XJ Steering column Q's?

Hi guys, I'm new to early CJ's but not to 4wd's, forum etiquette, or builds lol

I've been searching around on GM column swaps and have found tons of great info and ideas. However, I have decided to use the complete column, steering shaft, and box/gear from an MJ. Only because I have it

I was wondering if anyone has used the complete column and shaft from an XJ/MJ and if there were any particular mods/pitfalls to watch for? I am also hoping someone could help point me to a wiring diagram for the column.

If your interested and want some more back ground on my particular jeep, check out my intro link in my sig.

Thanks guys! -Justin

 

Well Im not using a XJ collium butt I am using a S10 chevy truck tilt collium ,, Im installing a 59 CJ3b body on my 74 frame I liked the ides of having blinkers,horn,4 ways,pluss the key switch,, & tilt,, I just went to E-bay & picked up a Haynes Repair Manual for the Chevy wiring & plus when I had the wirng done they helped me out with all the push connection clips I needed for the Chevy situp,,

 

ttt anyone done this swap on a 74-75??

 

I have a xj collum in my 69/5. I have the old metal box type turn signals and a dash mounted ignition key so Im not using any of the collums wiring. As far as the install went, it was pretty simple. I had to make my own dash and floor mount for it though. I filled the key hole with jb-weld and sanded and painted it.. Im pretty happy with it.

 

What steering shaft did you use??? I'm trying to figure out if the XJ shaft is long enough, b/c its a good shaft w u-joints. Also which box did you use? The XJ? Wondering if its gonna be too quick for a 5. Thanks! I plan to not use the wiring initially as well, I'll incorporate it later when I add DUI and rewire the whole jeep.

 

well, thats where I got a little different. I used the cherekees shaft, but had the u-joint on the box end cut off and a cj u-joint end professionally welded on. I used the cj steering box. I can take a measurement if you want.

 

That'd be great! Can you measure how much the actual column sticks through the firewall into the engine bay, and how long the shaft is between the box and column?? Thanks a ton man!

 

sorry took so long. colum sticks through firewall 4 1/2 to 4 3/4" was hard to get an exact with headers in the way.
shaft length from u-joint end to u-join end was 34". let me know if I can do anything else

 

Thats great thanks bubba! I hate to keep asking favors, but If you get time, could I talk you into taking a few pics of how you made the dash and floor mounts? Thanks again for the measurements

 

yes, I will try to get them up tomorrow.

 

Hey, im sorry, but I cant get my web cam to work and thats the only way I have to take pics and post them.. I try to figure it out and post the pics..

 

I cant get the camara to work. so I will try and tell you what I did, and maybe that will help. i was strapped for cash at the time. What I did for the floorboard was, cut a piece of metal to make a plate, I used a hole saw and put a hole in it the diameter of the colum. I had the colum already in stalled and didnt want to pull it out to feed it through the hole, so I cut the plate in half, put it around the colum and bolted it in. That left a little movement in the colum so I bent a strip of metal (about 1 1/2" by about 3") into a L and welded it to the colum, drilled a hole in it and bolted it to the plate. For the dash I used (above all things) wrangler tailgate hinges that were laying around. I used the hinged end that usually attached to the body of the wrangler. to bolt to the existing mounting hole on the colum. I cut the hinges to fit up under the dash and bolted it to the dash. Thats it, I can hold the steering wheel and pull myself up out of the seat. There is no movement at all in the colum. Hope this helps and you can figure out what Im talking about. good luck. sorry I couldnt get you a pic.