I'm trying tot finish things that were supposed to have already been done on a '41 that i just bought. Is the top of the 6.521 mast jacket bearing supposed to be flush with the top of the jacket? And is/are there any other part(s) below the bearing in the jacket? And is the horn wire connected to that bearing or the 2.819 lower cup? Finally, what two parts are supposed to make contact with each other to complete the ground when you push on the ring? I had a '41 Cadillac once that had a ring type horn that made a lot more sense than the Chevrolet horn. Bad thing about that one was that the ring was very, very delicate. Ended up broken and difficult to repair. But that horn also worked by pressing the button in the middle of the wheel, unlike the Chevrolet.
Thanks. I had looked at pretty much everything on VCCA Chat related to '41 horns, but had not read that particular post because it did not seem to be related to my problem. It turns out that I have multiple problems. I did not know about the brass ring, which I assume is part of the bearing, and I did not recognize it on my car because it had been painted. I have now scraped the paint off with a razor blade. The rest of the bearing is 2 3/4 inches down the shaft, just below the screws that are used to center the shaft in the jacket. I tried to fish it out using a heavy wire but it is stuck pretty good. A little PB Blaster should loosen it up. I will jury rig the steering wheel puller to pull it out. I have no electrical continuity between the bearing and the end of the horn wire that is sticking out of hole in the steering jacket so I will have to solder a new wire to the bearing and feed it down the steering column. I've done that before on other cars. One thing I don't understand. I tried to blow the horn by running a wire from the "S" pole of the horn relay to a body bolt and nothing happened. It seems that that if the horn ring is doing nothing other than providing a ground from the "S" pole of the relay, any other ground from that point should work just as well. Does the fact that my horns did not blow mean that they are not working?
"Does the fact that my horns did not blow mean that they are not working?" Well daaaaaa! You need to start back at the horn relay and see if you can make the horn blow. If you can't, then the horns probably need to be adjusted. Once you get the horns to sound you can chase the problem to the bearing at the top of the steering column. Be careful trying to remove the bearing to replace the wire. The long way around is to remove the steering column with the bearing then use a long pipe or such and press the bearing out from the bottom. After replacing the wire be careful in replacing the bearing as it has a locator on it and you must account for this.
The rest of the bearing is 2 3/4 inches down the shaft, just below the screws that are used to center the shaft in the jacket.
I am lost on this! The bearing is what centers the shaft(no such screws from factory). If the brass ring is at the top and the bearing is that far down the shaft, it is broken. It is all one piece (click link). You need a new bearing.
Use a hot jumper to each horn wire on the terminal blocks to test each horn. If each one is working then the relay may be bad.
First, I want to double check, since you have only made 30 posts to our chat site, that you are familiar with our SEARCH process for finding posts on topics of interest. Try a Search using the terms +41 +horn for your KEYWORDS making sure the + (Plus symbol) is right before each keyword. If you want, use the DISPLAY NAME Mike Buller or Chevy Nut this will narrow responses to your FAVORITE posters. You will notice that Chevy Nut has been providing info on the topic to way back to 2008. Here is how he helped me then: 41 Horn Steering Column.
Second, All the transmission linkage is on the steering column. If you mess with any of the linkage you will have shifting problems, like grinding gears when going into second gear, etc., so I would not remove the column. Again grinding gears are discussed in other posts found through the SEARCH process.
So what can you do about the bearing wedged in the steering column? You will need to somehow remove it by either fishing it out the top or driving it down past the hole where the horn wire comes out the steering column. Nothing bad will happen if the old bearing or its broken parts ends up bouncing around the bottom of the column by the steering box.
I will respond later with some more info and pictures.
Good luck, Mike
P.S. Charlie (a 41 NUT) will be glad to tell you that Chev Nut is the Guardian Angel of our VCCA Chat Site, and how God has blessed us with his eternal help.
A common problem with getting horns to sound is getting them grounded where they attach to the inner fenders. So before trying to adjust the individual horns make sure they are well grounded. Fresh paint on certain horn surfaces will cause problems. Here are a selection of pictures to help you with identifying all the parts.
Once the horns and relay are working you are ready to assemble the steering wheel and its horn parts.
P.S. #2 What if the bearing parts end up in the steering box? I need to rethink my above advice. Unfortunately, removing the mast jacket might be your only solution. Again this will disturb all your transmission linkage so documenting well the position of your linkage is very important. The mast is removed through the interior and it is normal to struggle getting the bottom of the mast off of the steering box (rusted in place). You might end up having to pry it off or having to spray a lot of your favorite penetrating oil down the mast and letting it set overnight or for a few days. Spray the penetrant through the hole where the horn wire comes out of the mast in the engine compartment. The bearing at the top of the mast might not let the penetrant pass efficiently.
Thanks, Mike. I was not aware of the need to use the + sign for searching. I've done a number of searches without using it so obviously have missed a lot of posts I would have liked to have seen.
Clearing up a couple of things I mentioned in previous posts. The screws I mentioned in my May 27 post are the screws that attach the gear shift lever to the mast jacket. They actually hold the shaft in the middle (left and right) of the mast jacket in addition to attaching the gear shift lever. And the reason my horns did not sound was because I was using a 16 gauge test wire. With a 10 gauge wire they sound quite adequately.
I absolutely will not remove the steering column at this time to fix the horn. Before I would do that I will somehow rig up a temporary push button horn.
This car actually underwent a partial body off reconditioning about fifteen years ago and it has been driven so little since then that the frame still has absolutely no dirt or mud on it. I use the word reconditioning instead of restoration because quite a number of things were not done correctly, and I use the word partial because some things were not done at all. The horn is one of these. A fairly complete new wiring harness from YnZ was installed and a very nice working turn signal was incorporated, but a few things were ignored (the rear license plate light, the glove box light, the dome light and the horn) . Also, the dash lights don't work (perhaps due to the rheostat in the headlight switch being burned out; I haven't gotten to that yet) and the fuel gauge doesn't work (I haven't gotten to that, either). I am fixing the things that were not done or done incorrectly.
I'm attempting to fish the bearing out of the top of the mast jacket. Using a puller I rigged up with a heavy wire attached to a steering wheel puller I've managed to pull the bearing up the shaft an inch. That leave another 1 3/4 inch to go. I'll keep at it.
One question, is the brass ring at the top of the mast jacket part of the mast jacket or part of the bearing? It is not in the part book as a separate part so has to be part of something else. Once the old bearing is out I will install a new one, so if the brass ring is part of the bearing it will not hurt anything if I destroy it to get it our of the way.
This car is to be used for touring. It will not be a show car, so it is not necessary that everything be precisely correct.
There are NOS headlight switches available on ebay. This one is a real steal for the price Headlight switch You are right to assume the worst for the rheostat.
