Hi, new to the forum! The steering wheel on my 1966 F-100 suddenly popped off, and now the column is loose. Seems like it slipped out of bushings or collar maybe. Any thoughts?

B

 

The steering wheel is retained to the steering shaft (3524) by a 5/8" -18 nut (350983-S see pic), so it cannot 'pop' off.

 

...check the steering shaft where it attaches to the rag joint/steering box in the engine compartment...

 

"Rag joint" (steering coupler) is 3A525 in parts catalog pic shown in post #2.

 

I should have been more specific: The steering wheel retaining nut backed off completely. When I went to reattach the wheel, less of the threaded shaft was protruding, and the shaft had noticeable side-to-side and up-and-down play. The column itself remained firm. The rag joint is visibly newer, but there does seem to be a larger gap between the rag joint

 

...and the lower portion of the steering column (a larger gap where the rag joint fiber goes in)

B

 

As always, a picture's worth a grand. There should be no play in the steering shaft, except rotational movement.....