Gary Lewis Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Ah, sorry. I caused confusion. The rag joint is also shot in the F150. For the Bronco I put the borgeson in, but for my truck I was hoping to replace the rag joint as it is way cheaper! I looks that for all 1980 models and 1981 models until a 2/81 build date that the rag joint was a separate part and could be replaced. But, as of 2/81 it became part of the lower steering shaft - 3B676. So, since yours is an '82 it should not have a replaceable rag joint. Here's a pic of the one on Dad's lower steering shaft: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I looks that for all 1980 models and 1981 models until a 2/81 build date that the rag joint was a separate part and could be replaced. But, as of 2/81 it became part of the lower steering shaft - 3B676. Hey Gary, my '84 F150 (built in Dec '83) has the replaceable style rag joint. The steering shaft could have been changed I suppose, but everything else on the truck is original, so I assume the steering shaft is too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I looks that for all 1980 models and 1981 models until a 2/81 build date that the rag joint was a separate part and could be replaced. But, as of 2/81 it became part of the lower steering shaft - 3B676. Hey Gary, my '84 F150 (built in Dec '83) has the replaceable style rag joint. The steering shaft could have been changed I suppose, but everything else on the truck is original, so I assume the steering shaft is too? This is a very confusing area/subject. You saw where the parts catalog shows that the replaceable rag joint went away as of 2/81. Here's a clip from the catalog showing that the lower shaft supposedly changed on 12/81: So, which was it? Did someone drop the "1" from "12", making it 2/81? But, even so, that wouldn't account for a 12/83 build having a replaceable one. Can you post of pic of your rag joint and shaft? Maybe we can figure it out. (But I'm not going to hold my breath.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Can you post of pic of your rag joint and shaft? Maybe we can figure it out. (But I'm not going to hold my breath.) Mine could have been changed at some point, but unless it was under some recall 30 years ago, I'm guessing that it was not. The truck only has 35k miles on it, and everything on it seems to be original except for the water pump, fuel pump, spark plugs, and muffler. My truck doesn't appear to have had any parts changed unless they outright failed...lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 This is a very confusing area/subject. You saw where the parts catalog shows that the replaceable rag joint went away as of 2/81. Here's a clip from the catalog showing that the lower shaft supposedly changed on 12/81: So, which was it? Did someone drop the "1" from "12", making it 2/81? But, even so, that wouldn't account for a 12/83 build having a replaceable one. Can you post of pic of your rag joint and shaft? Maybe we can figure it out. (But I'm not going to hold my breath.) The more I thought about this, I thought maybe mine was changed. Perhaps somebody did cut the old rivets off or drilled them out and installed a new joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 The more I thought about this, I thought maybe mine was changed. Perhaps somebody did cut the old rivets off or drilled them out and installed a new joint. I don't know. Would they have put an earlier style on? Yours looks exactly like Dad's. Here's another shot of his, turned upside down to match yours, and they look identical. Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I don't know. Would they have put an earlier style on? Yours looks exactly like Dad's. Here's another shot of his, turned upside down to match yours, and they look identical. Right? Earlier style, or aftermarket replacement, either way, they're bolt on. Mine looks identical to yours, same lock nuts and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I don't know. Would they have put an earlier style on? Yours looks exactly like Dad's. Here's another shot of his, turned upside down to match yours, and they look identical. Right? I know Rock Auto shows a replacement for my 1984. Either the whole joint, or just the rubber element. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,1984,f-150,5.0l+302cid+v8,1121443,steering,steering+coupling+assembly,7418 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 I know Rock Auto shows a replacement for my 1984. Either the whole joint, or just the rubber element. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,1984,f-150,5.0l+302cid+v8,1121443,steering,steering+coupling+assembly,7418 This is a strange, confusing area. I know Big Blue has a lower shaft w/o a rag joint. But it may be a replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 This is a strange, confusing area. I know Big Blue has a lower shaft w/o a rag joint. But it may be a replacement. I know the later trucks, 1992 up with the stub column have universals, one at each end of the intermediate shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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