore have my column and rag joint out. I'm getting the box rebuilt because of the massive amount of play left in my steering, does a bad rag joint cause play in the steering as well?

So how do I know if I should replace it or not? The one on there now is I believe original (still 2 bolts and 2 rivets, rather than 4 bolts), just as my box and column are. Are the rubber replacement ones good and worth taking the time to drill out the rivets and replace the rag? Attached is a couple pics of the rag joint

Side question: when pulling my column it separated, meaning the shaft that connects to the rag joint/steering box came out of the rest of the column. It looks to be just a basic re-insert press fit type thing, will this be okay to just reset it back into the column as it was? I take it that this is two pieces because 69's have the collapsible column.

 

I'd replace that ring.

 

Yea replace the joint to be safe. They can cause some play in the steering however the majority of play will come from a worn box. Advance auto actually stocks the joints.

 

Is there a definitive way to know if its bad, or is it just one of those things that should be done because it is old and abused?

Also, are the rubber ones fine? I also feel iffy when the replacement parts are made completely different

 

The easiest way to tell, in this case, is the rubber part is swollen and disintegrating, a real piece of dangerous crap. Looks to me like it's about to fall apart and kill you and your wife. The replacements I am familiar with are fiber-reinforced rubber, and look like yours used to look.

 

ya, I have no ida what could happen, but this thing is really ugly to look at. I'd replace that without much of a thought

 

No wife, only 20 Thanks for the advice, I definitely understand why this one needs to be replaced. I compared it to my dads rag joint off of his 428cj (car is stripped at the moment) and his is in MUCH better shape since that car had sat for 15+ years before we got to it. I will be picking up a nice original style replacement from Autozone or O'Reilly's tomorrow.

I spent the majority of today stripping my old rag joint, getting those two rivets out was one of the biggest PITA I've had to deal with on this car. But now it is all stripped, blasted, primed and will be receiving a nice coat of paint tomorrow.

 

You could replace it with a poly bushing. That's what I used, the vibration increase was negligible.

 

Yeah, I figured it was a case of you didn't know what it was supposed to look like.


My Dad's Lincoln came from the factory with a urethane ring. One day it shattered, leaving him with about 1/4 turn of play in the steering, pretty scary in a 7,000 pound car. We put a rubber one in, and it was perfect.

 

The rubber ones fail too. And the way the joint system is designed, if the ring fails totally the plate on the steering shaft should butt against the posts on the box collar. It actually does that in normal operation anyway when you turn far enough, the joint is just there for some vibration isolation.

Mine in the Mustang is less than 1/8th of a turn in either direction before it butts, did the Lincolns use a different joint? (which wouldn't surprise me as much as Ford loved to switch crap around)