Hello, Everyone!
I just wanted to share my first experience with replacing this column. First and foremost, the horn assembly is mounted with screws on the back of the steering wheel! I tore into mine without knowing that-my excuse is that I was stuck in a desert river-bottom, and had no instruction manual-LOL! Some kind of cheap metal cam had broken off and would not let me start or shift from P to anything!

Okay, a few tips: Of course, put your brakes on first. Second, disconnect all of your batteries. Trust me on this, I nearly zapped myself! third, if yu have a digital camera, TAKE LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURES!!
There is an access panel on the dash beneath the column to remove. Once you get it off, you can disconnect the electronic coupling to the turn signals, horn, emergency brakes, et al. Then you have the bracket with bolts to either side. BEFORE you undo this one, I suggest you go under the truck/van and disconnect your linkage arm from the column to the transmission. THEN, disconnect the linkage arm from the column.

Here's a tip for that: The retaining bushing is nylon, and doesn't need lube to loosen it up. The linkage arm has a nipple-type shape that locks inside the bushing, and extends out past it maybe a quarter of an inch. The problem with this sucker is that the lip to the linkage "nipple" is the same width as the nylon bushing on the insertion side. What does this mean? It means it is TIGHT and flush together. There is no apparent room to work a screwdriver in, but yes, you can do it; just be patient and work it around.
BUT, it is tough to get at, especially on the van. I used a meter-long (yard-long?) crowbar to work against the edge of the column arm that connects the linkage. The column arm has that bushing locked into it. I was EXTREMELY CAREFUL not to break that bushing; in fact, I avoided placing anything into the tiny gap, as it probably would have damaged the nylon, and I would have had to try to get one somewhere. Hell, I doubt anywhere but a junkyard would have had it, but I digress...weird part, though. I wouldn't know how to describe it to a parts counter person!
SO, I put the angled tip of the crowbar in such a way as to pry against the column arm and the curve of the linkage arm; avoiding contact with the bushing, I was able to pry the two apart. NOW, I didn't say it was EASY, lol! But I did manage it. Tight as hell in there, trust me! I rolled the tip of the crowbar back and forth to get an angle on it, and eventually it was rolling it far enough that gave me the necessary separation effect to pop them apart.

The next item was that fitting over the column that has a carriage bolt through it. DON'T SCREW WITH IT! I did and lost my bolt somewhere in the bowels of my frame. It wasn't necessary, trust me! It's just a type of dust cover/grease retainer. It will come out with the column without loosening. If you feel that you must loosen it, for god's sake, don't unscrew the nut all the way. You'll regret it! And it's so damn tight in there to get to it, you'll just cut yourself up trying to get to it. I did get to it, and I did cut myself, and I did bust my knuckles-all for nothing!

Okay, now before you loosen the mounting bracket on the dash, disconnect anything else, like the brake sensor hose (for cruise control) and move stuff out of the way. Unscrew the three base plate bolts, and lift the rubber base plate up the column. In case you have to leave the project for any reason, this will keep the base plate from being crushed, folded, or mutilated by the weight of the column.

NOW undo your dash bracket bolts and be careful not to drop the damn thing on your head! In fact, I was able to easily support it as I removed the bolts and lowered the column. Guess what? You have another electronic coupling to remove! Do yourself a favor and try not to break the lock tabs on ANY of your couplings. God knows you don't want to be rolling down the highway and have everything go dead on you at once because your broke the lock flanges off the couplings!

We're almost there, baby! The column slid right out. I removed the dust/lubrication retaining cover, attached it to my replacement column with no problems. The, I removed the four bolts and dash bracket and put them on my replacement column. I greased the arm/shaft to the steering box, and slid that puppy right on there. I bolted the rubber base in first, then re-connected the column coupling, then the dash mounting bolts. The rest was a reversal of what I had disconnected, as I re-attached the other electronic coupling, and the vacuum line to the brake system; then the column cover, completing the effect that everything was right in my Ford world! Back out to the battery to reconnect, put in my key, and NO!!!! Khaaaaaan! Khaaaaaan! I had shifted the transmission linkage out of alignment, and had to get back under the truck and re-set it. When I tried it again, it worked, and I was laughing at the superior intellect of......whoever.

If I missed anything, then I will be the first to crash and burn, but let's keep our fingers crossed that doesn't happen! Looking at my camera photos, I think I'm in good shape!

Here's the thing about my first foray to discover what had gone wrong: First, I screwed up by not making a careful inspection of the steering column, and damaged my horn/cruise control assembly. I know I already mentioned it, but hey, the thing cost $40 or more at the junkyard, so if you have money to spare, e-mail me and I'll tell you where to send all of it.
Steering wheel, use a pulley. I had to beat mine loose (I was stuck out in the desert, remember? No pulley access!) This broke ALL KINDS of little electrical gizmos, like, oh, my emergency signals, my turn signals, and last but not least, IT SHORTED OUT MY BRAKE LIGHT FUSE!!!! Gods, what a nightmare. I must say, that if you can avoid it, don't screw around in there, take it to a pro, or get a damn good book that shows you exactly what, where, and how. Did I mention taking pictures? Yes I did, and yes, you should!

That damn thing was as tricky a piece of equipment as anything I have ever seen in my 33 years of having to work on my vehicles, so unless you replace it outright as I did, take the damn column out and take it to a pro to dink around with the innards. Seriously, it cost me $237 to replace my column-but again, me, desert, stuck, emergency surgery to get vehicle to start and move, etc. Otherwise, I would have just taken out the whole column and gone to a pro with it. It probably still would have cost me a similar amount, but at least I would not have had to search the Internet far and wide across America to find a used column!

Happy wrenching, and remember, safety isn't an option!
Tombstone Lizard
tombstonelizard@hotmail.com