Borgeson for the Black Sabbath. (68 Charger)

[Jonas Nordstrom]

Is the K member correct for the year car? Is there a chance that you have an earlier K member in there? I thought that I read that The 1962-65 units fit but the motor mount brackets move the engine further forward on the earlier K members. Do you recall the thickness of the mounting bolts? 7/16" is what I recall was my size in the '70 Charger
This is strange. I've only read of the Borgeson bolt hole issue to exist is when installed in the earlier model cars.

Not sure, the K member to frame bolts looked untouched and still had some grime on them. Original sway bar also looked untouched and everything fits perfectly around the K member.

...though my car came with a 413 from -63, so anything is possible.

My bolts are 7/16.

 

[Kern Dog]

That is strange.
When did you buy the steering box?
I don't mean to annoy you with these questions, it just seems odd that you'd have this problem. I wonder if maybe Borgeson had a run of units with the wrong size holes drilled in them. It isn't a fatal flaw since a quickie fix is made at the hands of a smart installer.

 

[Jonas Nordstrom]

That is strange.
When did you buy the steering box?
I don't mean to annoy you with these questions, it just seems odd that you'd have this problem. I wonder if maybe Borgeson had a run of units with the wrong size holes drilled in them. It isn't a fatal flaw since a quickie fix is made at the hands of a smart installer.

No worries, more info is always good.

I bought it Jan 06 2023.

 

[Kern Dog]

Okay. I bought mine April 2022. I installed one for a friend a month ago, he bought his earlier this year. Both had mounting holes only slightly bigger than the bolts.
Some mysteries seem to remain mysteries.

 

[Jonas Nordstrom]

Coupler time.
Dry testing I noticed that the deeper Borgeson coupler could come off without the steering shaft moving backwards.
It was a quick test and I hope I am wrong.

Though to make the coupler more secure I wanted to take advantage of the groove that already exists on the spline.

I drilled a hole and used a smaller pin than original, still it is rock solid.
I placed the hole a tad towards the rear, in that way the pin pushes the coupler forward.
I also cut off a bit of the long locking screw.

Went past a metal workshop and got a stainless piece that has the same thickness as the service clamp.
The service clamp is the best thing for the coupler since sliced bread, time to bend a new one to fit the longer coupler.

 

[Kern Dog]

The stock roll pin hole is redundant with the Borgeson unit. No need to put anything in it. The allen set screw and 7/16" lock nut are what secures the coupler to the input shaft on the steering box.

 

[Jonas Nordstrom]

The stock roll pin hole is redundant with the Borgeson unit. No need to put anything in it. The allen set screw and 7/16" lock nut are what secures the coupler to the input shaft on the steering box.

I put the original roll pin in the original hole, just to get the clamp to line up better.

The roll pin in the pic is in a new hole, on the opposite side of the allen set screw.
This new roll pin take advantage of the groove in the Borgeson splines.
Double secure.

 

[Jonas Nordstrom]

Making the clamp was easier said than done.
This was some really hard stainless steel so I had to bend carefully. Redoing one wrong bend was a no go, the piece to the right is evidence of that...
The longer Borgeson coupler is based on the longer mopar coupler for manual steering, the longer manual coupler is needed to sit at the same height/place towards the firewall as the Borgeson box is shorter than the original box.

Good test fit at the end so now its time to put the coupler together.

 

[Jesse6869]

Making the clamp was easier said than done.
This was some really hard stainless steel so I had to bend carefully. Redoing one wrong bend was a no go, the piece to the right is evidence of that...
The longer Borgeson coupler is based on the longer mopar coupler for manual steering, the longer manual coupler is needed to sit at the same height/place towards the firewall as the Borgeson box is shorter than the original box.

Good test fit at the end so now its time to put the coupler together.

View attachment 1539207

View attachment 1539208

View attachment 1539209

You get why pictures on you bending, it looks stock nice work.

 

[Jonas Nordstrom]

Assembled the shoes with the spring and greased it up with long lasting bearing grease.
Got the cover to stick using Kerns trick with the plier.

I also added the small pin for extra safety.
I put the coupler cover 21mm (13/16") from the small measuring hole (According to the book.) and checked that everything moved smoothly at that distance.
Adding the new clamp was a bit tricky as the new cover is wider than the original cover, so some minor adjustment had to be done to the clamp.

