occupant272
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intermittent steering
Ever been driving home from work, go to make a turn, and your truck keeps going straight?
That's the beauty of this truck. When it doesn't want you to turn, you don't turn! Rayford knows best!
Seriously, I'm going down the road and turn the wheel and my truck goes straight ahead, over a curb, and into a pawnshop parking lot. I hit nothing, but my left mirror came off and my vent window glass just about came out. Turns out the steering column pulled up and out of the gearbox's input shaft. There was NOTHING holding it on. I go back aways down the street and find 2 bolts and a strip of metal lying on the ground, this was the way it was rigged to not fall out. I get it back together, and also find that the steering column mount came off, all four bolts are gone, so I went and bought four bolts and put that back together. Then I drove home pushing in on the steering column with my right hand to keep it in, and holding the mirror in place with my left hand. Found a bolt after I got home to secure the mirror.
I had a fun day. Wonder what tomorrow will bring?
Last edited by occupant272, 6/19/2004, 8:34 pm
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6/19/2004, 8:33 pm
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6772FordFseries
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Re: intermittent steering
Holy cow! I'm glad to hear you didn't crash into anything immoveable, or that this didn't happen when you were out on the interstate! Sounds to me like you just need to replace the steering coupler (commonly known as the rag joint) at the base of the steering column. It's pretty common for it to be torn, and it sounds like a previous owner jury-rigged it to work...though obviously not the best thing to do.
Go the the Help section of your local auto parts store and get the generic rag joint...which will not include the metal pieces which are riveted to your present rag joint. But by spending a few minutes drilling out the rivets holding the metal pieces to your present joint and bolting them onto the new rag joint using the supplied bolts, you can have yours fixed for about $8-$10 and a few minutes of your time.
Last edited by 6772FordFseries, 6/19/2004, 10:48 pm
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Keith
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1967 Ford F-100 2WD shortbox
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6/19/2004, 9:40 pm
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occupant272
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Re: intermittent steering
Rivets? I didn't even see any rivets. All that's left of the rag joint is a couple pieces of loose rubber and the metal plate, the bolts were tied together by the wire, and are again.
I was thinking of changing the whole column and putting in new parts where it connects. This column is blue, with a green wheel, with no horn cover, it still has the shifter joint on the side, etc. I might as well locate a nice non-shifter column, in black, and a good wheel.
In the meantime I'll use it only to go to the junkyard to get parts. If I push in on the column while I drive, it doesn't have any problems. I just need to remember not to use the wheel as leverage to pull myself into the truck.
If I was fatter my belly would hold the wheel in...
Last edited by occupant272, 6/20/2004, 4:46 pm
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6/20/2004, 4:42 pm
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occupant272
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Re: intermittent steering
By the way, what is the purpose of that bracket on top of the gearbox? Is that some part of the linkage for the column shifter? Can I remove it without causing a problem?
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6/20/2004, 4:44 pm
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6772FordFseries
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Re: intermittent steering
That bracket on top of the steering box just supports the steel brake lines between the master cylinder and the distribution block. I'd suggest leaving it in place, otherwise normal vibration will cause metal fatigue in the steel lines and cause them to fail.
If your rag joint doesn't have those metal pieces, you're going to have to buy a replacement. You might luck out and find a good one in a salvage yard, but don't hold your breath.
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6/20/2004, 6:55 pm
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