I got in to my truck today and noticed somthing that I ither didnt notice befor or somthing that is very bad..... My steering column is angled towards the drivers side door a little, is that normal or is it suposed to go straight towards the back? If it is not normal then I think I found out why my steering does not return to the middle.... I seen a post a few days ago, and somone said it could be my cab settling? What does that meen and how do I fix this?

 

I noticed mine is angled also

 

My 79 F150 is angled to the drivers side door too. I think Ford designed it that way so that while we drive,we can lay our left elbow up in the window, hold on to the steering wheel with our left hand, because now its angled closer within reach, and then hold a cold, frosty drink with the right hand, and let the country roll by while the dual exhausts purr on.

 

I have had two 67s and they were both like that. The first one drove me crazy but I am older now and more accepting of imperfection. I think Greg has the right idea - left elbow in the sun, right fist around a cold one (soda of course as times have changed). Longing for the old days but pressing on.
jor

 

whewh..... thats good... I was thinking somthing was in need of replacement... And yeah, I know what you meen by that left arm... My left arm is already way darker then my right arm... Damn drivers tan.... And just make sure that cold frosty in your right hand is not alcohol!!! I can only carry re-closeable bottles in my truck, I have a 3 speed and am always changin gears....

 

I've always heard that if the steering wheel is off or maybe binding or the sheft linkage is a little off that you should take a real close look at the cab mounts.

 

hmm..... Well... I looked but I am not sure what I am suposed to be looking for? I will try to get the digital camera and take some pics of the mounts, and maybe even give you an updated look of my engine . Thank you for the info tho!

 

Your cab mounts will not affect the way your steering column tilts side to side.

 

Torque1st is right!

That certainly doesn't mean your shaft can't be off to one side, but if your saddle mount (under the dash) is tight and your firewall plates are tight and not rusty, the flex joint at the end of your steering column should take care of any slight angling from cab settling. Besides, if settling did have any effect (which it doesn't), the wheel would head straight down, not off to one side, and you'd see distortion in the flex joint.

Check all your mounts; the one under the dash and the clamp on the outside firewall mount. And by the way, I did see one of these bent toward the side window once. Was owned by a guy who always grabbed the wheel to yank himself into the truck!

 

I now know that all of the wheels are slightly angled towards the drivers door. Two people have told me that cab mounts could have something to do with it and about five people said to take out my steering shaft and replace and or grease the bearings and see if that helps. So I have ruled out the possibility of my problem of my steering not returning to be my cab mounts. I just have some more questions about removing the shaft, I know how to get to it and remove my turn signal switch, but I was told to be careful because the bearings may be needle bearings and I know how much of a pain those things are.... I looked in all of my books and none of them say anything about replacing bearings or removing the shaft? Has anyone ever done this? Do I need a puller or any other special tools? And is this an all day thing? Because it is now my daily driver and anything that needs to be done has to be done over a weekend or when I don't need to go anywhere. Any help?

 

If your wheel isn't returning to center, my first thought was kingpin condition. Are they greased/move freely? Second, have you attempted to adjust the steering gearbox?

I could be wrong, but if your cab has settled enough to affect steering, you'll visibly see the 'swamping' between cab and fenders.

 

Has anyone considered the possibility that the skewed column is a built in safety factor? In a heavy frontal collision I'd rather have the column angled slightly away from my chest rather than directly at it. Just a thought.......

 

iNTERESTING

 

My 79 F150 steering wheel could be lifted up and down a bit while sitting in the seat behind the wheel. I looked for the play in the shaft and it was in three places. The bearing at the turn signal, a worn u-joint in my connector shaft from the end of the column to the steering box, ( replaced it with a new Borneson) and at the plastic shaft housing that supports the shaft on the firewall. The shaft comes out easy, just have to remember the order that the signal plate, retainer ring, etc , goes back on.
I made a wheel puller from 1/8 in. x 1 1/2 flat stock. Just drilled the stock and put 5'16 bolts with stop nuts, thru it that screw in to the steering wheel. Put a hex machine bolt in the center to pull against. My shaft at the steering wheel end was wore down and out of round ,so just a new bearing wouldnt help. I had a machine shop build up the shaft with weld and turn it back down to the correct i.d. of my new bearing. I bought my bearings from ***. All of them work good too..
I personally do not think any shaft bearing wear would cause THAT much angle of your steering wheel. My steering wheel angles toward the drivers door some, as I said in the above post, but it steers perfect, no drift, or pull, and the column shaft enters in to the u-shaft at the firewall at 90 deg. off of the firewall. If a truck had a front end collision that was concealed good by a body shop, then that MAY, contribute to the tires not returning to center, or could be any number of front suspension woes.. good luck,

 

Kingpins were recently checked out and new grease fittings were put in (the bottom ones were gone) So I figured that was my problem, but then when I got them all lubed up, it helped a little but not much. And that is when I started thinking about the bearings around my shaft..... And yes I have loosened my steering gear and that also did help, but it didn't fix my problem. I am about to take it somewhere.... Either that or get a 4 wheel thrust alignment. My truck has never NEVER been in an accident, I know because I know all of the owners of this truck, there have only been 4, and the 3rd guy let the truck sit out in the woods for about 12 years....the 4th guy seen it and bought it from him for 300$ and I helped him clean it up and he sold it to me for 310$. So what does everyone think could cause my steering to not return?

I no longer think my steering column is broken, I found out that it is normal for it to be at a slight angle.