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How do I replace the wire to the horn button that is shorting out? I figure i must pull the steering wheel, what else is needed?

You may find it helpful if you go HERE and follow the string down.

Pulled the bushing and the wire is intact, the bakelight? surrounding the copper contact is crumbling which may have shorted on the steering column. I will order another bushing and reassemble. I was unable to pull the tube off the shaft cause my roof was in the way so I cut a hole in the roof to git it off, just kidden of course.

Thanks for the info. Mark

Cool.....and when you reinstall the mast jacket, just screw on a piece of sheet metal over your roof and then leave it that way in case you ever need to pull the mast jacket off again. To keep the rain out however, I would put a heavy coat of that black sticky roof cement over the seams so that your patch job won't leak. Heck, no one would ever see it anyway! Ha ha! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

The original bushing is molded rubber with a micorda inside bushing and brass contact plate. The rubber eventually gets hard and brittle. That is a problem with most of the NOS or NORS parts that may still be available. Fortunately a recently reproduced bushing is available. Made from polyurethane, nylon inside bushing and brass contact plate it should last the life of the vehicle.

Hum.....I wonder who makes that?? :confused: :confused: :confused: :eek: :eek:

Some company on the north side of Houston, TX.

The life of the vehicle???That ended years ago
I'll bet Chevrolet never thought their cars would still be on the road 70 and 80 years from when they were made.

I ordered one from filling station auto parts, hope it's not NOS.

Mark

Hi goldenpheasant,

You may have missed a hint there that "Chipper" could have furnished you the bushing that is state of the art.

Or you can order them from the Filling Station or Bow-Tie Reproductions.

But not from I&I Reproduction! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Yes, I sure did miss that. I wish he would have emailed me and I would have been happy to use his product.

Mark

I think that is his product he just sells it to them

Yup,
So far the Filling Station, Bow-Tie and Don Rossi are the only ones that have them in stock. Another hundred or so and it will be a break even proposition.

Followup: New mast bushing installed, kinda tight, but hopefully it'll out live me! Had to trim the horn button contacts, too long for the new bushing, despite the bushing being seated on the tab in the mast jacket. Had to repaint the horn button and mast jacket. But I didn't get grease on the headliner. LOL.

Thanks for all your help.

If the horn contacts were too long for the new bushing from The Filling Station, were they the correct length for the old bushing? If so, was there a difference in the length between the two bushings? :confused: :confused:

goldenpheasant,

how much too long were the contacts?..we're having the same issue with our kc 1/2ton...


epi

Junkyard, Yes the horn contacts were the correct length for the old bushing. Unfortunately, I did not measure the length of the new bushing. The old bushing was 1 1/4 inches long. The new bushing was very tight going in. I should have calipered it before installing and I should have reduced it's diameter a few thousanths. I could not remove it now without destroying it. I believe it's seated on the tab in the mast, but I no way of really seeing if it is as I could not remove the mast without pulling the steering shaft. The fit was tight as I mentioned and I was afraid I would destroy the bushing if I tried to remove it after I had initially inserted it into the mast. So I trimmed the contacts to make it work rather than destroy a new bushing and order a new one. It bugs me that it worked out this way, as I like to keep everything as GM had intended, but what's a father to do? LOL.

Chevrolet, I reduced the length of the horn contacts about 3/8 of an inch. I ground them down slightly on the grinder and kept testing it until it the horn button would seat properly and the horn worked right. I then hammered the ends flat like original.

If I had to do it over, I would make sure the tab that stops the bushing is at 90 degrees from the mast, as it may bend up toward the steering wheel when you remove the old bushing. This would raise the bushing contact if it does not seat properly. Then I would caliper the bushing and make sure the new bushing is 1-2 thousanths smaller than the mast. This should insure a snug, not tight fit. Then I believe you can use the same horn button without having to reduce the length of the contacts. I assumed, incorrectly, that the replacement would fit as original. Which was not a good assumption in this case. :rolleyes:

The column tube is 1 1/2" OD with an ~ 0.050" wall which makes the inside measurement 1.400". Most column tubes are out of round by as much as 0.25". The newly reproduced bushings are made at 1.407 to 1.410 or 7 to 10 thousands larger. It is the same as the bushings from original Packard packaging. If you lubricate the bushing with soap, light oil, ATF, silicone or other suitable lubricant they will go in a clean tube without too much effort. The prototypes and production pieces were test fit into several tubes to be sure they could be installed.

The reason for the oversize is to insure that the bushing does not turn in the tube. If it ever turns it will eventually wrap the wire around the shaft and either produce a horn honking short or break the connection.

An installation sheet should have been included with the newly reproduced bushing. One is supplied with each order.

It is possible and not too difficult to push the edge of the bushing past the tab in the tube. The bushing length is 1 1/8" the same as most of the originals measured. That should leave the brass ring ~ 2 11/16" from the top of the tube. Some range from 2 5/8" to 2 3/4". Unfortunately the tubes vary in dimensions so it makes a definate distance from the top difficult to specify. Besides the critical dimension is the distance from the top of the bushing to the top of the steering wheel cup.

No installation sheet was provided, but I'm on the road again, so chalk one up to experience. LOL.