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This kit is a direct replacement for the three 'steering gear insulators', 'mounts' or 'donuts'. These were installed on 1962-1966 Tbirds. The kit includes three solid steel donuts, three grade 8 bolts and lock washers.* The bolts are sourced from a reputable US supplier.
A friend and I put together kits for our own cars but had enough material for a few extra.
Why you want to use solid steel donuts instead of (rebuilt) original onesą
The original insulators fit between the frame rails and steering gear box. Being rubber-impregnated they were intended to isolate vibration and road feel. Not only did the insulators fail to provide an improvement to the luxury feel of the car, they turned out to be a design flaw -and even a liability. They were discontinued in 1969 as Ford found that the rubber would degrade, causing the steering gear box to twist at odd angles that other steering components weren't designed to tolerate. This causes premature wear in the Pitman arm, idler arm, centre drag link and steering coupler - resulting in a car that wanders over the road and has loose steering.
The three new bolts included in the kit are necessary because your three old ones will be too short. The old bolts thread into the insulators which in turn thread into the steering gear box. The new bolts will simply go through the solid steel donuts and thread directly into the steering gear box.
Let me know what year Tbird you have so I can ship you the correct length bolts.
$85 shipped within the Continental US, €85 shipped within the EU.
Combined shipping available.
I use PayPal.
Original steering gear insulator (not included in the kit)
A friend and I put together kits for our own cars but had enough material for a few extra.
Why you want to use solid steel donuts instead of (rebuilt) original onesą
The original insulators fit between the frame rails and steering gear box. Being rubber-impregnated they were intended to isolate vibration and road feel. Not only did the insulators fail to provide an improvement to the luxury feel of the car, they turned out to be a design flaw -and even a liability. They were discontinued in 1969 as Ford found that the rubber would degrade, causing the steering gear box to twist at odd angles that other steering components weren't designed to tolerate. This causes premature wear in the Pitman arm, idler arm, centre drag link and steering coupler - resulting in a car that wanders over the road and has loose steering.
The three new bolts included in the kit are necessary because your three old ones will be too short. The old bolts thread into the insulators which in turn thread into the steering gear box. The new bolts will simply go through the solid steel donuts and thread directly into the steering gear box.
Let me know what year Tbird you have so I can ship you the correct length bolts.
$85 shipped within the Continental US, €85 shipped within the EU.
Combined shipping available.
I use PayPal.
Original steering gear insulator (not included in the kit)
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