Question about the original steering column in my '56 F100 - is there a stop for the top-end bearing on the column, under the steering wheel?

The first picture is with the new bearing just sticking proud of the outer column tube. The second picture shows the inside of the column tube itself, without the bearing (and without a mechanical bearing stop...).

The one I pulled out was pretty deep in the steering column outer tube, but there doesn't appear to be any type of mechanical stop preventing it from going deeper.

As I understand it, there is the bearing, then the plastic (tubular) "wedge" part, then the compression spring. The spring bears on the plastic wedge, which pushes on the inner race of the bearing, presumably to preload it and take out the radial slop.

However, I don't see any indication of how far to press the new bearing into the tube to begin with.

Any advice or suggestions for assembling this?

The tube and shaft are original, the bearing, wedge, spring, and wheel are from MidFifty.

Thanks!

Bruce

 

3517 (21A-3517) is the upper bearing, 3A649 is the upper bearing sleeve.

Basic part number 3A649 was later replaced by 3518 (B1AZ-3518-A), it's nylon and available from Ford, as it was used in 1960's trucks, 1965/66 Mustangs and etc.

 

Thanks Bill, any idea what is supposed to stop the bearing from sliding too far into the column tube?

 

I would surmise that the coil spring (3520 in pic) would retain the upper bearing in place.

8M-3520 .. Steering Column Upper Bearing Spring / Obsolete

1949/52 F1/F6 & F5/F6 COE & F3/F5 Parcel Delivery / 1953/56 F100/600 & C500/600 & P350/500.

Cars: 1949/51 Mercury & Lincoln (not Cosmopolitan) / 1951 Ford/Mercury with Ford-O-Matic/Merc-O-Matic / 1951 Lincoln with Hydra-Matic.

 

I was looking at replacing mine one time thinking the same thing. How is this top bearing held in place, and how far is it supposed to go down the steering column tube? I was wondering if the bearing itself was sort of an "interference fit" and once it is driven into the tube, the pre-load of the spring under the steering wheel pushes on the upper sleeve and that pushes the bearing down to where it is supposed to be. Don't know really, that's just my theory. Even though I have the new bearing I ended up leaving my old one in for now as all it really needed was the upper bearing sleeve. Once the upper sleeve was slid in, the left/right, upper/lower steering wheel slop was gone. When it does come time to replace mine though, I am going to put the new bearing in a baggie in the freezer overnight to slightly shrink it. With the steering column tube slid off the steering gear assembly or box, measure how deep the old bearing was. Next try pulling the old bearing out with a slide hammer, then driving the new one in the same distance I pulled the old one out maybe using a deep socket. When all is back together you should end up with about a 1/16" gap between the top edge of the steering column tube, and the bottom edge of the steering wheel hub. If not, loosen the steering column support under the dash, and the steering column to steering gear box clamp so you could slide the column up and down to get your 1/16" gap, before tightening everything back up again. I am sure others will have a better, even easier method to do this.

 

hooler1: i just took a closer look at this whole thing. The inside, top section of the outer column tube (where the upper bearing sits) does appear to have a bit of a (very subtle) "neck down" to it. There seems to be a pretty straight section (around 1.435 diameter or so) for some distance (into the tube, where the bearings sits) and then it feels like the ID then necks down to a smaller diameter (I can't find my telescoping bore gages or I'd measure it) - maybe 0.005 or 0.010 or so smaller.

Out of curiosity, I just turned a plastic plug on the lathe (at 1.432 OD) and dropped it into the bore. It goes in a good distance (about 0.880") and then stops pretty abruptly at the transition (though, again, there doesn't appear to be any real step or bearing shoulder to hit).

The replacement bearing has a stamped sheetmetal outer race that has a bit of a taper to it - from about 1.432 at the narrow end (end that goes into the tube first) to about 1.450 (upper end) (varies, it's not very round), so it is clear that it needs a pretty aggressive press to get it into the bore. I don't think it will move much once it is in there, though I'm just hoping that when I press it in, it stops at the right depth. That part is still a bit of a mystery.

So, the good news is that the bearing does not appear to have any chance of falling down the tube (due to the press, plus the ID tapering inward).

The undetermined part is where the whole mess will end up when it's done. I'm destined to find out relatively soon.

A differential thermal shrink-fit (as you suggested) might not be a bad idea on this either. Thanks for the adjustment tips as well, I've got to do some cutting to fit the new location of the CPP box, so I'll need some ***** to turn to get the fit-up looking right.

 

Bearing goes in below the line. I'd say 1/2" in the tube

 

Thanks Kevin, that's the pic I should have taken before removing the bearing! Judging by the depth, I'd say that my theory about the bearing stopping where the tube begins to flare (inward) is about right.

I'll press that bugger in until it stops ;-)

 

Hey Bruce!


Thanks for your work on this and sharing with us what you have found! This has always been a question of mine, and due to your efforts, I know a lot more about it now. I especially like your plastic plug mock up test. About the 1/16" adjustment of the steering column to steering wheel hub clearance, I should of mentioned, that was from my memory from the manual. I believe it also mentions about when tightening up all the bolts for the steering gear box to frame, the steering column tube to steering box clamp, and the below dash to steering column tube clamp, they want to keep the steering gear box and column straight with each other, so there is no binding. I was going to mention that before, but figured you were going to do that anyway. I thought though I should throw that part in, since there are a lot of guys like me, who are trying to learn how to work on this stuff, and are reading about stuff they haven't worked on yet. (again, like me!)