 

[JR_Charger]

I do wish some budding entrepreneur would make that extended clamp!

 

[Jonas Nordstrom]

I do wish some budding entrepreneur would make that extended clamp!

Hey, check out the longer clamp in this kit:

Steering Coupler Column Rebuild Kit With Black Seal, Bearing, Isolator, 3.5 inch Clamp | Roseville Moparts

 

[JR_Charger]

Hey, check out the longer clamp in this kit:

Steering Coupler Column Rebuild Kit With Black Seal, Bearing, Isolator, 3.5 inch Clamp | Roseville Moparts

Is 3.5 inches long enough?

 

[Kern Dog]

Is 3.5 inches long enough?

 

[Jonas Nordstrom]

Is 3.5 inches long enough?

Mine is 3.5".

Also, they do make/sell repops of original parts and our longer coupler is the original coupler for manual steering, so a qualified guess is that this is the original style service clamp for manual steering.

I did order a set myself as I need a better rubber cover, mine cracked when the coupler turned towards the Borgeson splines.
One step forward, two steps back....
Well atleast I could weld back the broken firewall nut without any hickups.

 

[JR_Charger]

View attachment 1540333

View attachment 1540334

View attachment 1540335

Well I hear smaller guys get to use it all, but can't confirm.

Mine is 3.5".

Also, they do make/sell repops of original parts and our longer coupler is the original coupler for manual steering, so a qualified guess is that this is the original style service clamp for manual steering.

I did order a set myself as I need a better rubber cover, mine cracked when the coupler turned towards the Borgeson splines.
One step forward, two steps back....
Well atleast I could weld back the broken firewall nut without any hickups.

View attachment 1540408

Now that I've gotten the chance to measure, 3.5" sounds spot on. If I can find one for less than $90 I'll be set!

edit - I see that Roseville might sell it separately - I've sent them a message to see if they actually have it in stock.

How exactly did you destroy that rubber piece? That is not easy to replace, unless you've got a hydraulic press to push the cross pin out. I'd take the whole steering column apart again before trying to hammer out the cross pin. Maybe I shouldn't, but I've banged on mine a few times and didn't get it to budge.

 

[Jonas Nordstrom]

Well I hear smaller guys get to use it all, but can't confirm.



Now that I've gotten the chance to measure, 3.5" sounds spot on. If I can find one for less than $90 I'll be set!

edit - I see that Roseville might sell it separately - I've sent them a message to see if they actually have it in stock.

How exactly did you destroy that rubber piece? That is not easy to replace, unless you've got a hydraulic press to push the cross pin out. I'd take the whole steering column apart again before trying to hammer out the cross pin. Maybe I shouldn't, but I've banged on mine a few times and didn't get it to budge.

When installing the column the angle was too steep into the coupler, so the rubber cracked.
This was cos the steering shaft was too long.
After I took it out again I noticed that the shaft had moved out from the bearing.
I painted the shaft all the way in to the bearing but now an unpainted area could be seen clearly.
So the shear pins must have snapped.

So, the only thing now is to take the column apart again and fix new shear pins.

 

[Kern Dog]

I've been in cars with broken shear pins. Both drove fine and were not any louder than any other car. The shear pins didn't increase vibrations either.

 

[JR_Charger]

Did you try shimming the steering box so it's more in line with the steering column?

I've put in an order for the 3.5" coupler clamp from Roseville. They had it for $12 on its own. I believe Roseville's site said the part was made up to 93 so it shouldn't be hard to come by one, if you can figure out what newer vehicles it was on. There could be thousands of 91 Dakotas out there with perfectly good coupler clamps waiting to be picked.

 

[Jonas Nordstrom]

Did you try shimming the steering box so it's more in line with the steering column?

I've put in an order for the 3.5" coupler clamp from Roseville. They had it for $12 on its own. I believe Roseville's site said the part was made up to 93 so it shouldn't be hard to come by one, if you can figure out what newer vehicles it was on. There could be thousands of 91 Dakotas out there with perfectly good coupler clamps waiting to be picked.

I am going to try to make everything work without shimming.
Shimming one side makes the other side not sit flat and so on.

But yes, with the bigger angle then it is even more important to have the shoes at the correct depth in the coupler.