I've noticed a lot of new members and it's been a long time since this was posted, so I thought I'd bring it up again. I tried to find the original post but couldn't.
A bunch of us had had our trucks for a while and didn't realize we had tilt columns. If you push forward on your turn signal lever, it will release the tilt lock if you have a tilt column.

 

Yea, I didn't know that for the first 3 months I had my truck.

 

took me about 4 years to figure it out.. blew my mind!

 

I found out when I tried to turn the high beams on... But that was when I was 13 and had my first "Farm Use" '81 Ranger F150. r.i.p.

 

When I was working at a Ford dealership as a salesman we had a guy who came in for some parts. The parts guy asked him if he had a tilt wheel and he said no. Bought the truck (~12 years old) new ... no tilt wheel. Parts guy says, "Do you have cruise? If you have cruise you have a tilt wheel. It looks like an XLT and both were standard on XLT's." Owner assured him he had no tilt wheel but he did have cruise so the parts guy goes out to look at it to see if it was possibly a "mis-build".

I tag along just to see what's going on and you should have seen the look on this guys face when Jared (parts guy) pushes the turn signal lever down and the steering wheel pops up into the "farmer-go-to-market" position. Quote the owner gazing at the whole thing through LARGE eyes, "Well I'll be a S...O.B..... !!!!"

It WAS worth the trip!!!

Don't feel bad if you missed this. This guy lived with the truck for MANY years and didn't know he could adjust the steering wheel angle.

I used to cite this story as a damn good reason to read the operators manual cover to cover (while consuming the beverage of your choice) to become familiar with the vehicle.

 

I'm still waiting for the ones that didn't know to post. This thread doesn't do the ones that already know like us much good. Maybe your post will get the first brave post that admits they didn't know. There has to be some.
BTW- It was about 3 years for me as well, (although I only drove it for about 1 1/2) and if not for this forum, I wouldn't know I had one now.
And I learned that all cruise columns were too today. Thanks.

 

All the passenger cars w/a tilt wheel operated the same way 1965 thru 1979, as did 1980 Granada/Monarch/Versailles. Passenger Cars got a separate lever in 1981.

I guy I know has a 1968 Mustang he bought new. He never knew it had a tilt wheel...till one day I pushed that handle forward. He about had a heart attack.

You could get tilt without Cruise on the cars, ditto for 1978/79 Bronco's, F100/350's and Econolines.

You could get Cruise on 1975/77 F100/350's and Econolines, but there was no tilt wheel feature available on these vehicles until 1978.

 

Thanks Bill. I took the information as specific to our model trucks, but as neither of us said that specifically, you have averted some possible confusion.
And as usual, you have further expanded my Ford knowledge.

 

Here's a good one... how many of you have a 80-86 truck or Bronco with a manual transmission (floor shift) with tilt wheel? I have hunted for years trying to find a tilt column for my 84 F150 4wd with a manual 4-on-the-floor. It wasn't until about a month ago (scrounging through the local boneyard) I stumbled upon an 85 Bronco with the XLT Lariat package, I peeked inside and saw two shifters coming out of the floor. I reached in to see if it was a tilt, indeed it was! Needless to say my search is over! My 84 F250 has tilt wheel as well.

 

I had an 84 4x4 3 speed with OD and tilt wheel. It was a Custom. I still have the tilt wheel column in my garage...

 

I will admit it. I have had my 1986 F150 4x4 I6 for three years. I looked at the column many times wondering why I could barely slide my legs under the wheel, wondering why Ford would design a vehicle where you had to look under the wheel to see the indicators for the turn signals and I NEVER, EVER thought that I had a tilt wheel!!

Then I read this post and a little light flashed on in my poor old brain... "OMG! I am such a dork!!"

Thanks for posting this! You are never to old to learn something new I guess and yes, I did read the owners manual!

HARFEND

 

My 'new to me' 86 f250 has cruise and tilt and a manual trans!

 

Like I said -a bunch of us didn't know. Thanks for sharing. The truck ought to be a lot more fun to drive now!

 

Thank you for this old thread.

A few months ago I purchased a ford in field truck and had it back on the road for the last month and a half. I have been annoyed that the steering wheel blocked the turn signal, bright light indicators, and the highway part of the speedometer range.

It’s nice to find out it is a tilt wheel column.

Tad
Marion, TX

 

The tilt wheel thing got me the first 3 years I had my old 1980. I will tell you something else that is not that intuitive; The delay wipers. I don't think I ever turned my 1980 backwards, it may have had delay wipers and I never used them.

Whose idea was it to turn the **** backwards for delay and forward completely through off to run the wipers with no delay? That's the way my 89 works. You are going down the road in a light rain, and have it on delay. It starts raining harder so you need them on all the time. So you have to turn them OFF in the rain to turn them on all the time.

What gets me is I have a 1986 ranger, and it has a nice lever on the column for the wipers and a continuous control on the end of the lever for delay. First position on the lever is delay, the next position is on low and then the next on high. It also has the high beams on a lever on the column. How many years did it take for them to do that on the larger trucks?