Steering Column issues

[RottenBanana]

Hey guys,

So I dropped my ('73) truck off to have some front end work done at the shop. I gave him a brand new collapsible shaft and appropriate U-Joints from Duff's. There's some slop in the steering that I'd like to get rid of, and I wanted to ditch the rag joint because it hits my inner fender slightly due to a 3" body lift.

Well, the shop called... And it's bad news. He said there is for sure some play in the lower U-Joint, and in the steering column itself. The biggest issue was that the rag joint is welded onto the shaft, so he's unable to simply swap the shaft out as intended.

After searching around, I've seen that others have had the same problem. What are my options here?

- buying an entirely new column is fine, but costly.
- How difficult is rebuilding the column myself? I don't think it would be bad, and most parts can be bought from the vendors
- Should I cut of the rag joint, trim the shaft to a DD and weld a U-Joint on?


Any insight or experience appreciated

 

[thegreatjustino]

Buy a new upper shaft to go with your new lower shaft

Upper Power Steering Shaft, 66-77 Ford Bronco - TOMS OFFROAD

New Upper Power Steering Shaft for 66-77 Classic Ford Broncos. This shaft is designed for use with a telescoping lower steering shaft.38 inches Long, 3/

tomsoffroad.com

Nothing in the column itself will cause the steering to be loose. I'd get clarification from your mechanic as to what he's saying is wrong with the column. The shaft absolutely would factor into steering play, but the column itself would not. Worst case, replace the upper and lower bearings, but those don't typically wear out to the point of needing to be replaced. If you're missing spacers or clamps, those are readily available parts from the vendors and are much cheaper than buying a whole new column.

 

[RottenBanana]

Buy a new upper shaft to go with your new lower shaft

http://[URL]https://tomsoffroad.com/parts/74-77-ford-bronco-upper-power-steering-shaft

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Nothing in the column itself will cause the steering to be loose. I'd get clarification from your mechanic as to what he's saying is wrong with the column. The shaft absolutely would factor into steering play, but the column itself would not. Worst case, replace the upper and lower bearings, but those don't typically wear out to the point of needing to be replaced. If you're missing spacers or clamps, those are readily available parts from the vendors and are much cheaper than buying a whole new column.

Sorry, probably a bad explanation on my end - there's noise coming from the column. I can hear it, and it seems to be from the bottom. With a 3inch body lift installed by the previous owner, and no column/firewall bracket, I'm going to assume the bearing or bushing is gone.

It seems that 73 is an odd year for steering column bits. I think my best bet is to yank it out, pull it apart and source new bits. If it's out, all the small parts are pretty cheap. May as well replace.


Thanks for the upper shaft link!

 

[thegreatjustino]

With no column/firewall bracket, your column is just sitting on the sheet metal firewall where it goes through?

 

[RottenBanana]

With no column/firewall bracket, you column is just sitting on the sheet metal firewall where it goes through?

Yes sir. It's on the list to purchase ASAP.

https://imgur.com/a/qi9zs1b

 

[thegreatjustino]

Crazy. Looks like you're missing the captured nuts that go in the square holes in the firewall as well. The bracket bolts into those captured nuts. You'll need to buy three of them along with the bracket.