Steering Shaft Coupler Explodes While Driving On Farm?

Had a nerve wrecking ride yesterday. While checking fences my upper coupler comes apart.
It's an AMC column, but they bought them from GM. Later jeeps have similar.
Used this when I built the cj5 with Saginaw conversion. Thank God I was just crawling in 2nd gear low range. Could have been nasty if I was on the road.
I've since ordered a real u-joint from custom rod building supply.
It's 48 spline x 3/4 DD shaft. I temp drilled mine and installed roll pins so it can't come apart again. Hope everyone who reads this checks theirs. I would not have thought about it coming apart?

 

Have never seen a bell coupler in that position from the factory.
Always a u-joint.
I suppose the bell can't stand up to amount of movement/travel needed in that position.
I guess you just found that out.

 

Can't say I've ever seen one like that on a cj. Sure that's factory?

 

Yes, as I recall it's down at the steering gear. I will look at the books when I get home.

 

I pulled a tilt column out of a cheap Chevy car, like a Cavalier or Celebrity that had a bell joint up there and a rag joint at the R&P. Scary.

 

The column came out of a 72 matador with power.
AMC bought from GM. My j10 has a similar column, but it has a real u joint instead
of the joint pictured.
I did find replacement couplers like one pictured under mid 70s jeeps.
But the real style u- joint was cheaper than the oem.
And much stronger. I was using it at almost max angle, but not enough to bind.
It lasted 3-4 years. The weak part was the wire clip that held it all together.
With the pins I installed it should be safe? But I'm changing it asap!

 

I would e-declare it not safe to drive till you get the proper u-joint (of some kind) installed.
The bell coupler was never designed, in a Jeep application, to be mounted in that position.
On the steering box is where it belongs and is the factory location.

The wire clip is to hold the boot in the proper position; it offers no strength for the
buttons to push against.

 

What held the buttons in?
The boot had a seal like ring that drove in, but besides the wire (missing since mishap),
I see nothing to hold the square buttons in place (now 2 roll pins)?
Already driving it on farm ,again, 2nd, low. When it happened before, it kinda stiffened, locked up,then I forced it and came apart?
I'll have the joint in 2-3 days, no more road trips till then .
Still like to know, what held it together?
Thanks all!

 

you guys made me go look
the shaft I had out in garage is set up like OP
bell on top rag joint on box . don't remember what I took it from
I think the bell coupling is way beyond it's limit - angle

 

I suppose an argument could be made that the wire clip can retain the buttons.
But in use at the box end, there wouldn't/shouldn't be so much movement/pressure that it would come apart.

 

Doesn't seem logical (to me) to use the bell coupler, whose primary function is to provide "slip" in the shaft that occurs between frame and body, to be used with a shaft that collapses as shown.

 

That's how my matador column was coup at top, rag on bottom, I put a steel U on bottom during build, just never thought bout top, it didn't bind so I thought OK?
Now their is a couple of notches in the DD shaft at bottom where it slides into next section, bet the notches should have been engauged, but since mine was custom length, they didn't line up, hence it let go?
Anyway, learned something NEW(thought I knew it all,LOL),it won't happen again!
Ps, every time I mess with a collisable steering I think bout the 30s, when many died from a shaft through the upper body?

 

Maybe used that way on the cars; have never seen one like that on Jeeps.

 

I looked at a couple of parts books, and they all show that Jeep used the bell coupler at the steering gear end of the steering shaft, with the bell end pointing up at the steering wheel. This matches what's coming from my memory.

 

Bell couplers allow for a slight mis-match in shaft angles, maybe less than 10 degrees. They are not a substitute for a U-joint which allow higher shaft angles. The use at the base of the column allowed the buttons to over-run their intended travel. The boot and wire retainer is to keep gease in and dirt out, not limit the travel of the internal parts.
I'm suprised that lasted as long as it did!
-Donny

 

As U can c from the pic, more than 10 deg . But since it didn't bind I thought OK?
Won't happen again. The car it came out of only had slight mis alignment.
I've stretched it to its limit!
Still like to know, what holds it together if not the wire retainer, that's what let go, and was missing when mine came apart.
I was bout 500 ft from home, I just wedged it back together as deep as I could, and gently drove back to shop.

 

This is what I remembered in my Scout also.

 

normally ?????