Sloppy Steering Column

[cason234]

Hello old Ford enthusiasts! I am the proud owner of a 1990 F250 4x4 5 speed with 7.3 NA diesel. Not sure how many miles (I suspect 205,000). The steering column is pretty sloppy, and I'm looking to this group for suggestion. I'm referring to the UP / DOWN play in the steering wheel. You can move it up / down almost 2". The play in the steering assembly is 'normal', but its the floppy column I'd like to address. Any suggestions for repair? Is it a bearing? Should I look for a different steering column? Any help will be appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help and recommendations!

PS: Not totally new to diesel Fords..... I also have a 95 Crew Cab PSD 2wd with 180,000 miles. I just rebuilt the TTB front end, including RedHead Steering box, new ball joints, new linkages, and new shocks.... nice improvement.

 

[franklin2]

I would look for another column. If nothing else, to get parts from it. Steering columns are not fun to work on. If your truck has a lift in it, people like to use the steering wheel to pull themselves up in the truck, and after a few years of this it can crack some cast aluminum pieces in there.

 

[cason234]

ha ha, thanks franklin2..... that's right..... it has a modest lift in it, and I wouldn't be surprised if the wheel was used as a 'personal hoist'...... I'll keep my eyes open for a used column. Cheers

PS: follow up to this..... I looked for a reman or used column.... the ones I've seen so far are pretty expensive! Yikes..... it will probably be worth my while to simply rebuild my current one. Cheers

 

[laserjock]

The pins are probably worn in the tilt mechanism or the bearings in the column or shot or both. Bearings are changeable. Only so much you can do about the pins.

I don’t have any pictures handy but putting the tilt column back together is not fun. You need two extra hands and a tail to do it easily.

 

[cason234]

Thanks laserjock - I've ordered a new bearing, and I'll see what I find out. Tell me if I'm nuts here: I can't tell if I have a tilt column or not...... there is no tilt lever, nor is there an obvious place where one would thread in...... there is an opening at the BOTTOM of the column, and I haven't looked to see if there's a place there where a lever would thread into (I doubt that's it, as it would then stick straight into the driver's legs!)..... the truck is a "Lariat", so I suspect it WOULD have tilt steering, and the column has a 'kink' in it (as if it was tilt steering positioned in one of the "upper" positions)..... whaddya think? Do I have a tilt column, or is the OEM non tilt column positioned with an angle to it? Thanks for your help and advice

 

[laserjock]

To tilt it push the turn signal lever back toward the dash. If the lever moves much at all in that direction it’s a tilt column. They can be tough to tilt if it’s worn bad and sometimes it will tilt when you don’t want it to. Just depends on what’s worn.

 

[cason234]

D'oh! That's it.... so obvious, it was staring me right in the face! Thanks for the info..... sure enough, the turn signal stalk was the answer.... and yes, it does have tilt steering. I suppose that's bad news if it means it's tougher to rebuild.... but that's OK..... I'll figure it out.

Thanks again

 

[laserjock]

If you get in a bind, I’ve got the manual somewhere that shows how to take it apart and put it back together but it’s not that complicated. Just physically challenging in my case.

 

[cason234]

Thanks laserjock..... are there a lot of parts that I'd need? I may have to start shopping soon - thanks for your help!

 

[laserjock]

There’s not a ton you can do if the pins are wore out other than replace them. I would recommend changing out the pot metal actuator that always breaks as a “while you are in there” item. I’m not sure if anyone makes a repair kit for the pins or not. The pivot pins wear the aluminum housing.

 

[cason234]

Thanks! I'll dig into it and see what I find

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Laserjock has you covered for sure. If you dont care about the tilt, junkyard a non-tilt column and you're golden! From what I hear, they are much easier to service bearings-wise, and dont have the pins to wear out like the tilt column, as said above.
I tried to get a static column but the day I went they only had a good tilt, so I went home with that. Of course that was after trying to fix the pins in mine for WAY to many hours...just didnt work. And there are no repair pins available that I could find. Which is ridiculous considering how stupid easy it would be to make some with the right equipmemt...

 

[Cubey]

My RWD isn't lifted and it's the same way. I had to tear it open when the actuator broke. It was somewhere deeper in the shaft, not the upper most bearing. Unless it starts having steering problems, going to leave it.

 

[cason234]

Thanks the Josh Bear - I'm going to check out a wrecking yard near here.... a standard column would be fine for me as well (without tilt)...... I always put small steering wheels on my cars and trucks, and I'm planning the same for this truck..... meaning no problem with leg room. I'll see what I find, and go from there.

 

[Danielle]

Guess I should stop using my steering wheel as a hoist into the truck oops