Big Blue's Chuckling Noise In Steering Column

[Gary Lewis]

I certainly do use the wheel as a handle to get in.  But that would put stress on the snap ring to the rear that sits in a nice slot, not the shallow groove the front one sits in.  Stressing that one would take pushing down on the wheel, which may have happened when offroading?

Anyway, we will see in a couple of hours.  Gotta catch up with what's going on here, drink some coffee, and chill a bit first.

[Gary Lewis]

Well, the plot thickens.  Got to looking at the spare shaft that was on the bench and then the one in Big Blue and I could see differences in the snap ring groove.  So I pulled the shaft out of BB and here they are, with the one from BB on the bottom.

Looks like the part was bad from the factory and the stepped groove allowed the snap ring to come out.  So the one on the top is going back in.

However notice the "knurling", which is what the shop manual calls the grooves between the two snap rings.  The one on top measures .735 and Big Blue's measures .740, while the ID of the bearing is .750.  So I'm looking for a way to shim that when I put the bearing in.  

[85lebaront2]

Gary, both shafts look like they have been turning in the bearing. After doing that for 39 years or so, the softer shaft metal has worn. Maybe some shim stock wrapped around the knurled area to make the bearing a slight press fit would solve the issue. The other option would be similar to what you did on the lower bearing, again just enough to make the bearing inner race a slight press (with your hands) fit.

Unfortunately for you, all the steering columns I have are tilt wheel Saginaw built for Chrysler or the Ford stub columns used on later vehicles. Darth and the 1990 Town Car we owned and the 1994 Taurus all used the same style stub column.

[Gary Lewis]

Bill - Like minds!  I have .008" shim stock wrapped around it and have pressed the bearing on using a tube against the inner race.  Nice tight fit, so there's no way the bearing is going to turn on the shaft.  

And I've lubed the bearing with Mobil 1 synthetic grease.

Now if the snap ring, the spare one as the one from BB is a bit spread, will go on I'll start installing it.

[BigBrother-84]

Progress!

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, PROGRESS!  Got the snap ring in and the upper shaft into the lower shaft and finally got them into the right position.

But I need to document that process.  They are held in position by two spring "bumps" on the upper shaft that hold them tightly.  The FSM says to tap one shaft while holding the other to prevent it moving.  But when you already have the lower shaft in the column and the column in the truck that's not easy.  As it turns out the Borgeson shaft will only compress so far and it stopped the lower shaft from coming more than a few inches out of the column.  So I'd tap the upper shaft into place, lever the lower shaft back into the column, tap the upper one down, rinse & repeat.

Eventually I got them into the right position where the upper bearing is seated in the recess and the Borgeson up against the red plastic spacer that protects the lower bearing.  Then the turn signal switch in and the steering wheel on.  Done!

So we are taking Big Blue out for a spin in a few minutes and I'll let y'all know how well the steering does and how many noises it makes.  

[Gary Lewis]

SUCCESS!!!!! 

Man, it is amazing how much difference that made!  There is NO noise in the steering now, and there always has been, although I didn't realize it was in the steering.  And the steering seems much smoother.  I'm a happy camper!

[BigBrother-84]

Yeah!  Happy you solved this annoying noise!

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, Jeff.  It was a really good feeling - or lack of sound maybe I should say.  

[viven44]

Excellent news. With all the machining you did, I think very people in the world can attain the perfection you have. Always love a solution that involves ingenuity vs. parts swapping.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks.

But technically I did quite a bit of parts swapping as well as machining.  I swapped the upper steering shaft to a spare I had, but put the original upper bearing on that shaft, although I had to shim it as the shaft was worn.  Then I used the "sleeve" from the spare bearing, which is the rubber "tire" that pads the bearing, as it was bigger and fit tightly into the recess in the column.  And I used the spare snap ring as the original one was stretched.

But the system is now "tight".  There is absolutely no slop, noise, nor roughness in the steering.

[viven44]

That is not the parts swapping I was referring to or would even attach a stigma to. My definition involves several visits to AutoZone, with little to no diagnosis done.

[Gary Lewis]