body off hang-up

[dagwin]

Hi all. I've pulled everything off, taken the windows out, disconnected all wires, etc... and now ready to lift the body off but not sure how to clear the original trani shifters. In my garage, I don't have the room above to lift the body over the shifters which means taking outside where i don't have the lifting support. My thought is to take the shifters off but not sure how they are connected. I am sure i'd have just as much problem if i tried to pull the engine.

[gmwillys]

You can remove the transmission top cover. This will give you around a foot of clearance to be able to pick the body up. The transfer case levers are short enough that they will really won't make a big difference. When you pull the transmission shifter out, ensure that it is in nuetral. This will help you when reinstalling the shifter. When the forks are centered, it makes life a whole lot easier.

[dagwin]

Thanks gmwillys. I was hoping there was a pin and to avoid pulling the top cover off but good to know about keeping in N.

[gmwillys]

I know I try to avoid pulling the cover off, just to keep the dirt and hardware from ending up down into the transmission. When I pulled our wagon body, I didn't pull the transmission shifter. I had enough cribbing to raise up the body enough to clear everything. One thing that I would recommend would be to use some car casters. This will allow you to move the chassis side to side to help separate the two.

[dagwin]

Well I thought all was ready. But now the steering column has me stuck. I've been looking at the diagrams but I still have not found the retainer clip/nut/pin that is keeping the shaft in the steering box. Where is the magic part keeping it in?

[gmwillys]

On our wagon, the steering column is out of a later wagoneer. The steering box is mounted on the driver's side frame horn. The steering shaft mounted to a universal joint, and the shaft travels along the frame rail via a pillow block, then through the front frame rail to the box.
You have a couple of options for a stock steering box. Where the column meets the steering box, there is a cap with three bolts. Loosen the three bolts, then the column will seperate. Keep track of the shims under the cap, because those set the preload on the bearings. On YouTube, there is a gentleman who covers steering box rebuilds. He goes by metal shaper. This will give you a visual to how it's done.

[dagwin]

WOW! Thanks gmwillys. The YouTube guy covers a bunch of useful things.

[gmwillys]

He is very meticulous. Sometimes a little dry, and he gripes a lot about the quality of the reproduction parts, but he is definitely someone I would trust.