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Bought a 1984 F150 to replace the failed '81 project, the tilt column has some up and down play. How difficult is it for a "shadetree mechanic" like myself to get to the screws to tighten things back up? My Haynes manual does not show anything about it
Bought a 1984 F150 to replace the failed '81 project, the tilt column has some up and down play. How difficult is it for a "shadetree mechanic" like myself to get to the screws to tighten things back up? My Haynes manual does not show anything about it
I went into my '80's column to fix a janky tilt actuator issue. I found it to be reasonable to do, and a thread at fullsizebronco called Actuator Replacement in an '85 with tilt or similar was very helpful. I also took a boatload of pictures and will share a few here to give you an idea what things look like. I'd like to update the aforementioned thread with some additional info but the 3rd party site used to host pictures is a pain, so I haven't got around to it yet. If you need more pics or details, I'll do what I can. Sorry if my pictures are huge.
First, I'd make sure the column bracket is tight to the column, and the bracket is tight to the dash bracket:
Skipped ahead to the tilt head. Don't mind my white socks. You can see one pivot pin on the right side of the tilt head as well as the upper bearing behind the retaining ring. My pins were a decent fit (one tighter than the other, but neither sloppy loose). The pins are one area to check. Although I didn't take many pictures beyond this point, there is another bearing nestled inside the back of the tilt head. Actually, it is shown in the third pic.
Both those bearings fit into the tilt head. My bearings looked good, rolled free, no parts missing, so I elected not to replace them. But, I do have a little up and down play in the column. I suspect, just based on assembly ease, that the bearings have opened up the bores in the tilt head some, but I didn't do any measuring or anything else to confirm. It wasn't objectionable enough to fool with as I'm really interested in just getting this thing driveable again.
I didn't really see anything else that would give you up and down column movement. I can provide pictures of the column in its various states of disassembly, but the thread I referenced does a pretty good job of that.
Putting the tilt head back on will make a nun cuss six ways from Sunday. I don't want to pollute your thread, but if you take the head off, I will share my lessons on how to put it back together without throwing metal objects across the garage multiple times.
That tilt head is what the Ford mechanic at the Ford dealer told me be careful and hold pressure on it so it doesn't come apart. Years ago I had the actuator problem, and I went to my local Ford dealer to ask for some advice. The other mechanics directed me to their "steering column guy". What does that tell you? He knew what I was doing, he must have done a 100 of them. Anyway, the actuator piece comes out fine when it's broken and in two pieces. Getting the new one that is one piece back in was the problem. He told me to press down hard, take the snap ring out, and don't let go. Keep pressure on it, slide it down just enough to get the new actuator in place, and then slide it back up and put the snap ring in place. I wondered what would happen if I were to let go, that must be what you experienced.
For me, the tilt pawl was becoming unpinned from the head because the pin was backing out. It allowed the inboard side of the pawl to roll downward, and the resultant half engagement with the lock pin made it that minor pressure on the wheel would just cause the pawl to skip out of the pin. My pawl teeth were chipped on the outboard side as a result. Due to my impatience and lack of attention, and after removing both pivot pins and pawl pin, the whole thing just came apart.
On reassembly, I manhanlded the head with spring into position and my wife drove in the pivot pins. That was manageable. I then attempted to insert the pawl pin with the head in the up position and it was an abject failure. The holes on the trailing side of the pawl/head never lined up. After much cussing and a break, I lowered the tilt to its lowest position where the pawl is parallel to the ground. It allowed me to get a clamp to not slide off the pawl while taking the spring pressure off the pawl. Drove in the pin and danced for joy.
I drilled out both the head and pawl with a #12 bit for a 3/16” roll pin. In hindsight I’d probably go up to a #11. The original pin was actually bent after I got it out.
Last edited by packagerjr; Jan 17, 2019 at 06:31 PM.
Reason: Grammar/iPhone autocorrect
Tilt steering column
