duer1637

When I turn my stering wheel it makes a scratching sound, could my column tube bearing be bad? If so how do I get in there to replace/ lube it? I do have my powersteering belt taken off right now (waiting for new pressure hose) so it is just manual steering. Thanks

Big Block Ford

It could be the bearing . I havn't removed one of these models before but the best way is to have a small puller available to remove the steering wheel. Try to drive the car into your garage so that it is driving in a direct line straight ahead. Remove the steering wheel hold down nut in the centre of the wheel and use the small puller to pull the steering wheel off. You can try pulling the wheel off by hand and if you are lucky you may get it off but don't bang the threaded end of the steering shaft with a hammer. The steering wheel itself will have a couple of threaded holes on each side of where the shaft pokes through for you to bolt a small puller onto. Remove the steering wheel then you may have to remove the indiacator unit and shroud and you should have access to the bearing. It could be something scraping in the indiactor stalk area. When you reassemble everything, you will need to centre the wheel so hope fully you havn't turn the steering too much and the car is still in the straight ahead direction. Put the wheel back on so it is centered in the position it should be when driving straight and be sure to tighten the nut . It is wise to torque it with a torque wrench to be sure you have it on properly but is not essential. Test drive to see if the steering wheel is centered correctly.

Good luck

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Lance
71 429SCJ Mustang

Beano

Stretching my memory here... I had this problem a while ago with my 65 (converted to RHD) and I found that the knuckle joint was worn down, causing the wheel to be pulled down hard on the column..