MC7 Steers MUCH Better.

[Stormcloud]

Good day.

Spent the better part of the day with my bus mechanic, Al, installed a rebuilt Ross steering box into my MC7. To say the old one was worn out would likely be an understatement; there was no adjustment left on the box, so I had only a couple of choices.

Luke at US Coach sent me the rebuilt box, and what an improvement!  Instead of herding it down the road, I can actually steer it!

There is some room for improvement, particularly in the steering column. The slip coupler (?) at the base of the column has some slop (translates to about 3/4" of play at the steering wheel), and the u-joint beneath the steering wheel also has a bit of play (1/2" or so at the steering wheel).

Who has replaced their column in a MC7 or similar with one from a highway tractor (tilt and telescoope would be nice)? What column did you use? Was it essentially a bolt-in?

I figure if I'm gonna fix up the steering, I'm gonna 'fix up the steering'!

Thanks!

mark

[bevans6]

Good for you, I know when I fixed my steering problems it went from "I'm not really sure about this" to "now we are Truckin!".  Made a huge difference.

I have similar questions about the slip joint, really interested to hear what you come up with.

Brian

[Gary W]

Hi Mark

The guy that bought my MCI-7 installed one from Bart Grabhorn. It worked great. Here is the link to his web site.

Gary


http://www.grabhorn.com/gh/parts.html

[artvonne]

Luke at US Coach sent me the rebuilt box, and what an improvement!  Instead of herding it down the road, I can actually steer it!

  Is this the old style power assist, or the integral steering gear??

  Slip coupling eh? I'll have to look at that.

[buswarrior]

Perhaps it was Fred Hobe that had a recommendation for an easy swap?

http://users.cwnet.com/thall/fredhobe.htm

In there somewhere, if he did.

If not Fred, there was someone amongst the pioneers who knew what column and from what vehicle was an easy swap into an MCI of your vintage.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Stormcloud]

This is an older style power-assist steering setup. The 'slip coupling' at the bottom of the steering column slides over the splined shaft of the steering box. There's a pinch bolt clamp on the bottom of this union.

If I recall, Fred Hobe's suggestion involved welding a steering shaft; I think I would rather avoid that.

Thanks, Gary. I will get in touch with him. Hope to see you in AZ this winter.

mark

[artvonne]

This is an older style power-assist steering setup.

mark

  May I ask what a rebuilt one of those is running??

  Yeah I dont think welding that slip coupling is the way I would do it. Is the coupling still available from MCI?

[Stormcloud]

Not sure if it fits every application, so likely best to check with Luke for availability and price on your particular coach. Likely the same as mine, so ~$1k plus core charge plus shipping.

And he knew EXACTLY what I needed when I called. Our local rebuilder sort of knew what I was after, wasn't sure he could get parts, I would have to ship him the core and wait to have it sent back........way too many variables.

[artvonne]

  My understanding is assist has better road feel than integral? You cant steer with one finger but have super good solid feel??

[bevans6]

I think it depends on how worn out the standard box is, and if it can be adjusted right.  It's got all the miles on it that the bus has, remember.  It's basically fully manual steering with a push/pull assist on the drag link, so it could be more direct.  I like the integral steering I have just fine, but my bus was converted before I got it. 

Brian