Gary Lewis Posted December 31, 2023 Author Share Posted December 31, 2023 Took my steering column out and rebuilt it today. Both upper bearings replaced, lower retrofit bearing replaced. Took everything apart and cleaned everything up very thoroughly, new turn signal switch and ignition switch as well. I was surprised, both of those items were still original. I was also surprised to see the main shaft U joint comes apart, I took that apart, cleaned the rusty watery whatever that was out and greased it and bolted it back together with red loctite and the joint feels like brand new. Also painted the collar for the lock tumbler. Wasn't very complicated, but it sure fought me going back together. If anybody ever asks me if I know anything about steering column repair the answer would be uh, no lol. Everything was loose when I took it apart, the bearings, all 3 were worn out garbage and very rough, turn signal switch was floppy junk for years but it worked. The allen head screws for the tilt assembly were also loose. I found it pretty interesting the bearings were turning on the shaft for what looks like years, I had to dimple the race area the bearings are supposed to be a snug fit on for them to not rotate on the shaft. Worked like a charm. Everything in the column is very tight and smooth now. That looks great! And is that the DRB lower bearing? I recently replaced mine with one of those and love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBrother-84 Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Took my steering column out and rebuilt it today. Both upper bearings replaced, lower retrofit bearing replaced. Took everything apart and cleaned everything up very thoroughly, new turn signal switch and ignition switch as well. I was surprised, both of those items were still original. I was also surprised to see the main shaft U joint comes apart, I took that apart, cleaned the rusty watery whatever that was out and greased it and bolted it back together with red loctite and the joint feels like brand new. Also painted the collar for the lock tumbler. Wasn't very complicated, but it sure fought me going back together. If anybody ever asks me if I know anything about steering column repair the answer would be uh, no lol. Everything was loose when I took it apart, the bearings, all 3 were worn out garbage and very rough, turn signal switch was floppy junk for years but it worked. The allen head screws for the tilt assembly were also loose. I found it pretty interesting the bearings were turning on the shaft for what looks like years, I had to dimple the race area the bearings are supposed to be a snug fit on for them to not rotate on the shaft. Worked like a charm. Everything in the column is very tight and smooth now. Nice job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordFETruck Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 That looks great! And is that the DRB lower bearing? I recently replaced mine with one of those and love it. Gary, the lower bearing is a generic off Amazon, fit well other than the retaining screw holes didn't quite line up. Jim, yes, I simply took the U joint apart, cleaned and lubricated and reassembled it. There was no wear to speak of with it, just full of dirty rusty watery oil or whatever it was. I adjusted it a tad tighter than how it came out, and it feels great with no play whatsoever. I'm about to reinstall the column so we'll find out how it all works. The upper small bearings I got from Dennis Carpenter, they seemed to have the best deal on those. Turn signal switch and ignition switch came from Amazon as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Gary, the lower bearing is a generic off Amazon, fit well other than the retaining screw holes didn't quite line up. Jim, yes, I simply took the U joint apart, cleaned and lubricated and reassembled it. There was no wear to speak of with it, just full of dirty rusty watery oil or whatever it was. I adjusted it a tad tighter than how it came out, and it feels great with no play whatsoever. I'm about to reinstall the column so we'll find out how it all works. The upper small bearings I got from Dennis Carpenter, they seemed to have the best deal on those. Turn signal switch and ignition switch came from Amazon as well. Cool! Sounds like you've done a great job. I didn't know if there was any way to tighten a U-joint. I'll bet you're excited to get rid of all the slop you've found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordFETruck Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Cool! Sounds like you've done a great job. I didn't know if there was any way to tighten a U-joint. I'll bet you're excited to get rid of all the slop you've found. Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised to see I can adjust the tension of the U joint, it had a tiny bit of slop in it but not bad for the mileage. With everything so worn and all of the fasteners about 1 turn from tight you could pull up and down or side to side on the steering wheel and it was pretty sloppy. Not to mention the ball bearings felt like they were replaced by gravel. It took me about 15-20 minutes to remove column from truck, I spent 6 hours working on the column on the bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 31, 2023 Author Share Posted December 31, 2023 Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised to see I can adjust the tension of the U joint, it had a tiny bit of slop in it but not bad for the mileage. With everything so worn and all of the fasteners about 1 turn from tight you could pull up and down or side to side on the steering wheel and it was pretty sloppy. Not to mention the ball bearings felt like they were replaced by gravel. It took me about 15-20 minutes to remove column from truck, I spent 6 hours working on the column on the bench. I wasn't aware that there are lower bearings available from Amazon. But I found this LAFORMO Lower Steering Column Bearing Compatible with 1980-1991 Ford F150 F250 F350 Trucks 2-Door, 4-Door for $24, which is about 1/3 the cost of the one I used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordFETruck Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 I wasn't aware that there are lower bearings available from Amazon. But I found this LAFORMO Lower Steering Column Bearing Compatible with 1980-1991 Ford F150 F250 F350 Trucks 2-Door, 4-Door for $24, which is about 1/3 the cost of the one I used. That's the one I bought. Works well, slotted the holes a bit