47-55.1 old (member) new truck 1951 3100 deluxe

[dsraven]

the sleeve, or outer tube, is part of the steering box and is pressed into that top part. once the box is taken apart the shaft can be removed. plan on a rebuild when it is apart because it is far from new. I'm not sure of the cut off time but early boxes had all bushings inside and then an upgrade was done and some bushings were replaced with bearings. the bearings are pressed into cavities and can be a bear to remove but the bushings are also a bit of a bear to remove and once a new one is pressed in it will need to be honed to fit the shaft. I am sure there is a rebuild breakdown online somewhere.
thats why I was aksing if you plan to take the box apart, it can be a holy crap moment if you haven't done a steering box before.
if not taking it apart then you should check it for wear before you begin and adjust it to ensure the guts aren't worn out. when thats done you could use a pipe cutter to achieve a nice straight cut on the tube, then cut the shaft somewhere above that to allow a decent working and welding area, then cut the same length out of the tube as you did for the shaft, again, with a pipe cutter, and have a welder put it back together for you. scribe a line end to end on the parts before you begin and when assembling line those marks up so it all fits properly when done.