steering wheel to column gap

[Boostin]

Hey guys, is this gap normal? is there something else im missing that goes there? does the wheel need to go down more, because i couldnt get it to. thanks in advance

[69Ford]

Loosen the two bolts holding the column in place. also loosen the clamp on the fire wall side and gently try to pull the column toward the seat. There is adjustment built into this. If it does move tighten the two bolts with the column where it should be then inspect the column on the fire wall side just above the rag joint it might be obvious why the column has slipped down . I would suspect that you have issues in the lower bearing area. worn or damaged parts. How are the front cab mounts usually the damage to this area is caused by the cab dropping from rusted cab mounts adding pressure on the column. I had the same problem ended up rebuilding the column not all that hard to do. There are lots of posts from people having the same problems. Here is what mine looked like.http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... =5&t=73357 Also go here a lot of good info. http://www.fordification.com/tech/powersteering.htm Good luck and let us know what you found. when done don't forget to tighten the clamp on the fire wall side.

[Boostin]

awesome, ill get into it this weekend. thank you for the insight. ive had issues with this steering since i bought the truck. its a bendix box that leaks but i have a good saginaw in my garage already. just not column to match the saginaw, if i can make this one work good then ill just leave it as is, we ll see what happens. my cab mounts are good, the truck is rust free, but then again i dont know what previous owners did and if this steering column is from another truck. thanks again, ill let you guys know what i come up with.

[69Ford]

I edited the post above with a little more info.

[390bump]

I have same gap after going from manual steering to a Bendix PS box and keeping same column. Maybe you have a manual steering column?

[Bigun11]

Seems like what I had. Rag joint was shot as was the lower steering column retainer.

[Mach428]

The post from 69 Ford above is dead on. Follow these directions and you can set the gap to any dimension you want.

[Nitekruizer]

The post from 69 Ford above is dead on. Follow these directions and you can set the gap to any dimension you want.

I had to adjust the gap between my steering wheel and column this way too.

[69Ford]

When you are adjusting your column this way all you are doing is fixing the gap on the steering wheel side and making a gap on the lower bearing side it will work but you may be exposing your lower bearing to the elements. There is an adjustment for this on power steering columns its a retainer on the shaft held on by two allen screws loosen and slide up the shaft (if not rusted in place). Or on other columns its just a bolt style clamp loosen and slide up. There is a washer style bearing seal that should be against the bearing. On most columns I've come across there is a lot of wear in the lower bearing area and at some point someone loosened the bolts under the column in the cab and the column slipped down to compensate for the wear. Or someone used the wrong steering shaft or column for the type steering they have.