Steering box torque spec

[john.thompson068]

Another source I found says 100 ft pounds for the three bolts that hold the steering box to the K member. I had the bolts torqued to 90 ft lbs after installing a rebuilt steering box. There is a clunk noise and sensation that comes through the wheel when turning sometimes. I thought it must be the steering box bolts are not tight enough allowing the box to move or flex. I went to torque the bolts all the way to 100 ft lbs and one of the bolts snapped off at around 93 to 95 ft lbs of torque.

• I am going to buy graded bolts from ACE

• I am afraid the K member threads will strip

Should I be brave and torque the bolts to 100 ft lbs? That seems too tight, and I don't know if 10 ft lbs of torque will make any difference anyway.

This is on a 66 Satellite. What would you do?

 

[john.thompson068]

Here is another factor. If the bolt was oiled, a source I found says reduce torque by 15-25%. This bolt does have a thin coat of greasy grime coating it (typical of any original bolt).

 

[john.thompson068]

Okay, I bought the grade 8 bolts. One of the holes became cross threaded and I destroyed the first couple of threads before realizing there was a problem. I then had to remove the steering box and run a tap into the hole. The bolts go into very thin nuts. If I were to strip one of the holes, I would have to remove the engine in order to have access to the area to fix it. Also, the hole that has the damaged threads is the one that cannot be accessed on the opposite side. There would be no chance of putting another nut on the backside without removing the motor.

The nuts were all torqued to 90 ft pounds this morning, and I should have left it at that. Now I have caused myself all this grief. Since the bolts were tightened to 90 ft lbs, there is no probable way the clunking sound could have been caused from the box shifting around.

The problem must be inside the box. It is a rebuilt unit from Buy Auto Parts and the quality is definitely questionable. The clunk sound must have something to do with the inner workings of the steering box.

So, now I have torqued the good holes to only 80 ft lbs and the weakened hole to only 75 ft lbs. That should be tight enough don't you think?

Regardless, I am not willing to cause myself anymore grief just to hit that magic torque number so that is it. I am done with it.

 

[john.thompson068]

To make this even worse, another source I just found says it is only supposed to be to 80 ft pounds anyway. So I just about ruined my car for nothing.

 

[john.thompson068]

I brought the damaged hole up to 80 ft lbs so everything is tightened to spec. There is a lesson to learn from all of this.

 

[green1]

I doubt the clunk is in the box. Somethig else is loose.