Diagnosing Speed Control

[Gary Lewis]

Am I confusing lower vs upper? I would assume the bearing showing in my video with the steering shaft is the "upper" and I think the illustration supports that. It looks metal to me, and this link for a replacement looks correct.

I guess what I am asking so far for this portion of the adventure is: Is the play of the steering shaft in the video acceptable? Should I replace it while I have the column apart again?

That's more play that Big Blue's column had and I shimmed the bearing, which tightened it up very nicely. So I think that's a lot of play.

But, if you have a tilt column there's more in the column that can let it wiggle than just the bearing. Like the tilt mechanism. So that's why I'd take it apart to find out what is wiggling. I think you can do that by pulling the turn signal mechanism.

As for the bearing, that link says that bearing is for:

• 1980-1991 F100-F350 4X4 UPPER, W/ TILT COLUMN

• 1978-1989 BRONCO UPPER, W/ TILT COLUMN

• 1978-1989 F100-F350 4X2 UPPER, W/ TILT COLUMN

So if you have a tilt column it is the upper for yours. But it is used as a lower for other years.

As for what I've been saying about the rubber around the bearing, that may only be for the fixed columns. Shown on the same page is SLEEVE, STEERING COLUMN TUBE BEARING, and that's what goes around the upper bearing - but only for the fixed columns according to NPD.

 

[ckuske]

That's more play that Big Blue's column had and I shimmed the bearing, which tightened it up very nicely. So I think that's a lot of play.

But, if you have a tilt column there's more in the column that can let it wiggle than just the bearing. Like the tilt mechanism. So that's why I'd take it apart to find out what is wiggling. I think you can do that by pulling the turn signal mechanism.

As for the bearing, that link says that bearing is for:

• 1980-1991 F100-F350 4X4 UPPER, W/ TILT COLUMN

• 1978-1989 BRONCO UPPER, W/ TILT COLUMN

• 1978-1989 F100-F350 4X2 UPPER, W/ TILT COLUMN

So if you have a tilt column it is the upper for yours. But it is used as a lower for other years.

As for what I've been saying about the rubber around the bearing, that may only be for the fixed columns. Shown on the same page is SLEEVE, STEERING COLUMN TUBE BEARING, and that's what goes around the upper bearing - but only for the fixed columns according to NPD.

Gotcha, thanks. Looking at the illustration, there is a "top" and and "upper" in the tilt columns.

I didn't know for many years (because I didn't care yet) but NPD's California location is in town about 7 minutes from me. They have both bearings there in stock, so its a good excuse to go there tomorrow. :)

They don't stock F-150 parts really, but they do stock Mustang parts and the overlap is sometimes useful.

[ckuske]

Gotcha, thanks. Looking at the illustration, there is a "top" and and "upper" in the tilt columns.

I didn't know for many years (because I didn't care yet) but NPD's California location is in town about 7 minutes from me. They have both bearings there in stock, so its a good excuse to go there tomorrow. :)

They don't stock F-150 parts really, but they do stock Mustang parts and the overlap is sometimes useful.

Here are some pictures of the column after the flange has been taken off. You can see the gap in the bearing, so I'll pick that up tomorrow and hope that removes the play in the steering wheel. Anything else I should look at while at this level?

Thinking of it, my shifter has always had play in it. Both in pulling the lever back to shift gear, and also in Park, you can jiggle the shifter up and down, and you will see the flange move from side to side. What would be a likely cause of that? After looking at the illustrations, maybe the main issue is on the side of the firewall where the transmission is hooked up to the selector on the steering column. I punched the pin out of the lever and removed it, but I can't figure out the next step to remove that flange where the shift lever gets inserted.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the top portion on the column.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Here are some pictures of the column after the flange has been taken off. You can see the gap in the bearing, so I'll pick that up tomorrow and hope that removes the play in the steering wheel. Anything else I should look at while at this level?

Thinking of it, my shifter has always had play in it. Both in pulling the lever back to shift gear, and also in Park, you can jiggle the shifter up and down, and you will see the flange move from side to side. What would be a likely cause of that? After looking at the illustrations, maybe the main issue is on the side of the firewall where the transmission is hooked up to the selector on the steering column. I punched the pin out of the lever and removed it, but I can't figure out the next step to remove that flange where the shift lever gets inserted.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the top portion on the column.

If the tilt rack isn’t broken then I would think the bearing is all you need. But I’ve not spent any time working on the shift lever so I can’t say what the issue is there. Sorry. Maybe someone else knows?

While in there I’d try to figure out how the thing is supposed to ground. What does that little pin touch, other than the wheel?

[ckuske]

If the tilt rack isn’t broken then I would think the bearing is all you need. But I’ve not spent any time working on the shift lever so I can’t say what the issue is there. Sorry. Maybe someone else knows?

