My stuck silentbloc stud has finally been removed. My thanks to Drew
Pixar, Angelo Graham for their ideas and especially Ed Woods for coming up
with a good method to remove the stud from the silentbloc bush which
remained on the steering box drop arm.
I ended up loosening the adjusting nut on the top of the steering box.
This allowed for some vertical movement of the drop arm assembly within the
box. At Ed's suggestion, I rested the bottom of the silentbloc stud on a
heavy metal plate, so I could hammer the drop arm downward. As a
precaution, to prevent damage to the steering box internal components, I
shimmed the metal plate up so the drop arm was in an elevated position and
it had the room to move downward freely. Several solid smacks with a two
pound hammer on my spark plug socket, which was slid over the stud and
resting on the drop arm, broke the stud free.
I'll let y'all know about the installation of the Stainless Steel/Bronze
replacement bushings which will be here today, purchased from Ken Galanders
of British Frame and Engine. These seem to be the way to go.
Approximately double the cost of the rubber bushes, but much tighter than
the rubber for crisper handling and much more durable.
BTW - Drew had an interesting thought. With a two piece steering column,
it may be possible to seperate the column and pull the steering box,
without pulling the apron. I don't know if this will work, or if it harder
than just pulling the apron, but it was an interesting thought.
BTW - this was a silentbloc failure. I will soon post the details, which
some of you may (or may not) want to hear.
Thanks again list,
Jack
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