I've got the column (tilt) from a 79 F-150 in my 55 F100. Said column is on my workbench as we speak. The plastic bearing that supports the bottom end of the steering shaft is worn out. I have excessive side play at the bottom. Is this an item I can expect to find at a NAPA or some well stocked parts house? Also, my nuetral safety switch is not working, the truck will start in gear. Am i correct in thinking said switch is in the column? I don't see one on the tranny. If so, how hard are they to replace? Thanx.

 

I thought the NSS was on the tranny. Try Napa and such and see if they have that bearing, if not go to a local yard and you should have some pretty good chances of finding one there. If you do end up going to a yard just bring a sharp knife and cut the bearing along one side, then throw it on your new column and put some JB weld on the cut if you want, really doesn't matter.

 

From 77 and before, the NSS was on the column. 78-79, the NSS was on the tranny.

 

Thanks fellas. The 79 was a guess on my part. Could be >77. You guys ever changed a switch?

 

I've changed the switch on my 77 before. Just a simply bolt in and plug in. I have no idea what is needed to change one on the tranny.

 

D3TZ3D681A .. Lower Steering Column Bearing Retainer Assy / Obsolete

No Ford Dealer or obsolete parts vendor has any.

Fits: 1973/79 F100/350 2WD.

Take a look at this assembly, as it's actually composed of four separate parts:

The bearing retainer, the bearing (C3DZ3517A), the bearing's sleeve (D1AZ3518A) and a snap ring.

Is the plastic bearing retainer defective, or is it just the bearing and/or the sleeve only?

The retainer was only sold as an assembly (FoMoCo dealer item only). The bearing and sleeve were available separately.

At one time, parts stores carried the bearing & sleeve.

However, these two parts are still available from Ford, fit 1000's (!) of different applications...car & truck dating from 1957 thru the 1980's.
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1961/77: The NSS is on the bottom of the steering column.

1978/79: As Bucks77ford stated, the NSS is on the transmission.

The tilt wheel feature was not available until 1978.

1978/79 F100/350: There are two different NSS's.

D8TZ7A247A .. NSS (Motorcraft SW1489) / Fits: 1978/79 F100/350 /1978/79 Bronco C6

D8TZ7A247B .. NSS (Motorcraft SW1491) / Fits: 1978/79 F100/150 C4

 

Ok, so this may seem like a freshman question but for those of you who have swapped a later model tilt into a 77 or older pickup, what have you done about the NSS?

 

I would just wire the circuit together and completely forget about the NSS. It's not really that big of a deal for me. I don't plan on starting it in gear.

 

the problem with that, is then you lose your reverse lights. and in my state they have to come on when put in reverse, or they fail. no toggle switches.

so i am very interested to see what others have done to solve this problem (putting 78-9 column in a 77 or older)

and beleive it or not, being able to start in gear can come in handy. i had my shifter linkage break in a parking lot, i shut the truck off, threw a block under the tire, climbed under the truck and shifted the trans into reverse, started in reverse so i could get out of the parking spot, and repeat the process for drive... got me home more than once this way!

 

For just under $100 you can have a Dakota Digital Gear Shift Sending Unit that provides a NSS, reverse lights and gear indicator lights. http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.c...prod/prd60.htm

It's not cheap, but it does do the trick.

 

hmm... interesting... thats about the cost of a new 77 NSS last time i checked...

 

In P/M's traded back/forth, I found out the OP has the driveline from a 1979 LTD in his F1 pickup.

What's the tilt column from? 1978/79 F150/350, 1979 LTD, or 1979 LTD II?

Most ppl have no clue that the 1979 LTD is not the same as an 1979 LTD II.

LTD II: It's what Ford called the Torino after 1976 and is a totally different car than a 1979 LTD.

This name change has been a fiasco since day one, because the II part of the LTD II badge was very small, most ppl missed it.

Garages, body shops, the general public didn't know one car from another. They ordered parts for an LTD, 75% of the time the car was an LTD II.

So...we cannot speculate on what goes where...or what fits what until we know what that column is from.

 

I have a 76 460 c6 combo going in my 74 that I am planning on putting a 79 column in. I wasnt aware of the NSS difference. I need to see a picture of the 79 tranny to see if I hang a tranny mounted NSS on my 76 tranny.