Steering Wheel Moving the Shifter

[1966Belvert]

Looking for advice and opinions. I have a 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II. It’s a power steering car, and the OEM box was leaking badly. I wanted a more modern feel for the steering, so I replaced the leaking box with a Borgeson unit. Although I love the feel of the Borgeson, I have an issue that is stumping me. At very low speeds (15mph and lower), when you turn the steering wheel, the shifter housing turns with the wheel, which at times can change the shifter from Drive to Neutral or Reverse. Obviously, I’d prefer this not to happen. Any ideas on what might be causing it? It never happened with the old power steering box, so could it be related to the swap? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[kiwigtx]

Sounds like mis-alignment on the steering column - rubbing between the steering shaft and shifter housing sleeves.

 

[kiwigtx]

You're going to need a second pair of eyes to watch the movement as you turn the wheel.

 

[gtx6970]

Sounds like mis-alignment on the steering column - rubbing between the steering shaft and shifter housing sleeves.

This ^^^

 

[1966Belvert]

Thanks for the quick replies! Why would a misalignment only cause this problem at low speeds? Just this afternoon I was driving and tested the problem at about 40mph. With one hand resting lightly on the shifter housing, I did some turns to the right and left and the housing didn’t move at all.

 

[kiwigtx]

Thanks for the quick replies! Why would a misalignment only cause this problem at low speeds? Just this afternoon I was driving and tested the problem at about 40mph. With one hand resting lightly on the shifter housing, I did some turns to the right and left and the housing didn’t move at all.

Some pictures of the steering column inside and out of the car would be useful.

High speeds you're not moving the wheel as 'violently' or as much of a distance.

 

[pnora]

You have something out of wack in the column or steering shaft. It should not shift to reverse unless you pull the shift lever towards you. You should look at the firewall toe plate and make sure that is adjusted correctly to align/center the steering shaft to the shift tube. It has to be binding and rubbing.