Steering coupler found

When I looked at Lares 217 I got this: Steering coupler insulator

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And the picture is this:

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View attachment 496258
Stan is correct, that would fit my 64.
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I'm not yet to that stage in my restoration, but do you advise to buy one just in case?
Is it a part that's always damaged, or can it still be in good shape after 50 years ?
 
Is it a part that's always damaged, or can it still be in good shape after 50 years ?

Rubber doesn't age well. It gets hard and brittle over time. It's even worse because it's in a bad spot, near the exhaust manifold, so it tends to harden and crack from the heat. What looks OK visually may fall apart when you remove it. If yours has never been replaced, it's a safe bet that it needs to be. Even if it's been replaced once in the life of the car, there's a good chance it's bad if that was more than a few years ago.

No matter what, it's part of the steering. Do it once and do it right.
 
I'm not yet to that stage in my restoration, but do you advise to buy one just in case?
Is it a part that's always damaged, or can it still be in good shape after 50 years ?

I suggest giving it the hairy eyeball. They do deteriorate and when they break it's always at the worst possible time. If you see any cracks at all, replace it.

Mine broke when driving around a corner in a parking garage. Fortunately there was an open spot I was able to maneuver into. Otherwise I would have needed a tow truck. I would have blocked everyone from exiting the garage. Got lucky on that one. That was back in '86 or so. I was able to find one at a nissan dealer that turned into a chrysler dealership. The parts guy had to go through a couple parts books to find the right number. But I was able to order a new one. Good luck with that today.
 
And brakes
And suspension.

I cannot separate those three. Ever.
It's embarrassing when you nearly kill yourself.

Very true...

But I've also jammed a 2 x 4 in my Dodge Dart lower control arm when the rear torsion bar mount twisted free. Getting to work being the priority. I sometimes feel hypocritical when I suggest "doing it right" and think about the road side fixes that were supposed to be temporary.

Different day though... different traffic etc.
 
But wait....was it cheap pine or a proper hardwood like maple or oak? There IS a difference!
I found that the material didn't make too much difference. I used whatever I could find. Scraps at a construction site often gave the correct length and if it was dark with no one around, they were free. The key was to change to a new 2 x 4 once a week because of the splintering... and to avoid pot holes.

The ride did get better as the 2 X 4 splintered, but it would also ride lower. The ride on the rubber bumper (if there was one left) was better, but the amount of suspension travel was alarming over anything but perfect surfaces. (especially with worn shocks).

But seriously, there was a cottage industry here for broken frames and one specialty was the the A body torsion bar repair in the late 70's. The end of the bar anchor in the rear mount would twist and rip out of the mount even in relatively low rust cars. The solution involved some scrap angle iron welded across anchor to the mount bolts and a U shaped brace (usually scrap diamond plate) around the t-bar anchor to the mount. It only needed to be chromed to be show worthy.

It really wasn't rare to see one of these cars limping around with one side looking like a west coast low rider... and the reason for not of A bodies surviving.
 
I found that the material didn't make too much difference. I used whatever I could find. Scraps at a construction site often gave the correct length and if it was dark with no one around, they were free. The key was to change to a new 2 x 4 once a week because of the splintering... and to avoid pot holes.

The ride did get better as the 2 X 4 splintered, but it would also ride lower. The ride on the rubber bumper (if there was one left) was better, but the amount of suspension travel was alarming over anything but perfect surfaces. (especially with worn shocks).

But seriously, there was a cottage industry here for broken frames and one specialty was the the A body torsion bar repair in the late 70's. The end of the bar anchor in the rear mount would twist and rip out of the mount even in relatively low rust cars. The solution involved some scrap angle iron welded across anchor to the mount bolts and a U shaped brace (usually scrap diamond plate) around the t-bar anchor to the mount. It only needed to be chromed to be show worthy.

It really wasn't rare to see one of these cars limping around with one side looking like a west coast low rider... and the reason for not of A bodies surviving.
The scary part to me is not that you jammed a piece of wood in there as a quick fix, but that you kept doing it long enough to become an expert in the technique.
 
The scary part to me is not that you jammed a piece of wood in there as a quick fix, but that you kept doing it long enough to become an expert in the technique.
Well, there's those 10 below days where your snot freezes and the great outdoors is your garage. Then put in a 10-12 hour day where it's dark in the morning when you go to work and dark when you come home.

You look and think "It's just a few more weeks until I can get the good car out and I'm going to junk this car anyway" and suddenly that temporary fix doesn't sound so bad.
 
FYI, for those not aware - not every C-body listed below uses this coupling, it is only those with certain steering columns (IIRC ones made by Saginaw?).
My 65 Fury and 65 Chrysler use it.
My 68 Fury does not.

Every installation I've seen has a heat shield around it, make sure you've got one in place. The 'early' cover is a half-clamshell style, the later one is a cylinder with tabs for bolting it on.

Lares 220 coupler fitment from Rock Auto:

CHRYSLER 300 1965-1971
CHRYSLER IMPERIAL 1967-1973
CHRYSLER NEW YORKER 1965-1973
CHRYSLER NEWPORT 1965-1973
DODGE CHARGER 1973
DODGE CORONET 1973
DODGE MONACO 1965-1973
DODGE POLARA 1965-1973
PLYMOUTH FURY 1965-1973
PLYMOUTH ROADRUNNER 1973
PLYMOUTH SATELLITE 1973
 
Every installation I've seen has a heat shield around it, make sure you've got one in place. The 'early' cover is a half-clamshell style, the later one is a cylinder with tabs for bolting it on.

Yes, indeed. Without that heat shield the coupler will soon be baked. My 70 has the cylinder style that you mentioned. Removal and installation of the thing is a bit of a fiddly pain, and I imagine many were tossed aside by a mechanic working on "book time" many years ago.
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