What is inside a column shift steering column?

67Dart273 said

I don't even see why you NEED a bearing at the botton of the column. Seems to me if you had the bearing at the top near the wheel, you could just as well have NO bearing from there on down, and rely on the coupler to keep things aligned.

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I can't agree with that. A "rag joint' type coupling will absorb movement in multiple directions. Chryslers box coupling... not so much. It is designed to absorb lengthwise travel but a good bit of off center travel would eat the top off it. I doubt the pissy little upper bearing would survive a lot of off center shaft movement. The more it wears the move movement far below.
10 year, 100K mile engineering versus day after tomorrow, 100 mile engineering I suppose.