Please help on loose 63 steering column

[chevylookin]

Ive always had to live with a little up and down play on my 64 steering wheel. No more than an 1/8th of an inch I guess. That I can deal with. But, its the actual steering play that I will always tackle until it is as tight as a preachers you-know-what in a hog's you-know-what. I have a floor shifter so I dont have to deal with the column shift stuff that you must contend with. As far as I know, the tube that the steering shaft rides through is mounted tight underneath with the big bracket that the emergency brake attaches to, the other column pieces attach to the end of that and the bearing on the turnsignal switch keeps everything pretty well stable. Your switch has definitely gave up the ghost and the aftermarket switches are ok, I guess, but I had to do alot of finageling to get mine to not bind and cancel properly. How much up and down play are you talking about?

[chevylookin]

Have you seen this video a guy posted a lil over a year ago.: https://youtu.be/Vkk_fM-QHns He feels your pain. There is literally zero video support for these old trucks when it comes to factory steering columns. Only a bunch of Ididit stuff. Look in the comment section as there is a person who left a remark that you might be able to visualize better than I can with my simple floor shifter column. HTH.

[Captmatt]

The plastic turn signal mechanism has a bearing pressed into it for the steering shaft. You can also buy them separately from many of the parts catalogs. That being said, the steering assembly has the solid shaft and two tubes. The inner shift tube and the outer tube that you see in your photos. Remove your shifter arm and that cup will slide up / off. Now you can see the inner and outer tube. There is a plastic washer that keeps everything lined up and tight. These are many times missing and I've looked everywhere including this site for a replacement with zero luck. Search lugnutz65 on this site, he has a great write up on disassembly of these columns . The bearing assembly you included as a photo is for a different vintage truck

[Captmatt]

Another pic.....and your photo is the correct bearing for a '63

[Lugnutz65]

I rebuilt my 65 steering column and unless the 63 is VERY different, I may be able to help.
Let's get familiar with the terminology I use.

Pistoning = the steering rod slides inside the steering sleeves toward and
away from your chest.

Wobble = side to side movement towards the doors or up and down towards the floor or windshield.

Are you experiencing Wobble or Pistoning?

The column has several adjustment features. There are 2 bolts that secure the column sleeve to the under dash support bracket. (3rd picture).

The spring and clamp inside the engine bay is just beneath the lower bearing and adjusts to prevent pistoning. (4th photo - please ignore my U-joint)

If the upper and lower bearings are bad, you will see wobble. Especially if the upper bearing isn't seated properly.

The shift collar has an adjustment screw as well. (2nd picture).



These photos might inspire a few questions.

Lastly, I have a 1963 with an untouched column and can show actual 1963 photos as well.