steering slop
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2003
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steering slop
i have a 93 ford 4x4 F150 and just replaced the steering box and it took about 3/4 of the play out, but i noticed when i was putting it together that the slip shaft in the steering column wiggles up and down. Does anyone have a good fix for this problem? or aftermarket fixes??
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,346
Likes: 8
From: Baltimore
There is a black plastic sleeve that takes up the slack between the two square shaped slip shafts.
When you reattached the slip joint, the sleeve was probably pushed up in to the upper shaft rather than sliding between the two shafts.
The upper shaft has a rubber plug on the lower end of it that keeps the plastic sleeve inside the top shaft from falling out.
I had the same problem and ended up having to remove the steering gear box again to correct the problem.
Pull the black rubber plug off of the top slip shaft and onto the lower shaft. The plastic sleeve should fall out when you pull the lower shaft out of the top shaft.
Slide the plastic sleeve onto the lower shaft. Reinstall the steering gear box. As you guide the two shafts back together. Push the plastic sleeve between the two shafts. Then push the rubber plug into the top shaft to keep the sleeve in its final position.
When you reattached the slip joint, the sleeve was probably pushed up in to the upper shaft rather than sliding between the two shafts.
The upper shaft has a rubber plug on the lower end of it that keeps the plastic sleeve inside the top shaft from falling out.
I had the same problem and ended up having to remove the steering gear box again to correct the problem.
Pull the black rubber plug off of the top slip shaft and onto the lower shaft. The plastic sleeve should fall out when you pull the lower shaft out of the top shaft.
Slide the plastic sleeve onto the lower shaft. Reinstall the steering gear box. As you guide the two shafts back together. Push the plastic sleeve between the two shafts. Then push the rubber plug into the top shaft to keep the sleeve in its final position.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 1,525
Likes: 1
My 88 F150 also had a metal spring clip that fit into the plastic bushing that xlt spoke of. My spring clip was broken in half...besides the bushing being slap wore out. So...I took the shaft out of the truck (I did not have to remove the gear box on the 2wd)...after seperating the 2 halves......used 4 5/16" set screws...drilled and tapped the outer shaft right in the location of the double flats spot.....placed each set screw at 12 oclock, 3 oclock,etc......installed the set screws looseley.....and after getting the entire shaft back in the truck......I gentley tightened the set screws evenly until it got rid of the slop in the shaft.......after that I ran some 5/16 nuts over the protruding set screw threads and locked them down. After a few months or so...I do have to readjust the set screws........works fine otherwise...........a major improvement in steering slop.
