steering shaft woes....
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steering shaft woes....
I have a 1966 F100 shortbox. As I was swapping out steering wheels, I finally bolted everything together, but it seemed like the new steering wheel was loose as if the shaft inside the column was moving around. So I took off the steering wheel and noticed that the shaft kinda flopped around a bit. Thinking that I might have dropped something down to the bottom of the steering column, I took off the collar to see if I had indeed done such a thing, but no loose parts were down there. I still can't get the steering shaft to quit flopping around 
. Anybody have any suggestions? Its a four speed on the floor, so there is no shift linkage in the column. Thanks for your help!
. Anybody have any suggestions? Its a four speed on the floor, so there is no shift linkage in the column. Thanks for your help!
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Joined: Mar 2004
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From: seattle
is the flopping around the same as when you initially pulled the wheel off or did you notice it then ?? Also, if you arent putting an original wheel back on that could partially explain it...on the OE wheel theres a portion at the edge by the column side that sits just inside the turn signal collar and could thus have been preventing some of the flopping around.
Aside from that theres only 2 bearings in these columns...and upper and lower. I havent looked them up as of yet but my hunch is they are still available from Ford as its a fairly generic part with a big application most likely..
In the meantime, go open the hood, and look just above where the flex coupler is at the base of the column jacket...if theres what appears to be the remains of a bearing...most likely a steel ring, then you need bearings as thats the issue on mine at the present...
- cs65
Aside from that theres only 2 bearings in these columns...and upper and lower. I havent looked them up as of yet but my hunch is they are still available from Ford as its a fairly generic part with a big application most likely..
In the meantime, go open the hood, and look just above where the flex coupler is at the base of the column jacket...if theres what appears to be the remains of a bearing...most likely a steel ring, then you need bearings as thats the issue on mine at the present...
- cs65
Ford Parts Specialist
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Simi Valley, CA
Originally Posted by camperspecial65;
2 bearings in these columns...and upper and lower. I havent looked them up as of yet but my hunch is they are still available from Ford as its a fairly generic part with a big application most likely.- cs65
2) B1AZ3518A .. Upper/Lower Bearing Retainer / MSRP: $2.33 / ftepartsguy.com price each: $1.68
Ford Parts Specialist
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 88,826
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From: Simi Valley, CA
That # was updated to D0TZ-3510-A, then updated again to D0TZ-3510-B.
It's obsolete, and GS = zero (under all 3#'s)
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Thank to FitchBanjos, that's what it was. What I was doing was going off of the directions that came with the new steering wheel (the wooden wheel that came out of the colored section of the LMC catolog). It shows nothing about utilizing the original heavy duty spring in the exploded view of the directions. So I took everything out, put the heavyduty spring in to set the preload of that bushing, now its back to the way it was. When I first installed the wheel, of course without that spring, I had to take it back off to install a new seat and carpet. Then the shaft was not flopping around at all, then I didn't think there was any issues with the guts of the collar. While installing the carpet, I smacked my head against the column and heard something collapse. That little bushing came "spit out" of the collar. There is a chance that I would have figured this out a long time ago if I had not lost a specific number of brain cells when I hit my head on the column; it left a nice knot up top!!!!! Thanks for all of your guy's input!
