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I’ve got a 1971 f250. I just pulled an old aftermarket steering wheel off of my steering column and it had a spacer and it stuck out a ways with a rubber sleeve hiding the gap between the wheel and the column. Anyway, when I put the oem replacement wheel on, there is a gap when the steering wheel is all the way tight. I need to use the rubber sleeve to hide it. The wheel can’t contact the horn pin or the turn signal cam.
That gap is an indication that your cab mounts are bad. The next thing your need to look at is your rag joint. If the cab has dropped that much, your rag joint is most likely bad as well. This is a major safety hazard and needs to be looked at NOW!
A column rebuild may b n your future . I have completely rebuilt a complete 3 speed column shift , & done an enormous amount of research & I am afraid you may need a steering shaft because I bet the angle has eaten lots of metal away & other parts as well , hope not !!!
Fordification.com is an ENORMOUS resource for this !!!
It looks like this truck wasn’t a factory power steering truck, and it was converted at some point. The evidence of this is the Bendix style power steering pump that was discontinued in 1968 - three years before my truck left the factory. The steering column shaft is too long and doesn’t have enough adjustment so I’ll have to find a new steering column to fix the issue.
So it was a manual steering truck. The manual column is almost the same length as the Bendix PS box column. The Saginaw PS box is 2" longer than a manual/Bendix box. So you have a Saginaw PS box. So you need a 68-79 Saginaw column. The Bendix pump doesn't matter. The best PS pumps are 70-80's Econo Saginaw pumps. https://www.fordification.com/tech/powersteering.htm
So it was a manual steering truck. The manual column is almost the same length as the Bendix PS box column. The Saginaw PS box is 2" longer than a manual/Bendix box. So you have a Saginaw PS box. So you need a 68-79 Saginaw column. The Bendix pump doesn't matter. The best PS pumps are 70-80's Econo Saginaw pumps. https://www.fordification.com/tech/powersteering.htm
Manual steering has a center shaft that is 35-5/8" ('67-'70) or 36-1/8" ('71-'72)
Bendix is 34-15/16"
My manual steering column is about an inch too long. With adjustments, it’s only about half an inch too long. Regardless, I’ve looked at the pictures and it is definitely the Bendix unit.
You can modify that steering column per that Fordification article. I had the same issue. Starts with having the p/s Saginaw gear box. I found a good used p/s steering shaft & did the mods to the existing column. Worked great.
Best would be to change to a Saginaw gear as originally optioned as there were millions made and available 68-79. You could sell your Bendix for a pretty penny to someone who needs one. If it goes bad it is very hard to find a replacement. You could shorten your column, or find a Saginaw column to match.
Best would be to change to a Saginaw gear as originally optioned as there were millions made and available 68-79. You could sell your Bendix for a pretty penny to someone who needs one. If it goes bad it is very hard to find a replacement. You could shorten your column, or find a Saginaw column to match.
I was just thinking about changing over to a Saginaw. I called Ididit and they said that their replacement column is 31 inches for the Saginaw, which doesn’t match with the article on fortification says it should be. Anyone know if the Ididit column works well with the Saginaw unit?