and it worked fine. Got the column installed and test drove the truck. Man what a difference, the steering is really tight, smooth and precise now and it helped the crappy return to center a little as well. Only gripe I have is I can hear the turn signal cancel nub click when turning even though the turn signals aren't on but not sure what to do about that. I had to take the cancel cam off and those two metal strips fell out and I couldn't make it work right putting them in. Same thing happened years ago with the old turn signal switch, could never figure out how or where those are supposed to be positioned and have everything not bind up or the lights be on so I took them out. Works fine without them, but is that why I get a click from the cam when turning with the signals not on? Works fine otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordFETruck Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 That's the one I bought. Works well, slotted the holes a bit and it worked fine. Got the column installed and test drove the truck. Man what a difference, the steering is really tight, smooth and precise now and it helped the crappy return to center a little as well. Only gripe I have is I can hear the turn signal cancel nub click when turning even though the turn signals aren't on but not sure what to do about that. I had to take the cancel cam off and those two metal strips fell out and I couldn't make it work right putting them in. Same thing happened years ago with the old turn signal switch, could never figure out how or where those are supposed to be positioned and have everything not bind up or the lights be on so I took them out. Works fine without them, but is that why I get a click from the cam when turning with the signals not on? Works fine otherwise. Alright I figured out where those little strips go and got it together and the issue of hearing clicking when turning without the turn signals on fixed. Can't say I recommend the Shee-Mar SM66F, cheaply made poorly fitting POS if you ask me. Also found one of the wires by the hazard switch was getting rubbed on already so I bent those down like the original was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Alright I figured out where those little strips go and got it together and the issue of hearing clicking when turning without the turn signals on fixed. Can't say I recommend the Shee-Mar SM66F, cheaply made poorly fitting POS if you ask me. Also found one of the wires by the hazard switch was getting rubbed on already so I bent those down like the original was. Today I spent a little time fitting up a patch panel for the driver's side of the rear cab crossmember. Got it tacked in tonight but it's too cold and dark to weld (no shop for me) so I'll finish it up tomorrow when the heat and the light are doing their thing. I realized the reason it rusted out is because water got in right above the body mount since Ford didn't weld the metal together there. I cut the body mount bolt hole a little oversize on the patch so that I can weld my patch to the crossmember brace to keep water from getting up in there. I'll end up doing the same on the passenger side. That + POR15 should keep the rot at bay for the next 100 years in this humid subtropical climate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Today I spent a little time fitting up a patch panel for the driver's side of the rear cab crossmember. Got it tacked in tonight but it's too cold and dark to weld (no shop for me) so I'll finish it up tomorrow when the heat and the light are doing their thing. I realized the reason it rusted out is because water got in right above the body mount since Ford didn't weld the metal together there. I cut the body mount bolt hole a little oversize on the patch so that I can weld my patch to the crossmember brace to keep water from getting up in there. I'll end up doing the same on the passenger side. That + POR15 should keep the rot at bay for the next 100 years in this humid subtropical climate. (last post about the Dodge in this thread) I wasn't sure where to post this. It could've gone in Oswald's thread, but it's not really about Oswald. Or it could've gone in the FORD lounge, but it's not REALLY off topic. So I'm putting it in the "What Have You Done (For) Your Truck" thread. I've been wanting to get a good car trailer for about 45 years, and now I finally have one! Recently I've been looking for a used trailer with at least a 10,000 lb GVWR (the minimum I need to carry Oswald), but the very few I've found are expensive junk. A lot of the new stuff I was seeing was pushing $10,000, which wasn't appealing to me (let alone Lesley!). But I found a new Load Trail for under $6K, and today I picked it up! It's an 18' bed (16' + 2' dove tail), 83" wide between the fenders, a GVWR of 9990 lbs and an empty weight of 2540 lbs. Oswald has a wheelbase of 12' 8", an overall length of 19' 5", an overall width of 79" and he currently weighs ~6400 lbs. So the trailer is a little shorter than might be ideal for carrying him, but it'll work well and I didn't want the trailer to be any longer than necessary. So far I've only towed it about 70 miles, a little freeway and mostly rural county roads. The trailer was empty and it tracked really well (couldn't tell it was there as far as handling goes) but it did shake my truck quite a bit if the road wasn't perfectly smooth. Nothing that bad, but my Dodge rides pretty... crisply anyway, and it was definitely rougher with the trailer. It'll be interesting to see how it does loaded. I'm guessing it will be more noticeable, but probably less harsh and maybe less objectionable. The 6.7L Cummins couldn't tell it was there. Granted, it was empty, but it's still over 2500 lbs, and the truck just didn't care. Braking was... interesting. The trailer has 4 wheel electric brakes and they are strong! But the trailer brake controller on the Dodge was baffling me. No matter what adjustments I made on it it seemed to give full voltage to the trailer brakes as soon as the brake lights went on. After smoking the trailer tires a couple of times I pulled over and unplugged the brake controller. With the trans in "Tow/Haul" and the exhaust brake on that truck doesn't need trailer brakes to stop a 2500 lb trailer, so that made the rest of the drive go fine. I will have to either figure out or replace this brake controller before I tow it loaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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