When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Just off the phone with a very helpful parts guy at Koons Ford, Falls Church VA
Upper bearing is F23Z-3517B, available from Ford, special order $40
Lower bearing is EOTZB-3517B, discontinued, possibly available as NOS from other dealers.
Several of the bushings and retainers are discontinued.
on my the 87-91 column there are 3 bolts that old the top together. on my 88 two of these three bolts were loose and one was broken from using the column to pull myself up into the cab.
i just found a good column in a junkyard out of a bronco and put it in the 88.
on my the 87-91 column there are 3 bolts that hold the top together. on my 88 two of these three bolts were loose and one was broken from using the column to pull myself up into the cab.
I presume the trim needs to come off to get to these bolt-heads, yes?
Why did you still get the junkyard replacement column? Was there still play after tightening/replacing the 3 bolts?
you need to strip the column to access the bolts. one was snapped off in the upper, the other two were stretched.
i went looking for a parts column, and found the bronco column in almost perfect condition for $20. so i swapped the key cylinder and put it in instead of spending $100 to fix mine
you need to strip the column to access the bolts. one was snapped off in the upper, the other two were stretched.
i went looking for a parts column, and found the bronco column in almost perfect condition for $20. so i swapped the key cylinder and put it in instead of spending $100 to fix mine
U-Pull-It prices changes the decision process quickly! Thanks for the details!
on my the 87-91 column there are 3 bolts that old the top together. on my 88 two of these three bolts were loose and one was broken from using the column to pull myself up into the cab.
i just found a good column in a junkyard out of a bronco and put it in the 88.
DING DING DING! We have a winner! (rep points awarded!)
From the other thread, here's the condition:
Originally Posted by aj88V
The steering wheel in my '89 can be moved from the center towards the door, but not much play up and down. Obviously from years of someone pulling themselves inside by the steering wheel. Realized it when I did it myself. This is a fixed (no tilt) column.
The steering column has three allen head cap screws. The two lower ones on mine were very loose and the upper one a little loose. Tightened them up and all is good.
Writing this up just in case anybody else has a wobbly steering wheel for the 1987-1991 F150 trucks.
The screws are pretty easy to get to. You do not need to do 90% of the work associated with replacing the bearings referenced in the other thread.
See picture below:
1) Remove the ***** labelled (1). You need a small metal hook to press the metal clip inside. Look for a notch on the plastic shaft of the **** and press in there.
2) Remove the two lower trim panels (2) on your dash below the speedo cluster.
3) Remove the plastic shroud surrounding the steering column just in front of the dash (3). It's a plastic clamshell with two long screws going vertically from the bottom.
4) The three cap head screws are oriented along the steering column with the heads pointed towards the engine. You need an allen wrench (hex key) to tighten them. I used a small ratchet with a key, because the L on my regular Bondhus key was too long to fit in there with the metal dash support in the way. I guess you could shorten your key with a grinder if you had an old set you didn't care about. Certainly less work than dropping the steering column for clearance.
5) Assembly in reverse order. Put the clam shell back on first.
Access to bolts for wobbly steering column 1987-91 F150
Hopefully this is all that is wrong on the 91 F150. Would be nice to find an easy fix on that truck.
Unfortunately on the 89 F250 it is the bearings for sure just haven't justified fixing a work trucks steering column that travels maybe 25 miles a month and mostly back roads.
I'm just today getting a chance to look deeper into this, and I think the column may have changed somewhat for the 1990 & '91 model years. I say this for two reasons...
1) I took everything apart as indicated above and cannot find any Allen-headed bolts that run parallel with the column. In fact, I cannot find any bolts at all that run parallel with the column.
2) There is a "E9" part# on the Aluminum bracket that somewhat wraps around the column closer to the firewall. E9 would indicate a part that was introduced in 1989, most likely first found on a 1990 model year vehicle. Full part# is E9TA-3676-BA Doing a search I find someone currently selling one on eBay as a '91 - '94 Explorer Steering Column Bracket.
Brad, the allen head bolts he refers to are not as far down the column as the aluminum bracket you show in your pic. They are up inside the lowest plastic sleeve in your picture, where the turn signal wiring goes up inside.
Brad, the allen head bolts he refers to are not as far down the column as the aluminum bracket you show in your pic. They are up inside the lowest plastic sleeve in your picture, where the turn signal wiring goes up inside.
Right, I understand that the bolts would be closer to the steering wheel, under the shroud that covers the ignition key and indicator stalk. I just checked again and there's no bolts in there. Stuck my finger in there and no bolt stubs or threaded holes.
The reason I posted the pic of the bracket was that I'm speculating the whole column assembly was changed starting in model year 1990. Do any of you with '87 - '89 trucks have an Aluminum bracket like that?
I realize the assembly was drastically changed starting in '92 with the 9th generation truck. This seems like it might have been a stop-gap measure for the final two years of the 8th gen.
03-20-2015, 12:54 PM
