Steering Shaft Movement

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TF360

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So I removed the steering wheel off my D100, and the steering shaft moves up and down. The steering was a little harder than normal to turn and also had a clunk when turning hard to the right or left. Is there some kind of bearing toward the top of the column? Anybody have thoughts on this?
 
TF360 said:
So I removed the steering wheel off my D100, and the steering shaft moves up and down. The steering was a little harder than normal to turn and also had a clunk when turning hard to the right or left. Is there some kind of bearing toward the top of the column? Anybody have thoughts on this?
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Yup. It's a small ball bearing. Sounds like it's worn out. The factory service manual shows a nice exploded diagram of the steering column.
 
If it's like an A body.....and I'm pretty sure it is.....it has a rubber insulator that fits around the bearing. That rubber insulator probably has a staple in it. That staple, believe it or not is what grounds the steering shaft to the column. You can find them new. Most times the staple is included, but sometimes not. Unless they changed how the shaft grounds, it'll be like that. Once you get the wheel off and the turn signal switch out, there is a snap ring on the shaft. Remove that and the three? screws that hold the upper housing on and the housing "should" slide off with the bearing.....most times the bearing is stuck on the shaft. If that's the case, you'll need to disconnect the shaft from the gear box. I think trucks use a rag joint like GM? At any rate, move the shaft out of the way of the gear box and go in and screw the steering wheel nut down till it's flush with the end of the threads on the shaft. Now take a brass hammer.....even a good heavy rubber hammer will probably work and smack the shaft a time or three on the end and it will pop the bearing right off. Then you can take the bearing out. That's how A bodies are and I don't think the design changed much.
 
What year D100? Early models have a solid center shaft going into the box. Later ones have a coupler for the center shaft.
 
Is it possible it's the Rag-joint that's causing the movement at the steering wheel?
 
TF360 said:
Is it possible it's the Rag-joint that's causing the movement at the steering wheel?
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No. And it's not a difficult job. A little time consuming and tedious. Just go slow with it. Do what I told you to do dammit. lol Get you a factory service manual and you'll see a nice exploded diagram. There might be one available over on mymopar.com for a free download. I don't know how much truck stuff they have but it's worth a look.
 
Assuming it's not a tilt column, not a BIG deal, but, you'll probably need a puller for the steering wheel, and a good pair of snap ring pliers for the circlip holding the bearing in place. The rest should be simple hand tools. A tilt column adds a bunch more possible problem areas that can cause slop in the column.
 
TF360 said:
Thanks Rusty and Mark. I'll give it a try.
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If you get hung up on something, take plenty of well lit pictures, post um up and we'll do our best to walk you through it.
 
Ok, took it all apart yesterday. Someone was already in there, and there is no bearing or clip. the rubber insulator is still in there though. I ordered the parts
 
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