1966 Steering Column Movement

[Sammy66]

Hi folks.

Having an issue with movement in the swing away steering....when it shouldn't.

I thought is was a matter of the arm on the right side of the column not dropping far enough, but that doesn't seem to be the issue. The movement seems to be coming from the base (firewall) end.....bushing? Bearing?

Not sure what to check or poke at next. Sucks to wiggle my head under there so any guidance on what to check would be appreacited.

here's a little video of the movement I'm experiencing.

Thanks in advance!

Sam

 

[kbuhagiar]

Sam,

I just went through this with my 62 Tbird. I had about 2-3" of up-and-down play in the steering wheel, which was very disconcerting.

There is a column pivot bushing at the end of the steering column, under the hood, mounted to the steering box. It is composed of a rubber bushing with a nylon insert. It mounts over a threaded stud/washer/nut on the end of the column. If that busing/insert is worn (or in my case, missing altogether) it will allow the column to move up and down at the rag joint. Unfortunately there are not reproduced; fortunately I was able to locate a good used one on Ebay.

I have attached a picture of the one used on the 61-63 Tbirds; the bushings for yours are the same but the bracket for the later years is shaped differently.

Good luck!