column help

[jglassjr]

This is my 59 ...can someone tell me what is going on here? it slides down the column every once in awhile, I just slide it back up and keep going. Its time to fix it.... is there a set screw that came loose? Or what holds it in place? do I need to remove the steering wheel for this?

[Russell Ashley]

Yes you will have to remove the steering wheel to fix it. There is a screw (or should be) in the housing that wedges a block against the steering column jacket to lock it. Also, there is a raised block on the column jacket that fits into a slot on the housing that is supposed to keep the housing from turning when you apply the turn signals but it doesn't always work because it is too small. I had to make a shim for that area before I could ever get mine tight. This pic shows the wedge.

[_Ogre]

russell; doesn't that screw come in from the bottom?
visible in the top pic under the turn indicator lever?

[Russell Ashley]

You are right. Even with a picture I still couldn't remember it correctly, LOL. Glad you caught that. I just remember having to remove the wheel several times to get the shim in between the raised tab on the column and the turn signal housing. The lock wedge never would hold mine tight enough to keep it from moving when I applied the turn signals.

[jglassjr]

Thank you for the response.... so the screw below the turn signal tightens the wedge? I wont need to remove the wheel then...or is there more to it?

[Russell Ashley]

If you are lucky just tightening the screw is all you need to do. After you tighten it if the housing tries to rotate around the column when you put on the turn signals then you might have to remove the wheel and do as I did with the shim.

[jglassjr]

ok....did you attach the shim to the steering column jacket or the housing itself?

[Russell Ashley]

In my case the problem was that the raised bump on the column wasn't as wide as the slot in the turn signal housing and the housing would rotate slightly in either direction until the edge of the slot hit the stop bump. The wedge won't lock it tight enough to keep it from turning when you use the turn signals and it just gets looser if left like that.
To fix mine I snugged up the locking screw and then rotated the housing counter clockwise until stopped by the stop. Then I cut a small piece of thin steel and worked it into place so that it filled the space between the stop and the left side of the housing. Then I tightened the locking screw. It was a new reproduction turn signal setup that I had to do this with, BTW. The cup in the first pic I posted was an old used one that was worn beyond use due to being left loose too long. It was a PITA but it's still tight after three years of use.

[jglassjr]

Thank you for your help....I hope just tightening the wedge will do it... but I know what to do now if it doesnt

[Old Crow]

The one on my wife's truck was wallowed out from being loose like Russell's. I ended up using pieces of an old feeler gauge wedged at 3 points around the housing and then tightening the wedge. Took a bit of fiddling, but it's solid now.