Steering Column Nightmare

[Ford_Doctor]

Ok, so heres the situation. My 1968 F250 2wd CrewCab has a newer style (73-79 unsure of exact year) column installed. They hacked the damn thing together and it was missing alot of the turn signal and bearing parts. I picked up a column from a 1969 F100 manual steering 2wd and found that the tube and shaft are to long! I wasn't aware that there were different lengths of columns. Anyway I can use the good wheel and turn signal parts from the purchased column, but I need information on the bearings for this newer column so I can fix it and put it back in. At the lower end of the column tube there is a plastic sleeve/bushing installed. I found the usual 3517 bearing and 3518 sleeve on the other side of the plastic sleeve but this cannot be right as there is no support for the bearing and its mating sleeve so the bearing just moves side to side. Is there some bearing that fits into that plastic sleeve or is that sleeve intended to be a bushing to support the shaft and is just wore out? I checked DC, NPD and god forbid FTE but no exploded views were available for this style.

[FORDification]

I'm assuming the bottom end of your column looks similiar to this?:



Does yours have the lock collar at the bottom?

[Ford_Doctor]

Lock collar? The column I just bought (too long) looks like that, but the newer column does not.

[FORDification]

Right....that pic above is of a '68 column. The newer column doesn't have that setup, it should look more like the following two pictures of a '78-'79 tilt column:



The image above shows the factory setup. You can also get a bolt-in steel bearing kit, which would look like this:



Keep in mind that I'm no expert on the '73-'79 columns, my only source of reference is the '78 tilt column I recently bought.

The column that you probably bought was setup for manual steering. Since the manual steering box is shorter than the Saginaw PS box, the steering column shaft has to be longer to reach it. You need a shaft setup used with power steering to be the correct length. As for whether or not you can swap shafts between the two, I don't know....but I don't think so. Not as a bolt-in, anyway. Hopefully someone else with a little more expertise in this area can chime in.

[Ford_Doctor]

The plastic bushing looks like the lower picture minus the bolt on plate. As for the shaft I think the one that was in the column was for the 73-79 so maybe just installing a new bearing/plastic bushing would solve my problems?

[flyboy2610]

Keith, Where can I get on of those bolt in bearing kits?
I have a '68 and it has a collar on it but I have searched and searched for a set screw to be able to move the collar. There just ain't none!
When I move my steering column up far enough so that there's no big gap between the wheel and column, the bearing is too far out at the bottom of the column.

[FORDification]

Ford_Doctor: I'm honestly not sure of the bottom of that '73-up column has a bearing or just that plastic bushing. I haven't pulled mine apart yet to see how it's put together. Sorry.

flyboy: That steel bearing and plate is for the '73-'79 column, not the earlier versions...and I don't know where to get those either, I just know they exist. I'll have to do some poking around and see what I can find.

[Ford_Doctor]

After looking at a unmessed with '79 F250 2WD PS fixed column it has the same bushing and there is no bearing inside! Weird setup if you ask me, so I'll be scrounging through the yard again. I called today and they said they had no problem exhanging it for the correct one.

[rjewkes]

I have the same problem as flyboy does. however i wonder if the wrench propping my left front cab mount up is the culprit there?