steering loose at tilt
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From: Sussex,NJ
steering loose at tilt
Hi Folks,
I have a 89 F250 Diesel and the steering wheel is really loose at the tilt. the chilton doesn't exactly give me troubleshooting for this so I don't know what to exactly look for.
Can anyone tell me how I might fix this?
PS I need this fixed to pass inspection! yuck!
Thanks for your time,
Deb
I have a 89 F250 Diesel and the steering wheel is really loose at the tilt. the chilton doesn't exactly give me troubleshooting for this so I don't know what to exactly look for.
Can anyone tell me how I might fix this?
PS I need this fixed to pass inspection! yuck!
Thanks for your time,
Deb
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From: alaska
first , this is a repair better left to a shop that does steering colum repair ,unless you have done it before . there are four screws that hold the tilt and to get at three of them you need to dissassemble the steering colum to get at three of them. a real easy way to do this is to go to a junk yard and get a complete , good used steering colum and swap it out . the cost difference between that and a shop repair of yours is aprox the same , if you decide to tackle it your self , you need to remove everything down to the knuckle and with a torx bit tighten the three screws you can get to , i usually apply locktite to them so this doesnt happen again, good luck,bob
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From: Sussex,NJ
Dear Bob,
There are 2 hex nuts that appeared loose and so I tightened them. They were located on the underside of the steering column near the tilt joint. Now there is no slack in the joint but also no tilt now. OOPS! LOL. Also the truck won't start now. That is because we took the steering wheel apart as far down as he could and then put it back together. (He had only one screw left over. LOL) So I figured I would take it all apart again and see if I could find the missing screw placement.
thanks so much bob for being here,
deb
There are 2 hex nuts that appeared loose and so I tightened them. They were located on the underside of the steering column near the tilt joint. Now there is no slack in the joint but also no tilt now. OOPS! LOL. Also the truck won't start now. That is because we took the steering wheel apart as far down as he could and then put it back together. (He had only one screw left over. LOL) So I figured I would take it all apart again and see if I could find the missing screw placement.
thanks so much bob for being here,
deb
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From: Sussex,NJ
OK!
I put it all back together and found out where the missing screws went and now it starts. Still couldn't get to the U-Joint in there so I probably will have to replace the whole steering column.
how much does something like that cost for an 89 F250 supercab diesel 4x4?
Anyway thanks for the help,
Deb
I put it all back together and found out where the missing screws went and now it starts. Still couldn't get to the U-Joint in there so I probably will have to replace the whole steering column.
how much does something like that cost for an 89 F250 supercab diesel 4x4?
Anyway thanks for the help,
Deb
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From: alaska
does it tilt now , also? if you tightened those screws , and if it no longer wiggles , and tilts, thats as far as you need to go , there is no 'u' joint. the 'tilt' is what some people call a 'knuckle',, did you remember to use locktite ? if not , at least now you know how to do it yourself,and the next time it gets loose you can put it on the threads . youve done the hardest job on a steering colum,and dont need to replace it , good job ,bob
Last edited by bob arrington; Mar 1, 2004 at 03:23 PM.
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From: Sussex,NJ
no there is no tilt, but then again I don't remember if or when it did last work. bought the truck in montana and moved to new jersey using this truck to tow my 31 foot airstream. i don't drive so i don't know about the tilt. you will never believe this but only one of the three screws was there and it is/was tight so i didn't use locktite. i just assumed it was the hex nuts in the back (so to speak) that tightened that knuckle.
thanks so much for your help and thanks for the "good job". I really am proud of myself since i never have done this before, only engine work.
thanks again
deb
thanks so much for your help and thanks for the "good job". I really am proud of myself since i never have done this before, only engine work.
thanks again
deb
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From: alaska
just out of couriosity, did you have to remove the turn signal switch to get at the screws?if you didnt you were right about not getting to the knuckle,bob
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yes i removed the turn signal switch and the ignition switch. Then the metal sleeve. and i am foggy after what came next.
does that help?
deb
does that help?
deb
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From: alaska
if youve done that much work to it,and if every thing but the tilt works ,and if the tilt worked before , you should be able to go back in and make the tilt work,without spending any money. with all the other things out of the way, and looking straight down into the collum,. were the screws that you tightened , faceing you ? you should have been able to get at two, and then by releasing the tilt lever , moved the knuckle and just barely get at the third . the forth , is impossible to get at with out complete disassembly and if the others are locktited , not nessesary. youve already done more than most men will ever attempt , so dont give up. the screws that you tightened up will have to be loosened .it sounds like you have a 'bind' of some sort,bob
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cool thanks bob i will have to check into that some more. the screws i did tighten up had the heads facing the engine while the threads were horizontally into the column (or towards the rear of the vehicle), just under the dash, and there were only 2 hex screws. the other screws i was talking about were 3 in number and below the metal sleeve that the ignition switch was inserted into. those 3 were easy to see and right on top so to speak. they probably were how i got to the actual knuckle in the first place aren't they? oops ... that just dawned on me. anyway i had to do the front brake pads yesterday and now the truck is off for it's State Inspection. lets hope i pass this time.
thanks again bob
thanks again bob
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