I HAVE A 1947 FORD COUPE WITH A MUSTANG II POWER RACK (EVERYTING ELSE IS CHEVY). I'M CHANGING THE STEERING COMPONENTS TO BORGESON PARTS. WHEN I TOOK OFF THE OLD STEEERING, I COULDN'T GET THE COUPLER OFF OF THE STEERING BOX SHAFT SO I LEFT IT ON. IN THAT COUPLER WAS A THREADED HOLE WITH A BOLT HOLDING THE COUPLER TIGHT TO THE STEERING BOX SHAFT. NOT KNOWING IF THE SHAFT COMING OUT OF THE STEERING BOX WAS SPLINED OR SMOOTH I THOUGHT I BETTER PIN THE COUPLER UNSTEAD OF USING THAT BOLT. WHEN I DRILLED THRU THE SAFT FLUID CAME OUT (LOOKS LIKE POWER STEERING FLUID). SO I DIDN'T THINK MUCH ABOUT IT, AND I PUT A SPLIT PIN IN IT TO OLD IT. I CLEANED THE AREA UP AND LAID A RAG THERE TO SEE IF IT WOULD STILL LEAK. MY LUCK, IT STILL LEAKED. SO I TOOK THE SPLIT PIN OUT AND PUT IN A SOLID DOWEL PIN. I PLAN ON WELDING THAT HOLE CLOSE. MY QUESTION IS WHY WOULD THERE BE FLUID COMING FROM THE SHAFT. THAT SHAFT SHOULD BE SOLID. WOULD IT HURT TO WELD THAT PIN IN? IT LOOKED LIKE WHEN THE BOLT WAS IN THERE THAT IT LEAKED OUT THE SHAFT BUT I NEVER PAID TO MUCH ATTENTION TO IT. IF ANYONE COULD GIVE ME SOME ADVISE, I SURE WOULD APPRECAITE IT.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE PEOPLE WHO RESPONED TO MY OVERHEATING PROBLEM A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO. I'VE DONE EVERYTHING (EXCEPT A SHROUD), IT'S GOING TO GET FINED TUNED AND I'LL WAIT UNTL SOME NICE WEATHER TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS. AGAIN, THANKS FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS.

The shaft is not solid. It is hollow witha quill shaft inside that controls the valve for the power assist. The quill shaft has to be free to twist, to operate the power assist properly, and drilling a hole in it defeats that purpose. There is a seal at the top of the shaft that keeps the fluid from leaking.

In my opinion, I would replace the rack, and install a coupling that uses a set screw to hold it on. I feel that what you have now, is not safe. For what it's worth, a 1/4" pin reduces the strength of a 3/4" shaft by about 30 percent.
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Anyone can restore an old car, it takes a man to cut one up.

Amen ENJENJO!! There are only 2 primary places that you cannot, and I mean CAN NOT!!! scrimp money on a streetrod... steering, and brakes!! I agree that you should replace the rack assembly and get the appropriate (Borgeson, Flaming River,or another quality brand of steering) u-joint! (I personally prefer Borgeson.) My only other advice is to shop around for prices of power rack units. Beware of the rod-shop "deals". You can often find lifetime guarantee name brand rebuilds at your local part store, and remember to specify if you have an early flare-type rack or the later o-ring type. my local "Avance auto parts" rack comes with the o-ring type with flare adapters in the kit and new rack bushings for less money than a bare rack from my local streetrod supplier!! Also take the rack with you for the core charge,and,to compare with the new rack, so you are sure you indeed have a mustang II rack, and not a t-bird unit,and then you can actually make this a...dare I say it... "bolt-on replacement without any unseen problems!!!

watch it!
i got chastized for implying that used parts are used and that it's perfectly safe to use parts that have 100-200k on 'em.....;)

There's nothing wrong with using a solid used part, as long as the inner and outer tie rod ends are o.k. and the bellows are still pliable, I say save your money on unnecessary buying!! (But you'll play hell trying to weld a splined shaft with a hole in it that's filled with steering fluid and expect to slide a new u-joint on it!!) Don't take offense(I can pinch a nickel 'til the buffalo shits!!) but the unexperienced rodder is safer off buying a new part in the steering and brakes categorie, rather than guessing the part "will be okay!"and dying"dead wrong"!!!!!

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR INPUT ON THIS SUBJECT. YES, I DID GO TO NAPA AND PICKED UP A POWER RACK. I AGREE THAT SAFETY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF STREETRODDING. AGAIN, THANKS TO ALL

Glad to hear that. I don't want to lose any more rodders than we have to.
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Anyone can restore an old car, it takes a man to cut one up.

actually i was referring to used u-joints, i have no problem with a GOOD used rack.
some of the rebuilds ain't worth a s**t.
friend of mine put on 5 before he got one that was any good....

Replace your power rack, I buy them from Advance Auto also,make sure you get a complete rack, Borgeson makes a joint just for mustang 2 racks. www.borgeson.com Hope this helps, HonestFrank
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"VEO DINDICE"

while on the subject of mustang II racks which is better to run on my 29 plymouth coupe power or manual and why?.....pat

I think for most cars a manual rack is better since its slower ratio which makes for better road feel and will steer easier than most people expect. You do need to avoid extreme U-joint angles though.Power racks are great in parking lots but tend to be rather quick on the highway. You can cut pump pressure and add a front sway bar to improve this.You may have problems with hose hookup,pump location and leaking later on with power racks too. I personally like the manual.