Quick Steering Column Question

[saxart]

This is a freshly rebuilt non-tilt (floor shift) column from a 1970 C-10.



What keeps the piece marked with blue painter's tape from spinning about 1/3 of a turn? It's not flopping around loose, but it will spin if you twist it. (Or is it supposed to be that way?)

Thanks!

[Wrenchbender Ret]

If you are referring to the whole coller, it is made that way. If it had a column shift the lever would turn it & a tube would go down through the jacket with a shift lever on it.

[randy500]

It goes over the "shift tube" which is in the center of the column and supported st the end of the column, can you tighten it up down there? I haven't worked on 4spd columns much but they are similar to column shift.

[randy500]

You know that column is missing the metal wiring cover that goes below those 2tabs in your picture.

[saxart]

Originally Posted by Wrenchbender Ret

If you are referring to the whole coller, it is made that way. If it had a column shift the lever would turn it & a tube would go down through the jacket with a shift lever on it.

Thanks Wrenchbender. I was kind of guessing that's why it was made that way, but I wasn't sure if there was a provision to keep it from spinning if you had a floor shift truck. I guess not.

Originally Posted by randy500

You know that column is missing the metal wiring cover that goes below those 2tabs in your picture.

Thanks Randy. Yes, I have the metal wiring cover still sitting on the work-bench. Just neglected to install it before taking the pic.

[saxart]

Time for another question....

I've got the column installed in the truck. What keeps the inner steering column shaft from sliding up and down inside the column? As you can see, the intermediate steering shaft is installed (I shortened it by melting out the plastic nibs so I could move the column away from the bench seat by about an inch) but the inner column shaft won't stay in the column. (You can see that I'm pointing to the lower bearing which has fallen out)



Does the Steering wheel keep this whole assembly in place? (It's not installed yet...)

[randy500]

Deleted last comment...the steering wheel takes up that slack and the spring preloads the bearings.

[randy500]

You must use the horn/bearing retainer ring under the steering wheel as it's tapered to ride in the upper bearing

[randy500]

And I think you can adjust out that movement of the bowl with the screw and slot above your finger in the picture. There are 2 of those screws each in an angled slot for

[randy500]

The shift tube is how that bowl is supported.
The ring where the lower bearing sits is where the lower part of the shift tube is supported.
The shift tube is supported at the wheel by a rubber plastic washer and a rubber cone shaped washer which is squished up against a die cast piece under the turn signal switch.
Adjusting that lower bearing retainer in the angled slots should tighten up the shift tube and in in turn tighten up the bowl I believe.

[randy500]

On an auto column shift straight column those slots are used to rotate the shift pointer to the indicator. Each gear position on an auto column has a detention so while in the detention that lower bearing retainer is rotated to make the pointer align.

[saxart]

Thanks Randy. It took me a minute to see it, but once I bolted the steering wheel on, everything fell into place.

Now if I could just figure out why they have the slots on the lower bearing mount, this will be wrapped up. Everything seems fine now, so why do they have a slotted adjustment down there?

[randy500]

I think those slots could take up the slack that upper bowl