There really isn't any kind of correct repair that can be done without removing the shaft. The shaft is not that difficult to remove, it will take a lot less time than you will spend healing if the steering wheel comes off in your hands while driving.
Ok maybe your right? I wonder how much a die like that would cost being I'll probably only use it once?
One company I worked for had an old ARMY "Duece and a half" with a crane mounted on it... The steering wheel nut was missing the whole time we ever used it... It was trailered to the worksite... but we put many miles on it through pwerline right of ways... Sometimes moving between poles, I would pull the wheel off and hand it to the fella riding with me and say "Here, YOU DRIVE"...
We are all well aware of your safe driving expertise Dennis. By the way, I certainly hope nobody tries that irresponsible JB weld technique on a critical part.
Now that you are a MOD you have a responsibility to not make posts that could lead to a member being injured or dying. People tend to give more weight to what a MOD says and are more likely to take their advice over that of a more knowledgeable member. I seriously doubt the guy you are 'helping' would find injury to himself or a family member amusing.
Please do the right thing and repair the Column correctly and do not band aid it. You dont want to lose the wheel on impact or driving down the road. Nothing good can come of that.
The JB weld method should NOT be used. A thread chaser may or may not leave enough material to secure the nut, that depends on the condition of the existing threads. If the nut was cross threaded on previously it may be difficult to get the thread chaser started such that it follows the original threads exactly. If it doesn't, the tool will remove so much material that the nut will likely strip when properly torqued. If you try that method, make sure you use a thread chaser rather than a tap. If it looks OK, install the nut, torque it properly, then remove it. If it comes back off without thread damage then you are in good shape. Have you considered getting another column from a junk yard and replacing yours? Yours seems to have suffered some abuse during it's short life. One advantage of pulling the shaft and having it repaired is that it gives you the opportunity to replace the shaft bearings.
Assuming you don't' have a tilt column. Pull the column, remove the retaining clips on the ends and slide it out. If there is anything peculiar about the column in your year, someone will chime in. Some columns have a collar on the bottom of the shaft secured by a hex screw, if yours does, the shaft can be removed without removing the column, but replacing the bearings may be difficult with the column in place. (I have never tried it)
His shaft is part of the steering box 2 piece shafts started in 67 or 68 I think it was 68 so as to keep the steering column from being an impaling device in the event of a front end crash,
I've never taken one of those apart. Is it retained at the top and splined inside? I would imagine the shaft would have to be removed to pull the steering gears, so it should come out with the column in place?
Hang for a minute, someone here knows if it is connected on both ends or not. Once people with books on the car get a moment to look at them a post should pop up.
Might help, might not - closest illustration I could find in the MPC. 3524 is the steering shaft - follow the line from it to the steering gear...