While in there I’d try to figure out how the thing is supposed to ground. What does that little pin touch, other than the wheel?

I got the bearing this afternoon during my lunch hour from NPD. I'm waiting on snap ring pliers to arrive tomorrow so I can get things done the right way. I'm not sure how to proceed with actually removing the existing bearing, I guess I just try to pry it out???

[Gary Lewis]

I got the bearing this afternoon during my lunch hour from NPD. I'm waiting on snap ring pliers to arrive tomorrow so I can get things done the right way. I'm not sure how to proceed with actually removing the existing bearing, I guess I just try to pry it out???

In Big Blue's case I was able to pull the shaft out just a bit which pulled the bearing out just a bit. Then I wedged it with a screwdriver, pushed the shaft back in, let up on the screwdriver, pulled back out, etc. Eventually I could get behind the bearing with the screwdriver and pry it out.

But don't pull too hard on the shaft as there's a pair of spring "bumps" that hold the upper and lower shaft together and you don't want to slide the two apart. (They are supposed to telescope in the case of an accident.) They look like this:

 

[ckuske]

In Big Blue's case I was able to pull the shaft out just a bit which pulled the bearing out just a bit. Then I wedged it with a screwdriver, pushed the shaft back in, let up on the screwdriver, pulled back out, etc. Eventually I could get behind the bearing with the screwdriver and pry it out.

But don't pull too hard on the shaft as there's a pair of spring "bumps" that hold the upper and lower shaft together and you don't want to slide the two apart. (They are supposed to telescope in the case of an accident.) They look like this:

Thanks Gary, that's exactly the kind of tip that makes this forum awesome. I'll post updates tomorrow or Sunday, and then dig back into the grounding!

[ckuske]

Thanks Gary, that's exactly the kind of tip that makes this forum awesome. I'll post updates tomorrow or Sunday, and then dig back into the grounding!

Ok, I got the new bearing in. It popped out pretty easily which was kind of surprising, but told me it was probably time to be replaced.

I put the new one in, and the play is definitely reduced (but not zero). I then did the same test where I pressed the Off button and measured resistance. It was still in the kilo-ohms range, so no dice there.

I then remembered that I should always listen to Mr. Occam first. This horn pad isn't the original, all the Rosewood came off the original so I swapped it out several years ago. So, I grabbed the original horn pad, did the same test, and the resistance came up to 1.08 ohms. I think this is probably close enough to the spec.

I also re-ran the test of the steering column ground. I put the positive lead on the upper flange of the column, and the negative lead on a dash mount point. Basically zero ohms, which makes me think the steering column ground is good (and it is also what led me to not trust the switch)

So, I will do the rest of the tests with this horn pad. I'd like to swap the switches from the "ugly" hornpad to the nice one. Any suggestions there? There look to be some plastic nuts that might hold the thing together, but I see lots of areas that look like the plastic was "welded" together with targeted heat. If anyone has experience with this, I'd love to hear it as I don't want to damage things.

[Gary Lewis]

Ok, I got the new bearing in. It popped out pretty easily which was kind of surprising, but told me it was probably time to be replaced.

I put the new one in, and the play is definitely reduced (but not zero). I then did the same test where I pressed the Off button and measured resistance. It was still in the kilo-ohms range, so no dice there.

I then remembered that I should always listen to Mr. Occam first. This horn pad isn't the original, all the Rosewood came off the original so I swapped it out several years ago. So, I grabbed the original horn pad, did the same test, and the resistance came up to 1.08 ohms. I think this is probably close enough to the spec.

I also re-ran the test of the steering column ground. I put the positive lead on the upper flange of the column, and the negative lead on a dash mount point. Basically zero ohms, which makes me think the steering column ground is good (and it is also what led me to not trust the switch)

So, I will do the rest of the tests with this horn pad. I'd like to swap the switches from the "ugly" hornpad to the nice one. Any suggestions there? There look to be some plastic nuts that might hold the thing together, but I see lots of areas that look like the plastic was "welded" together with targeted heat. If anyone has experience with this, I'd love to hear it as I don't want to damage things.

Progress!

Yes, Mr. Occam was pretty sharp. So I'm glad you listened to him. But I've not swapped switches so don't have any immediate advice. But if I get out to the shop this afternoon I'll look at the horn pads I have to see if I can tell.

 

[ckuske]

Progress!

Yes, Mr. Occam was pretty sharp. So I'm glad you listened to him. But I've not swapped switches so don't have any immediate advice. But if I get out to the shop this afternoon I'll look at the horn pads I have to see if I can tell.

I got through the transfer of the buttons from one horn pad to the other. Just removing the plastic nuts with some needle-nose pliers was all that was required (and being gentle to not crack the plastic!)