The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks steering column slop

The 3 speed steering column in my 65 has a lot of slop in the top. Was wondering if someone may have a parts diagram for it so i could see what is missing or worn out. thanks, Bryan

if you mean the steering wheel is 'mobile', the upper mast bearing is hooped, most vendors will have that, just have to pull the wheel and look right there at the top - if you mean the shift mechanism, there's parts available for that as well, there's a springy wire in the knuckle that might break .... your best friend will be the shop manual, also available

Bill

i can move the steering wheel and it moves with the shifter also. Where can i find a shop manual? I see that there are plenty of 1965 supplement manuals on ebay but not just a 1965 shop manual. Are there any that are avaliable to look at on line?

the 63 manual is the "base" one then there's supplements for following years of the same series see here, careful about manuals off ebay, they sometimes go for more than new .... don't know of any of the 60's manuals online but a member here has some info posted .... if the whole column is loose that'd seem like the support to the dash, but that top mast jacket bearing is commonly bad

Bill

I had the same problem on my '65. When I replaced the upper mast bearing it helped but it was still sloppy.

Upon investigation I found the lower bearing was gone (it is a ball bearing, the balls were gone ) and the shaft was severly worn, worn to the point of being scary! This post helps to explain the repair:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=399139

Hope this helps!

I took it apart again today and it looks like it is missing the bracket that the turn signal switch screws to and also the little tabs that hold the bracket in place are broken and missing. Guess im on the search for a column now.

I went through the same thing with mine. Two of the three tabs were broken off. I would highly recommend contacting Tony Smith:
Tony Smith
4-5-6 Chevy Trucks
560 South 11th Street
Kansas City, KS 66105
913-207-7789

I got one from him and it is in near perfect condition and for a very reasonable price.

X2

The upper bonnet on my column was also screwed up and Tony fixed me up with the parts I needed.

I hate to be a nuisance, but did you check the lower column bearing too as I suggested above?

how much does a good column sell for? Yes I checked the lower bearing and it is tight. the upper is where all of the problems are.

I checked a local junkyard and they wanted $125 for the whole column and $75 for just that steering mast jacket (the piece with the broken tabs), and that was if I took it out myself. If you just want the mast jacket you can probably find it for $40-$60 if you look hard enough. As stated above, in my experience Tony Smith had the best price for the best product.