I have a 1966 mercury f100. The sterring in it is pretty much destroyed. i have been looking around for awhile and cant relly get any parts. in my local scrap yard there is a from what i can tell a 1970 international 1000. I think!. from looking at the steering they are very similar i was wondering if i could fit this onto my truck. Has anyone done this before? if so how hard is it and will it work at all? thanks !

 

Loose steering is a fact of life for any old truck and one that needs to be dealt with so you are on the right track. You mentioned that the steering in it is pretty much destroyed but you are not specific as to what components are in need of replacement. You mention steering in a general term so I am guessing you suspect that the steering gears are bad. Before you spend a lot of time, money and effort to jury rig a component from another unrelated vehicle you need to be sure that the other components of the steering system are OK. Check everything from the steering wheel bushings following every connection to the king pins. ( rag joint, pitman arm, tie rod ends, did I miss any?) When all of the slack created by the many worn parts are in the picture it is easy to blame the steering gears. Also be aware that a used steering box might not be any better than the one you're replacing. I replaced a steering box on my '66 F100 with one from another '66 F100 that drove nice and straight. After a while the steering seemed to be binding a bit and then I discovered that the PO had cranked down on the adjuster to try to get the slack out. Well it worked for a while but it finally went the trip and now I have a rebuilt unit in it and it's great. Steve

 

This is the second thread you've typed on this same problem within three days.

In the first thread (4-20), there were 16 responses. Based on what you typed in that thread, the 'rag joint' (steering coupler) needs to be replaced.

Members told you where to get just the rubber portion only (a 10 buck part) from any autoparts store, explained the installation process.

I listed the Ford part numbers for the whole assembly, listed the sources who had it.

Installing a steering column from a Cornbinder will be a major operation, who knows whether it will even work?

Just fix what you have.

 

You cant really Fix what i have after i took apart the steering coloum i discoverd literly 1/4 cup of metal shavings. all the bearings and bushings were worn to hell.

the reason why i dont wanna fix what i have is because the shifting is extremly sloppy the signal light switch inside the coloum was all broken.

 

There are two bearings inside the steering column. One mounts above the upper flange, one mounts at the bottom of the column.

Both are the same, and are available from Ford.

2) C3DZ3517A .. Steering Column Bearing / MSRP each: $10.68 / FTE sponsor PARTSGUYED.com price each: $7.69.
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At the bottom of the steering column under the hood are the two manual control selector levers the shift rods from the trans attach to.

In each one is a bushing and insulator. When these age crack, there is slop in the shift lever, sometimes it binds up between first and second gear.

C5TZ7343A .. Bushing & Insulator Kit / One kit does both levers.

Ford just obsoleted this kit, but there are 100's still available from Ford Dealers, obsolete parts vendors. The last MSRP was $30.73.

This source has the largest quantity: PARTS INTERNATIONAL in Farmers Branch TX has 34 = 888-727-0418 / 972-241-8730.
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The turn signal switch is available from Ford: C9TZ13341C / MSRP: $61.98 / PARTSGUYED.COM price: $44.63.

For less than 100 bucks, you can buy all the parts to fix the problems.

 

hi.
my 1962 f-100 drives nicely but the steering is not nice the truck drives along nicely but its like you have to keep it on rails then it will pull one way and when you get her straight she will pull the other way it makes awful struggle to keep on the road .is it supposed to be like this .any ideas??

 

Sounds like bad tie rods or bushings, if your truck is 40 years old and you dont know if the bushings have been changed, change them.

 

ya i got a 61 f250 and my steering is very loose, im pretty use to it now.

 

Yeah the column in my 66 is hammered, you can move the steering wheel a bit and the lower bearing is gone lol.

 

thanks.
but is there any power steering kits avialable for these trucks or any other up graded steering gears that will bolt on without changing the colum in the truck .

 

I think you can use the steering off of a 76-78 f100 for all the parts. Im trying to figure out what my ram sst came out of on my 4x4.

 

This is where I am with my 1962 F100 uni project. Trying to convert to power steering. Does the arm come out the side or the bottom of the 76-78 steering box? I have spent two saturdays at junk yards and can't find a match up. I have a solid axle front end. I need a steering box behind the axle and with the arm coming out the side. Maybe I don't understand enough about it to work through it. I am limited on mechanical expertise. Looking to be coached abit.

 

Crawler, My highboy crew is converted to PS. Its pretty easy on a 4x4.

If one has a 61 to 64 the steering is loose form the factory as it is a leaf spring straight axle. Bump steer is inherent in them and cannot be removed.

By having everything tight helps, but after almost fifty years the stuff is worn and need to be rebuilt.

There is normally a 5/8 inch play left to right on new 61 to 64 ford steering boxes. this is 1 1/4 inches of travel.


"You cant really Fix what i have after i took apart the steering coloum i discoverd literly 1/4 cup of metal shavings. all the bearings and bushings were worn to hell. the reason why i dont wanna fix what i have is because the shifting is extremly sloppy the signal light switch inside the coloum was all broken."

The ford columns are easy to rebuild, and parts are readily avalible even in the aftermarket.

Garbz

 

hello, can you help me out? I have a 1968 f100, the steering column broke. The shifter broke off the column. What do I do? There are steering column shift collar repair kits out there, but there for 73 and up... This is a common problem, so is there a quick fix? Do I need to buy complete steering column? This is all new to me. Thanks hooty1

 

Hooty,

You might think about starting a new thread for stuff like this, but I figure I will share what I know since I am in the same shape with a 66 right now. I have found steering gears all over the place mostly rebuilt, but many just removed units. They are all the same for F-100 through 250 late 1966 to 1979. Advance Auto even has them for $200 for the manual unit and $300 for the power unit. As for the column parts, I know that most of the internal parts for mine are still available. I found a good outer column, and ordered all the bearings, and the shift shaft. It is the same for your truck if you have a 3 on the tree. d3tz-7212-c Many people have this like LMC, Macs, and Dennis Carpenter. I took my donor column a part in about 10 minutes. I am going to have the column shift collar, and signal collar painted, and then put it all together with the new gear. It should help my steering a lot. Next I will attack the drag link, and tie rods.