Please be advised that several vehicles have lost steering due to the separation of the rag joint.
If you have never checked this item out-make sure that you do. If this part comes apart-you will feel a sensation that-one-doesn't need.TOTAL LOSS OF STEERING>>>> graemlins/beers.gif

I was the design group leader at Saginaw Steering Gear Division with responsibility for the flexible steering shaft coupling during the early 1970s.

The way that the OEM flexible coupling was designed, it is extremely difficult to completely lose the connection from the steering column to the steering gear. The vehicle system design usually required that you either drop the gear or move the steering column rearward to gain enough clearance to unbolt the flex coupling from the gear. This also insures that the stop pins (which are hot riveted to the bow tie flange that connects to the gear)are always engaged to the cutout windows on the steering column flange.

Our design philosophy was as follows: If you disolve the rubber disc out of the flex coupling, the steering should get very loose and sloppy but the driver will still be able to control the car. The parts should not be able to just disengage themselves even without the rubber disc.

One thing that really bothers me are the "do-it-yourself" flex coupling repair kits that I see advertized. They require that you grind the hot riveted heads off the stop pins and drive the stop pins out of the bow tie flange in order to remove the original rubber disc. You then replace the original stop pins with bolts that have extended heads in order to attach the replacement rubber disc. If those replacement bolts/stop pins come loose, the flex coupling can come apart.

I know that the replacement OEM style flexible couplings are quite expensive. However, it is money well spent.

I really would like to know some facts concerning the loss of steering with respect to the flexible coupling.

I have seen a measurement in the assembly manual of a spacing of 1/4 to 3/8 in. for the rag joint coupler. Where is this supposed to be measured? Do you adjust it by moving the column in its mounts?
John

about 10 years ago someone sold me all of there stock
and in it I got several of those rag joints
when I found out how much they were selling for I pretty much realized all the rest of the stuff I got was basically free
never had one go bad then after I sold all but two of them I finally had one fail and yes they are a real joy to drive as they wander all over the road but I never lost my steering
installed one of the new ones and that was that
thanks jiml82 your design saved my life

phocksphyre,
I don't have a Chevelle AIM manual and I don't own a Chevelle but there should be some way of adjusting the connection between the gear and the steering column. There needs to be some means of taking up the build tolerances between the car body (where the column mounts) to the car frame (where the gear mounts). The rubber disc in the flexible coupling is not supposed take up the axial tolerance. That is why the assembly manual gives a plus or minus dimension for the flexible coupling.

The gear is hard mounted to the frame - there is no adjustment there.
The flange on the flexible coupling should be pushed all the way onto the gear input shaft and the attaching pinch bolt must pass through a notch on the input shaft - no adjustment there.
The steering column has just a very minimal adjustment where the vertical connection attaches it to the instrument panel - I don't believe that it is designed to take up body to frame tolerances.

So if your car has an intermediate steering shaft, the connection between the column and the I-shaft should be through a pot coupling. The pot coupling should have some in/out stroke to it as well as being able to angulate. That pot joint stroke should be able to take up the body to frame tolerance.

If you have an early Chevelle that has a long steering column shaft that reaches all the way to the steering gear, I would guess that the steering shaft has splines and the flange on the end of the steering column shaft (that connects to the flexible coupling) should slide on the splines and be able to adjust roughly +/- 0.5 inch. The flange is attached to the flexible coupling (two nuts and lock washers) and the flange is allowed to seek a neutral position on the splines. Only then is the column flange pinch bolt tightened.