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75 Eldo. play in the steering column

Started by Steve Lomas, May 04, 2017, 04:57:45 PM

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Steve Lomas


Just started on this next job, fixing the considerable play in the steering..

I jacked up the front expecting to find loose wheels/ probably worn bushings on the control arm- but everything was nice and tight, right back to the steering column in the engine bay-

the play is between this and the steering wheel  :o , It's a little worse when the steering wheel tilt is set all the way down, so I'm thinking there must be a worn CV joint in there..

I've been looking around online and can't seem to source this anywhere- I am only finding the CV joint inside the engine bay.


Also I am assuming that once I take off the nut at center of steering wheel, I should be able to knock it off? but let me know if there is anything else holding this!

Any ideas much appreciated!








bcroe

#1
Quote from: Steve Lomasfixing the considerable play in the steering..
I jacked up the front expecting to find loose wheels/ probably worn bushings on the control arm- but everything was nice and tight, right back to the steering column in the engine bay-

the play is between this and the steering wheel, It's a little worse when the steering
wheel tilt is set all the way down, so I'm thinking there must be a worn CV joint in there..

I've been looking around online and can't seem to source this anywhere- I am
only finding the CV joint inside the engine bay.

Also I am assuming that once I take off the nut at center of steering wheel, I should
be able to knock it off? but let me know if there is anything else holding this!

I am assuming that hardware is the same as my 77-82 cars here.  I believe you
will find a couple 5/16 NC threaded holes in the wheel, a couple bolts go to a tool
that pushes on the center to pop the wheel off.  Watch for the horn button spring
assembly coming up.  Note there is a mark showing where straight up for the
wheel should be.  As I recall there is then a snap ring to hold the notched lock disk. 
For me a tool pushes the disc down so I can get the snap ring off. 

All this gets a lot more complicated if you have an extending column, I decided
to get rid of a couple of those here. 

I would put the car on the ground and have someone wiggle the steering column
back and forth.  You should see where the slack is; I have a thread going about
the rag joint, the rubber disc just above the steering box.  These have been a
big problem for me, and I am not aware yet of any simple replacement, are you? 

The rag joint is keyed to go on the box only one way.  All that needs to go back the
same way, wheel up, shaft keyed, box straight ahead.  That is because the box is a
little tighter in the center to keep the car straight, as you set the box adjustment. 
If the box is adjusted at one side, it will be TOO TIGHT coming past what was the
center position.  Setting adjustment to each wheel finishes the centering job, I use
enough toe in to avoid wandering. 

Working on a tilt column will of course require removing it and major dis assembly. 
There are bolts that hold the upper and lower assemblies together; mine came
lose after 200,000 miles and the whole top was moving around.  Not sure just
what kind of U joint is in there, but I suspect its not your biggest problem. 

If the wheel to box is good, you may be looking at mushy rubber bushings at
this age.  Wear will affect the metal linkage.  good luck, Bruce Roe

Steve Lomas

Thanks Bruce for the detailed response,

There were a couple of threaded holes, so I put bolts in there and attached a puller, no snap ring though so it came off easily enough.

I'm not seeing any way to dig deeper from this end though..
you mentioned bolts holding the upper and lower parts of the column together, I undid all the bolts I could find, but they seem to be for mounting only, the whole column is still solid- unless it needs pried apart?

Maybe the hardware is different on this car, but it looks like I'd need to disconnect the linkage where it comes through the firewall and pull everything up and out from inside?!


I checked those other parts, there is maybe a little slack there also, but it is mainly in the steering column somewhere, I can rotate the linkage right at the firewall a good 10 degrees, before the steering wheel moves..

So I should probably fix this first before tweaking the other parts..




bcroe

The snap ring is after you remove the wheel on my cars.  Yes remove the column
from inside the car.  I haven't taken one of these apart, good luck.  Bruce Roe

Tpicks55

Look on youtube for lots of videos on this subject.
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