Steering Joint loose

[icanfixall]

My steering wheel has some play in it. I found the joint where the colume to the gear fits to have some slack in it. Is there a way to tighten it up or am I out of luck. The rag joint is solid and the universal joint is fine. Its just the coupler joint thats loose...

 

[typ4]

If the splines are sloppy drill the bolt thru hole bigger then retighten it for more squeeze.

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

Gary is it that slide shaft just above the rag joint?

If so, there's a piece of spring steel in there that can wear out or break and will actually let the 2 shafts rotate independantly and the longer they wear the worse it gets.

The first pic is the spring in place keeping the shafts tight against each other, the second one is what I found on Goldies sloppy shaft.
Yup, the spring was completely gone.

 

[icanfixall]

Thanks guys... Ron you hit the nail on the head. Thats exactly where mine has the slop. Not where I thought it was. I guess its time to go shopping at pick a part for some pocket parts.....

 

[icanfixall]

Update Today

Well today I jumped into this repair... What a mess it was. Getting the joints lined up so I could remove the bolts suxs. Start truck... Turn the wheel.. Check position. Kill motor and try to get both hands into an area not big enough for one hand...... But I got it apart. Found the spring broken causing all the slop. About 1 1/4 inch at the steering wheel.... Made the truck wonder at will going down the road or freeways. Seems to be tight now. Gotta wait for tomorrow for a test run but it really tightened things up....

 

[typ4]

I would have welded it.,And I know it is supposed to collapse in a wreck. but I dont want it to wander off the road, there is another slide joint in the column. Mine was sliding out and almost unhooked.

 

[Diesel JD]

Man....I wonder if that is my truck's problem too.... my steering is far from as tight as I'd like it to be. Still not dangerous most of the time...

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Another alternative to welding would be installing a shear pin, in the form of a low-grade 1/4 bolt - drill the hole slightly smaller than 1/4" so the bolt fits really tight, then tighten the bolt till (in my grandpa's terms) it's half a turn before snapping, should take care of the play and at the same time not mess too much with the collapsible feature of the column.

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

Well today I jumped into this repair... What a mess it was. Getting the joints lined up so I could remove the bolts suxs. Start truck... Turn the wheel.. Check position. Kill motor and try to get both hands into an area not big enough for one hand...... But I got it apart.

Sorry, fergot to tell ya bout that part.

Glad ya got it fixed tho.

 

[icanfixall]

Ron... Its all good.... I needed something to do before the rain started.... Looks like the rain will be washing down the recent burn areas nicely and we know how the crappy drivers are out here. I almost want to park my truck just so it wont get totaled by some ricer driving way too fast and hard in the rain. Remember the first rain makes for the worst slippery roads because of the road oils.

 

[4x7.3NE]

Another alternative to welding would be installing a shear pin, in the form of a low-grade 1/4 bolt - drill the hole slightly smaller than 1/4" so the bolt fits really tight, then tighten the bolt till (in my grandpa's terms) it's half a turn before snapping, should take care of the play and at the same time not mess too much with the collapsible feature of the column.

I did it and it works great, and will shear in a crash!

 

[GRU]

awesome!!! this is exactly what my truck needs too! sweet!!

 

[LCAM-01XA]

I did it and it works great, and will shear in a crash!

Good to know, thanks for being the guinea pig - now I can get around and do my truck the same way, if I ever remember, hah!

 

[HammerDown]

Would my 1988 F250 4x4 have one of these "slide joints"...?

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

Would my 1988 F250 4x4 have one of these "slide joints"...?

Yeppers.