Quick Steering Question

[Yota]

ok, so as i pulled into work this morning (well, technically last night... graveyard shift... but anyway) i found that when i turned the steering wheel, it didn't turn the tires at slow parking lot speed. come to find out, the steering shaft stripped out on the uphill side of the first u-joint coming off the steering box. so, my question is, what year shafts will interchange with my '68 power steering setup? i think i read somewhere that '67-'77.5 would fit, but i think that was for manual steering setups, and since i know a lot more about Toyotas than about Fords, i wasn't sure if the same year range applied for power setups...
here's a picture of what stripped out...

i'm heading out to take it off right now, and see if it's fixable, and if not, off to the junkyard to see what i can find, i was just hoping you guys could point me in the right direction as to what to look at
thanks!

[Yota]

alright, so amidst doing a couple other little things since i had the tools out anyway, i got it apart, and this is what i found....


now, i don't claim to be a genius, but i'm pretty sure that this end used to be splined.... i found a couple traces of splines on this end and also inside the u-joint part, but those were much more definitive

oh yeah, check out those welds.... those aren't factory, are they??
ok, i'm off to the pick 'n pull... any insight or words of advice and wisdom??

[heep70]

WOW, what a mess. Is that a solid shaft or a slip shaft?

I am not sure what range of years enterchange with yours. My thoughts would be to build an intermediate slip shaft for it. I have built one for my Ford and my Toyota. That way you can weld that stripped yoke onto a shaft and still be able to get it back together.

[Yota]

It's a solid shaft....
building a slip shaft, hm.... that's an idea. how would i go about doing that? i've seen em built for like drivelines and stuff, but what parts do you use for something this small? also, i don't own or really have access to a welder, so that kinda throws a wrench in things as far as fab stuff goes...

i had this thought, too, and wanted to run it by you guys... what if i put the shaft back in the yoke, clamped it down real good with the bolt, maybe even loc-tite'd it, and put a good bead of JB Weld around it, so it would all become one solid piece? at least until i can find (or make) a replacement? i think the yoke is cast and the shaft is steel, but the JB Weld would bond to both of those, right? would this work and be safe, or am i just completely crazy?

[FORDification]

You could always just put the shaft back into the yoke and then drill a hole through both of them, for a bolt and nut. Not the best fix, but it would get you by until you can find replacement parts.

[Yota]

that was my other thought, but i forgot to think of it when i was posting last

[heep70]

JB weld won't hold up to that. Ya, drill a hole through it until you find replacement parts.

You can pick up a slip shaft from a junk yard. You will have to modify it to fit. Thats were the welder is usually needed. If you need it welded, I can do that. You need to make sure you have everything needed to get the job done right.

Here is a pic of the one on my Ford. keep in mind that my PS is different then yours.

[Leadfoot]

I just love stories with happy endings. looks good to me!

[460 crew]

I belive I have a PS box that looks just like that one with the shaft still attatched. If your interested I'll dig it outta storage for some pics.

[Yota]

yeah, that'd be awesome! i'd appreciate it. thanks!

[460 crew]

Ok here are a couple pics. the shaft on the box I have looks a little different that yours.

[460 crew]

one more. I just have this box laying around. The guy I bought my crewcab from was trying to tell me that this box would bolt right into the truck for PS .HAHAHHA

[Yota]

right on, thanks. you're right, tho, it is a little different... is it by any chance from a 2wd truck? the guy at the junkyard told me that 2wd's used the rag joint (that's what that is, right??) and the 4x4's use the u-joint setup like i have. is this true?
thanks again!

[460 crew]

Thats what I was thinkin after I grabbed it outta storage. Only thing I could think of is the shaft is just off of something else. I wouldn't mind a rag joint as I wouldn't get some of the road vibrations and might make for a little smoother feel in the steering on my truck. I'll measure it from one end to the other and also see if I can find any #'s on it.