Saginaw Steering box & Torino Steering Coupler/

I pulled my original Ford steering box out of the car recently to upgrade it to a fast ratio Saginaw box. The box is a Ford unit that I had custom built by Cancraft in BC (highly recommended, especially for Canadians). It came with a steering coupler but it doesn't look like it will work. Reading the service manual it looks like the Torino had the coupler riveted to the lower steering shaft/u-joint shaft.

Ford says you have to replace the entire unit. I'd like to replace the coupler as it is 4o year old rubber. Is there a way to rebuild the coupler using the rubber from the new one? How do I remove this shaft to service the rag joint?

Also, the P/S hook ups on the Saginaw box look like they are in line with the old Ford box. Do they use the same threads as the Ford box or will I have to get new lines?

My new Steering box



The included new steering coupler



The back view



This is a picture I found of a Torino coupler/shaft (not mine)

Right now? I haven't done anything. I bought a Lares corp coupler from Rock Auto. bolted right to the box. Bolts to the column.... except that dead man's bracket, for lack of a better name for it. I just did this last week because I sold my SPA-T box to Andy. I was just going to disassemble the new coupling to fit the bracket to it, but I was more concerned with keeping the car movable around the garage and yard than a final install.

Psquare75 wrote: Right now? I haven't done anything. I bought a Lares corp coupler from Rock Auto. bolted right to the box. Bolts to the column.... except that dead man's bracket, for lack of a better name for it. I just did this last week because I sold my SPA-T box to Andy. I was just going to disassemble the new coupling to fit the bracket to it, but I was more concerned with keeping the car movable around the garage and yard than a final install. FWIW, I forget what coupler was on that box when i bought it. It might even be the one that came with the box.. I used one of those cheesy "HELP!" rubber biscuits from Dorman, and it worked fine.  Looking at the pics, you should be able to make one out of two.

Thanks for the info on the P/S hoses. What year did these Torino's start using Saginaw boxes?

As for the coupler, I should have been more clear. When I removed the stock Ford box, I unbolted the coupler. There is a "bow tie" shaped metal end that bolts onto the steer coupler/lower shaft unit I have pictured, and this stayed with the steering box I am pretty sure (I haven't tried yet), that bow tie looking peice from the coupler will fit my Saginaw box. But I don't want to re-use the old rubber in the rag joint/coupler (40 year old rubber isn't so trust worthy).

I haven't removed the coupler/lower shaft from the car yet, but the service manual says it's riveted and not servicable. Is it possible to drill the rivets than bolt it back together with a new rubber biscuit? And do you guys with the later model Torinos/Cougars have this same style lower shaft with the riveted coupler?

When I have a chance I will post more photos over the next few days.

Oh, and I didn't rebuild the Ford box because I wanted a faster ratio than the boat slow stocker, and a Sagniaw box seems to be the only option.

Edited by 72FordGTS - 30-June-2012 at 1:27PM

Thanks, that is helpful. Once I get the lower shaft out I will have a better idea.

It kind of does have to do with the saginaw swap since that's what I am doing.

Yes, if someone knows this part #, please post it. I may try to rebuild the stock coupler with parts from my new one, but if that doesn't work I may need that F-series part.

I will keep this thread update so others will know what is involved for the swap.

Edited by 72FordGTS - 02-July-2012 at 4:54AM

That is so odd. My Saginaw Ford box had exactly the same hardware as the old Ford boxes. Guess I really got lucky.

So I finally had some time to do some work on the car, and thanks to the other steering box thread I have figured out most of what I need to do.

Here is my factory steering coupler. It's easy to remove once the steering box is out. Go under the dash, there is a rubber boot over the lower column to firewall. Remove the three sheetmetal screws and pull the boot back from the firewall. This will give access to the nut and bolt that hold the shaft in place.





Here is the factory coupler after I removed the rivets. They are fairly easy to remove. I used a 3/8" drill bit on my drill press and drilled the most of the head off. Then I used my dremel to remove clean it up and remove the last little bits of the head I misse with the drill bit. The punched out very easily with a punch and hammer.



Here is what I have to put together. The new coupler with connected to the old shaft. I am not going to reinstall the factory deadman, as the new coupler has one and I would have to remove the rivets.



Now the next issue I have is the bolts that came with the new couple are too short to work to bolt to the old shaft. If you see in the photo above with the factory rivets, you'll see that the have a large shoulder for the rubber portion (red circle), then a smaller section for where it goes through the steel (yellow circle) on the lower butterfly section of the shaft. The bolts with the new coupler are like this, but like I said too short. This doesn't allow any play in the rubber or the metal connections.

If I just buy bolts, I am going to have play in the rubber connector which may cause premature wear? Anyone have any ideas on what to do about this? The large shoulder would need to be about .435" or so, and the small shoulder .375".

Hey Sly,

sorry I missed that post in that thread (it's so long now, it hard to get everything). I think I am going to try using nylon bushings first like black in black did. If that doesn't work, I will grind the shaft like you did.

If you know how to rebuild the box, you can swap in the guts from a Jeep Grand Cherokee Saginaw box into your Torino Saginaw box and save yourself some coin. I purchased a used Saginaw box from a '93 JGC and had a mechanic friend of mine rebuild my Ranchero's Saginaw box with the internals from the JGC, making it a 3 turn lock-to-lock box. I had less than $190 invested with the purchase of the used box, rebuild kit and labor costs(which will vary greatly depending how well you know your mechanic/buddy or if you tackle this yourself). If you have the appropriate tools for the rebuild it is a straight-forward process, I guess the hardest part was making sure of the sequence of how the ball bearings go back in(two different diameters). Todd

If you are replacing a Saginaw box with another Saginaw box it "should" be a direct bolt-in, no modifications needed to the box, PS lines or steering rag joint. Ask them if they use a 13/16"splined(early model, what your original Torino box should have) input shaft or a later model .72" splined input shaft, it will make a difference what rag joint assembly you will have to use. After measuring both boxes parts when I had my box rebuilt, I am almost 100% positive both sizes of input shaft/rotary valves can be used in this series of Saginaw boxes. I would put a new rag joint in so you won't have the aggravation of doing it later. I wonder how much of a core credit they will give sending in your standard ratio box and getting back a quick ratio box. Good luck with your swap, the quicker ratio really makes a difference in handling, it'll put a smile on your face for sure. Todd

If you are replacing a Ford box with a saginaw box you will have to do a couple of minor mods. You need a new steering coupler for the saginaw box and will have to modify it to work with the original factory unit (see my photos in the post). You'll also need a new high pressure p/s line. A replacement for a Torino with a saginaw box will work and is available aftermarket. Other than those to changes, it's a bolt up.

SPLUHAR wrote: aquartlow wrote: If you know how to rebuild the box, you can swap in the guts from a Jeep Grand Cherokee Saginaw... Todd   Or from a late 80's z28 (12.9-1).