Steering Repair Question - '70 F-100

[Bigcalhoun]

Fellas:
I have a '70, F-100, 302. Recently the steering has gotten a little loose and I found the reason why under the hood. I'm not sure of the proper part names but the padding (or whatever it is) at the end of the steering column under the hood is separating into several stacked pieces and the the steel pegs on the lower part now barely fit inside the round steel piece on the upper part.

I recently looked at my father's '68 Torino which has a similar steering column and those pieces on his fit firmly together.

Is this a problem that can be fixed by replacing that padding or is the entire steering column going to have to come out? Any idea y'all have are appreciated.

Merry Christmas from the South Carolina Lowcountry.

[fordman]

in general we call it a rag joint.

[Bigcalhoun]

Thanks for taking the time to look that up for me. I appreciate the help.

[td]

Thanks for taking the time to look that up for me. I appreciate the help.

no problem, good luck with the repair .

[cdherman]

There are number of rag joints that are very similar. I think you may find that a rag joint or "steering coupler" from autozone or advance auto can be had for about $25. It will work fine. There are also rebuild kits. Look for steering couplers from a mid 70's truck. The steering gear was the same through all those years, so the couplers interchange. The early couplers had a grounding strap. You may have trouble with your horn working if you install a later coupler, but that is easily remedied with a ground wire and/or a metal bearing wedge at the top of the steering column.

There is a larger question. Why did it fail in the first place? Usually they do not fail.....

The problem we see in 65-66 trucks is that the cab mounts are rusted and the cab is starting to sink down onto the frame. This puts enormous pressure on the steering column.

It wouldn't suprise me if you found your mounts to be sagging. Also better check out the bearing at the bottom end of the steering column. It may be trashed as well......

Good luck....

[Banjo]

I don't know if a rag joint can be broken with a hard turn while the vehicle isn't running (and power steering not helping) or not. When I was about 18, had a very large friend who panicked in a sharp turn when his Chevelle died and he wrenched the steering wheel so hard he broke the steering column by hand thinking back now I wonder if it was the rag joint he broke?
I know the buddy I got my 68 bump from broke the steering column in it (manually) in a fit of rage (he also has gorilla strength). Just thoughts, I have no proof of these thoughts. But, it struck me when reading this that sounds like really aboutu the only way a rag joint could tear up, trying to turn a power steering truck sharply (perhaps even at speed) with the engine dead and therefore no power assist?

[fordman]

i used one of those help type rag joints. and it tore before i got to even drive the truck. we were puting it on and it tore.

[Bigcalhoun]

Thanks for all of the advice fellas. I found a replacement joint at Advance Auto for about $32.00. The repair was not extremely difficult but maybe a little bit tedious when it came to lining up the steering wheel and getting the joint all the way down on the gear box. As for discussion about the cause of the joint failure, I don't believe it has to do with the mounts rusting and the cab sagging (can't see any visual evidence). Considering that the truck rolled off the line 39 years ago last month, it isn't too rusty. The likely cause as some sort of low speed maneuvering, possibly to park in a tight space, putting a lot of strain on an old part. I like to drive my girls into downtown Charleston, SC for fun and parking a real truck in modern spaces and garages can sometimes be a challenge - better be more careful next time. In any case, the truck is now handling much better than when I bought it in Dec, of '04.

[td]

great looking 70 you have there!!

[papabug71]

Glad you got it fixed!

Thats a slick looking old Ford you have!