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"M" The War Departments F-150

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 3:22 pm
by tekatlarge
Well Last Saturday I was informed By M that her F150 wouldn't turn properly so It needs attention. "RIGHT NOW"!!!!!

So I go to pull the truck into the shop and found something binding in the steering column. A closer look showed the steering wheel would flop around about an inch up down left and right. This truck is a Lariat with Tilt wheel.

I tore the column apart and found where the bearings were supposed to be but both of the bearings were gone. There some small scraps of the race but for all intents no bearings at all. So I do a little online research and discover this is common on ford columns tilt or not. I guess ford wanted to recoup costs by making you have to replacing them.

I went to Ford today to get new bearings and as I said 97 Ford F-150 steering column....... The parts man smiled and said I know exactly what your talking about so without so much as having to look at his terminal he walks over to the parts bin, reached on a shelf and walked back to the counter. There he laid down the two bearings on to the counter, correct P/N and everything! Funny thing, the parts man on the other end of the counter looks over sees the bearings, looks over at me and says "Tilt column repair huh"? I smiled and shook my head affirmative. He smiles back and says it is one of their top selling parts... Amazing thing though he says thy have a dozen sets on order. I got the last one in stock. All in all not bad it cost me 22 dollars and change.

***Note here from Ford Parts and Service man, If the failure is ignored you run the real possibly of trashing the upper steering shaft. Not a cheap thing to replace. I was told over a hundred bucks.

So I should be out in the shop right now putting the thing back together But I just ran out of energy! She can drive her mustang a couple of more days! I think I am going to set back watch the sunshine one minute then turn into a windstorm the next, and then rain like a fire hose the next.. Crazy damn Northwest weather.

Just a side note about this repair. If you have a tilt column and the steering wheel wobbles don't put it off, get it fixed right away. If ignored it could possibly jam the wheel! If enough debris and sloppiness exist when the bearing fails you stand the chance of the U joint in the top of the column jamming.

Re: "M" The War Departments F-150

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 4:46 pm
by drofman
Seen this alot when I worked for Ford. We figured it out how this happens. On lifted vehicles people grab the wheel to pull themself into it which puts more pressure on the bearing that were designed for only pressure from turning the wheel (I know). Now, don't get mad at me but persons that were...."fluffy".....had the same problem. You said you had a Lariat so there should be a grab handle on the A pillar that you should use so this don't happen again.

Re: "M" The War Departments F-150

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 5:07 pm
by tekatlarge
Yeah Droff there is a handle on the right A Pillar but not on the drivers. I think I am going to put one on the drivers side just to keep her from hanging on that wheel again. I did tell her to quit using the wheel for a launch pad. Maybe that's why I am eating alone to nite? Hmmmmm

Re: "M" The War Departments F-150

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:28 am
by Lance Skene
Geeze I hope you didnt call her .. 'fluffy' .. you'll be eatin alone for a LONG time...lolol

Re: "M" The War Departments F-150

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 1:13 pm
by tekatlarge
cheeseburgers and greasy fries for dinner for me!!!

Re: "M" The War Departments F-150

Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 6:16 pm
by tekatlarge
Well as fate has been my co pilot lately I had a few things go wrong on the F150 repair. First glaring thing was M decided it was time for Mid stream change of strategy. She decided she likes to drive her mustang to work, She Said, "so now would be a fine time for me to do a Major service on her truck".

This bit of news I had not planed for so I got the list out and started working away. First front end. Ball joints good, center link bad. So a rebuild was necessary. Next thing Pull Radiator and take it to my radiator buddy for a slosh and floss. All well then. Move on to brakes... Brakes good, change all fluids,

When I got the command to fix this bugger I decided to break down and purchase the "Ford" official manual. I ordered one up from Helm inc. I saw a lot of titles of repair sections in the package I ordered. I felt I gotta keep this F150 running another 20 years so I sprung for the paper manuals as opposed to CD or any other type of media. All together with shipping it consumed a $100.00 bill in short order.

Ah the manual arrives via Fed X and was dropped off when I was gone. When I came in and Saw the size of the box this sucker was packed in. Shipping Wt 34 lbs. I was floored by what I got for a Hunnert bucks. Complete Shop Service Manuals Vol 1 and 2. Also in the package was a 3 volume "Workshop Manual" set. I have basically enough information now to take care of any failure I might find. I thought I would show you what a $100.00 gets ya these days.
manuals 003R.jpg

I have gone through all of the manuals and the two blue binders are the F150 service manuals. The three smaller books contain everything you ever needed to know and detailed troubleshooting guides. The books already saved me grief as I was looking at the steering column bearings and noticed a detail that was never mentioned but there is this washer type of metal ring that has a cone on one side. This is called a steering column tolerance ring. This sucker is responsible for keeping tension on the upper steering column bearing. If it is left out the new bearing would fail within a very short time.

You might wonder why I missed this part in the installation the first time? Well When I tore this down there were No complete pieces left to identify what was there except for a bunch of square balls of steel! That washer cone thing was ground up and only small pieces were left. When I tried to find a detail parts list in the beginning I went to Ford parts.com and I checked all the reference items and consulted Chilton and no where was this washer shown or illustrated. I just happened to be looking at the section on the bearing replacements and there was a drawing in the book showing the location of the part and Part Number It was listed on ford parts.com if I searched via the part number. So ford said next day service for the part. Promptly the next morning they called and said my part was in. I went down to pick the part and had a hart attack on the price. $15.00 Plus Tax. All that for a cone shaped washer...

So until next time Lets see what little gremlins are left in this vehicle.

Re: "M" The War Departments F-150

Posted: Sun May 11, 2014 8:27 am
by Lance Skene
That was a pretty good deal, I still prefer books over pdf by far when it comes to manuals.

Re: "M" The War Departments F-150

Posted: Sun May 11, 2014 1:49 pm
by tekatlarge
You know, I am getting that way any more. All you seem to find on line are manuals like Chilton's that takes a one subject fits all vehicles approach.

As my shop has a hard wired connection to the net I didn't think about having wireless and I have found unless you have a long long cord it is better to have a good properly labeled paper copy. I tried once to use my laptop under a vehicle and I swore it would Never happen again.

It seems trying to find somewhere to set the screen with out it falling can be a real challenge. I never broke a book like that. It had been suggested to me one time to try an I pad. it is greater than sliced bread they did say. I had 2 complaints after I did and the first was getting the screen all mucked up when your working by tapping and sliding your greasy fingers across the screen. My second complaint was because of the smaller screen would require you to enlarge/shrink the screen with greasy fingers just to look at a detail. No I guess I am too "Old School" or maybe its too much loss of eyesight at my advanced stage of life I use the paper`to back up what I read online.