Best I can tell, the T50 bolts allow it to come apart. But in the end, I get so much more by getting the rebuilt column. I get new springs, bearings, electrical, plastic connectors, ignition switch, key buzzer, internal cylinder bearing, the green plastic retainer, etc...everything is together and waiting to go back into the truck.

 

I was able to learn something from all of this. In the photo, the rubber fitting I'm told was a Ford upgrade some whatever
was there to begin with. That is where the shifter goes in, and a pin pushes in to secure it. I have watched several videos
showing the failures on the column, the 2 big ones seem to be the gear(s) that mine had failed, and the other one is the
bearing that goes on the steering wheel post. In one of the videos, it mentioned grabbing on to the steering wheel as
being the most common cause of this failure, and I know I do that as it's pretty high to get up into the cab. Climbing up
onto the flatbed will give one a workout also...

I couldn't get to my yard today, but hope to get there tomorrow.

I do agree @manicmechanic007, that I could have rebuilt the column pretty easy, sans a T50 bit, but this is hopefully
bullet proof, all I need to do is remove the key cylinder, install the shroud and there is not a lot of screws/bolts I don't
think. I kinda freaked out after I started getting the dash and column apart...the only other dash I've taken apart is
on a '88 Range Rover I used to own...in the end getting everything replaced, including the steering tube inside the
column, seems best. I can always look back and say I shoulda, woulda, coulda...but this is what I did. You did help me
out in this thread, including @tjc transport and @AuroraGirl and I do appreciate it. Without the help I'm not sure
I would have ventured into even taking the column out, or even try the ignition switch...
And FWIW, the plastic ratchet works perfectly as it should and I can now understand that mine was bad for that very
reason. The key needs to turn that ratchet in/out to operate the ignition switch. So I did learn something else.

Alan

 

I like the looks of that red rubber shift lever bushing
Those little black ones wore out quick

 

I have some of my parts on the column, such as the shifter tube, and the shifter with a pin
goes through that. I must have had the black one, but don't remember...Ah, I see it above...
Let me put the pic here. It's on the end of the shifter tube, where the shifter attaches. Can't
see it too clearly, but it's definitely black. Mine hasn't been used too much, my truck is 27
years old and has 78,000 miles on it. Steering Column Specialists did me a favor and
assembled my shifter tube and brackets with new rubber to the column and gave me
the shifter and pin, separate. There is sure a lot that can go wrong on these columns.

I'll tell 'ya, you will probably hear me doing the Snoopy Dance all the way back to the east
coast when I get Humpty back together. I am so looking forward to using this truck for what
it was intended for...hauling.

Alan

 

i never had a problem with the rubber shifter bushing.
i always break the shift tube about half way down. broke 3 in 10 years on the 02 diesel, and 2 in 10 years on the 04 gas job.
also broke 2 on the 99 crown vic.

 

The levers get loose and the pins fall out when that bushing gets worn (work trucks and contractor trucks mostly)
I have never broken any of mine (Taurus, Trucks or Vans) but I do keep all those parts in stock, including the straps and bushings in my toolbox along with a new shift shaft, collar and a few of the T30 torx bolts
I repair the PRNDL indicators so often that there is no junkyard around here with any of the plastic cable adjusters left, I got them all already

 

The problem with the salvage yards here is they want $250 to pull a used column, and no guarantees that it even has good bearings and/or gears in it.

Those torx bolts will be the death of me...

 

Well, I thought I broke some plastic tabs, but I pooched myself yesterday as the standoffs broke off that hold the fuel tank switch to the dash. There was two small screws holding it in from the rear, but I seem to have broken both of them (top and bottom).

There are 2 ways I was thinking about jury rigging this to get it together. I should add, it seems to work properly. I need to take it back apart and the transmission seems to have gotten disconnected. I did put the small cable loop over the dome to the top right of the column, but it is not connected now. I am not sure, but I seem to have lost that little plastic nut that adjusts the cable, maybe that is my problem??? Does that make sense to anyone? As far as the ignition, all of that works correctly, but I don't know if I'll need to take the ignition cylinder out again or not.

The 2 ways I thought about. 1) just drill through the dash and use a metal bolt and nut with the nut behind the fuel tank switch. Short of super glue, I'm not sure how to resolve that without getting a new dash section. The 2nd way is to super glue some standoff tubes that are threaded. Have any of you done this? The wires are not very long at all, but I see the connector comes off now...there's always some hindsight after the fact...LOL I guess the dash didn't like hanging on those wires...

Alan

 

i would try the glue first. as for the shift indicator, if you do not have the adjuster in there, it will not work

 

Use some good epoxy and glue the switch to the cluster surround / bezel
I would also take a file to the connector retainer and remove some of the tab
That will make it unplug easier next time, and maybe not break your glue, if you need to remove the bezel again
Have fun

 

Yeah, I think I will try the glue route.

I tried calling some salvage yards to see if I could find a dash bezel that surrounds the speedometer, but it's not so easy. I have a dual tank, and some don't have the tank switch on them to begin with.

I also see blk, grey and brown. I need grey, but blk would work.

I don't think I'm going to work on it today, but if I do I'll have some gorilla super glue with me.

Alan

 

Tom,

Can you explain this? I am suspecting that the small plastic nut on the threaded tube that goes up through the bottom of the dash, keeps tension on the cable so that it doesn't slip off the small dome piece. I did have it on there, and it seemed as if it was shifting properly, but now it is nothing out of park. Do you know if this small washer does in fact keep tension on that small cable? I think I can use a metal nut if I can determine the size of the thread. I'm sure it's common.

Alan - I wish I had a pic, but the Ford diagram for the steering column doesn't appear to have it.

 

yes, that little white wheel is the adjuster nut for the shift indicator.
if it is not there, the shift indicator will stay in either park or first gear depending on which way it pulls the cable.
the trans and shifter will work fine, it just will not tell you what gear it is in.
what i did when i broke mine was count each gear detent as i shifted to determine what gear i was in until i replaced the piece.

 

I know for certain I got the small loop over the dome, I pushed it a 2nd time to make sure it was back there.

When I left there was nothing, as in I could start the truck from the key, the turn signals, hazards and buzzer were working, but there was nothing when I shifted. It felt like nothing, not as it did when I first hooked it up.

I need to undo the steering union at the bottom of the column to turn the column/wheel in the correct position, so will be looking at this next week. I am going to risk rain to drive a small load to my new shop. Stuff like chain falls, phase converter, small belt sander, maybe a welding table...I have a small tarp I'll use for safety, more than the flatbed machines get...the flatbed will need to wait, until we can add more weight, at the cost of Joe Biden gas.

 

if nothing when shifting, did you hook up the shift cable to the bottom of the column with the two torx screws?