I have a 1970 F 250 with an automatic transmission, and since I have been driving it for the past 14 years, the steering wheel has been sort of loose. If I tighten the nut that holds the steering wheel on, this makes the steering drag. I have had the column apart in the past year, and still could not figure out why the wheel is so loose. Wondered if a part was missing or? Any help appreciated.

 

If you find you need a steering wheel, here's a steering wheel I have on ebay. It's NOS and a rare color. One of a kind and not found anywhere.
item # 270630749280 As for your issue: it could be worn out from being loose and trying to turn it causing the teeth to get worn out. You may need to remove your steering wheel to find out if this is the case.

 

Thanks. I had not considered the problem being the steering wheel itself. It seems to be that when tightening the nut, if it is too tight then it basically locks the steering wheel, and if it is loose enough to be able to drive, the wheel sort of wobbles. I will take a look at the splines to see if that may have something to do with it. It feels as though there is nothing solid for the wheel to tighten against, unless tightened to the point where the wheel will not move. The spring behind the wheel seems to be ok.

 

Check where the steering shaft comes out of the column under the hood. I'm not familiar with your vehicle, but the Bronco's I've worked on have a clamp style sleeve that holds the shaft and bearing in the column. If your shaft is not all the way in and then tightened it will do that. Worth a check.

 

It do not think that the steering shaft is loose. The bearing seemed ok when I had the column apart previoulsy. Even before that, the steering wheel was wobbly. Will take another look at the steering shaft problem you descibed though.
Thank you.

 

The looseness does not seem to be related to the steering column. I have been wondering if it might be the wrong steering wheel altogether. From what I can tell, a 1970 F 250 would have the three spoked wheel, with the round emblem in the middle, and this wheel is two spoked, with the oblong horn pad in the middle.

 

Same 3 spoke steering wheel: 1961/65 F100/250 2WD / 1966 F100 4WD / 1967/70 F100/350 / 1966/73 Bronco / 1960/63 Falcon/Comet.

Standard Cabs came with a horn button, Custom Cabs/Rangers with a horn ring. Either is the same as 1960/63 Falcon/Comet (except the center emblem), but not the same as 1966/73 Bronco.

1968/70: Ford painted the horn ring/horn button flat argent to reduce glare. There is no chrome under that argent paint, so do not strip the paint off.

TWO spoke steering wheel with vinyl horn pad: 1971/77 F100/350; 1974/77 Bronco; 1975/77 Econoline. A different two spoke steering wheel was used on 1978/79 F100/350's, Bronco's & Econolines.

The wheel might even be from a 1980's truck...What is the diameter of the two spoke steering wheel you have?

IMO: The steering wheel itself has nothing to do with what's causing the problem. What the usual causes are:

The upper and/or lower steering column bearings/sleeves are worn, or the lower bearing retainer is worn, or possibly has broken apart caused by vibration.

The rubber portion of the steering coupler (rag joint) that connects the steering shaft to the input shaft of the steering gear box is defective.

The rubber becomes oil soaked, and/or heat and age causes it to crack apart.

IF the rubber separates from the coupler, you will have NO steering...at all...because the steering shaft will no longer be connected to the steering gear's input shaft.

gfw1985: There is no clamp that connects the steering shaft to the steering gear on an F100/350 2WD.

The clamp will be found on 1966/77 Bronco's (with manual steering), 1966/75 F100 4WD's and 1967/75 F250 4WD's. These vehicles have a lower steering shaft & coupler assembly, do not use a rag joint.
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Robert: That steering wheel DOES NOT fit a 1965 (or a 1964) Falcon. Whoever printed that wild mule p!ss on the box (it wasn't me)...had NO CLUE.

I sent you the correct applications via ebay.

 

The steering wheel on the truck now is 16 1/4 " in diameter. Replaced the rag joint last winter. The steering wheel feels as though it is loose on the splines, sort of rocks back and forth, unless the nut is so tight that the wheel will not turn. The steering shaft itself does not seem to be loose. I do have a set of new bearings, did not put them in when I had the steering column apart before because the old ones seemed ok. Will take another look though. I swore the last time I took the shift collar off it would be the last, but practice makes perfect I guess...

 

There is no 2 spoke wheel that is 16 1/4" / 16 1/2" = 1971/73 F100/350.

16" = 1974/79 F100/350 with M/S ~ 15" with P/S.

This may seem like a dumb question: Are you sure you have a 1970?

The serial number is the last six digits of the VIN

1970 serial number range: G30,001 thru J70,000.

1971 serial number range: J70,001 thru M30,000.

 

Definitely a 1970. Could be that my measurement was off.

Is there any difference in how the steering wheels attach on the steering shaft, from the years 1970 and say 1973?

 

There is a detectable bit of play in the shaft, and probably would not hurt to replace the bearings, but the wheel itself is also not tight on the steering shaft. Removing the nut and then the wheel, under this a spring that rests on the "C" cliip that holds the shift collar on the shaft. It is driveable as it is, but would like fix it.

I remeasured the steering wheel in the daylight, and it it 16 1/2", not 16 1/4".

 

If I remember right, there should be a split cone between the upper bearing and spring under the steering wheel. This will snug the steering shaft to the bearing. The steering wheel should require a puller to remove. Or hard wiggling and pulling on the wheel, leave the nut on loose or bust your head. Note; Chevies won't stand up to that!

 

I have not seen a split cone listed in the parts catalogs I have with the diagram of steering parts, but it has crossed my mind that maybe something was missing between the spring and the bearing. Any idea where I could find out for sure? The steering wheel at this time does not need a puller, I can just take the nut off and it the wheel is loose.

 

Do you have the 1964/72 Ford Truck Parts Catalog? If so...look here:

Illustration Section 35, page 8: 1965/72 F100/250 2WD & 1967/72 F350 steering column parts.

The upper steering column bearing (C3DZ3517A) fits into the upper flange along with a plastic sleeve (B1AZ3518A). The sleeve is cone shaped and can split apart due to wear.

Above the bearing is a coil spring, the C shaped turn signal cancelling cam, the round and shouldered horn brush contact plate and the steering wheels hub.

If you don't have this catalog, it's available on a CD from hipoparts.com for 22 bucks.

The upper/lower bearings and sleeves are the same and are available from Ford.

 

Looked back at some of my stuff and could not verify that part was used in that column, I've had a lot apart over the decades. Otherwise the snapring should hold the shaft in place, in relationship to the upper bearing. I would go back to the wheel but make sure the slines on the shaft are good.