I finally decided to stop fighting the factory power steering in my '68 and switch to the Borgeson. the problem I’ve ran into is the rag joint. the car has a tilt column and I haven’t found an adapter that looks like it will work. has anyone else done a conversion on a tilt column car? if so, how did you get around this?
Edited for full thread.
Is the Borgeson conversion set up for a fixed column? If so, the easiest way, is to change out the lower shaft of the tilt column to a fixed lower shaft. The only reason for the different tilt shaft, was that the tilt columns had to be assembled with the tilt assembly from the top of the column outer tube. Those plastic pins that hold the upper and lower tubes in suspension are most likely compromised any way. The tubes are a slip fit and are fairly easy to switch.
I had never thought of that, I just assumed they were different. now to find a fixed lower tube…
I’m just using the Borgeson adapter, it came with the conversion kit. You reuse the OEM pitman arm.
Don’t know about your ps pump but check to see if the pressure is correct or you can have leaks on your new steering gear
There was a rag joint adapter in the kit I bought. That’s what I used.
I’m switching out the OEM pump for a Saginaw.
the joint that comes with the kit if for a fixed column, the tilt column I have has a different fitting on the end of the shaft.
I took my original tilt-away rag joint apart and put it back together with parts from both.
Did you grind off the ears on the back of the original joint? or cut the back of the new joint?
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I took apart my original tilt-away rag joint, and used the new rubber and the new piece that fits the Borgeson steering gear and put it together with the portion from the tilt-away joint.
Here’s how I solved the problem. I took the original rag joint apart and had the new half provided in the kit machined to match the original casting (see photos).
additional suggestions for anyone installing one of these in the future:
- remove the steering column from the car - it is very difficult to collapse the column with it in and relatively easy to remove it and do it outside the car
- if you are doing this with the engine in, remove the exhaust manifold to allow access to get the new gearbox in
- if you are replacing the original Ford pump with a new Saginaw pump and have a mechanical fuel pump, spacing on the bracket is critical. I had replaced my original A/C system with a Sanden compressor and the aftermarket A/C bracket was about 1/8 inch thinner, which caused the new P/S bracket to hit the fuel pump.
Hope this helps someone!