Play in Steering Wheel
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I'll sho u
New Member
check the pinch bolts on the steering shaft to see if there tight. My steering was real sloppy but after I found those bolts to be loose and tightened them it is now as it should be.
nkb93
SLO 4 SHO
Mine wasn't as loose as yours is, but it was still annoying (maybe 1" total play). The pinch bolts were tight, so I had to look for other sources of slop. I found that most of the play was coming from the telescoping joint that connects the steering column to the steering rack (right under the brake pedal).
I first tried jamming thin metal shims down in between the telescoping square tubes to take out some of the slop. This worked okay for awhile, until I hit a hard bump and the subframe movement (stock bushings) made the joint telescope a little and ejected the shims. It was kinda funny because I noticed the steering become instantly sloppy, and looked down to see the shims laying in the floor.
Anyway, I ended up making a steel clamp that goes around the outside of telescoping part of the joint and compresses it inward slightly to tighten it up, but still allow it to telescope. I'd say this fix took about 80% of the play out of the steering.
This joint could be part of your problem, but I doubt it's worn enough to allow a couple inches of play.
I first tried jamming thin metal shims down in between the telescoping square tubes to take out some of the slop. This worked okay for awhile, until I hit a hard bump and the subframe movement (stock bushings) made the joint telescope a little and ejected the shims. It was kinda funny because I noticed the steering become instantly sloppy, and looked down to see the shims laying in the floor.
Anyway, I ended up making a steel clamp that goes around the outside of telescoping part of the joint and compresses it inward slightly to tighten it up, but still allow it to telescope. I'd say this fix took about 80% of the play out of the steering.
This joint could be part of your problem, but I doubt it's worn enough to allow a couple inches of play.
Markus
SHO Member
nkb93 said:
I had a couple of inches of play when my joint wore out. A new joint fixed all the play. I happened to locate a year ago a 94 Taurus GL in the junkyard with only 12,000 miles on it. I got the joint for less than $20. I think they are around $200 new.
Well, I'll start with the pinch bolts and go from there. Hopefully it will be fairly simple. If the joint is bad at least I can fix it with a cheap one from a regular taurus, providing I can find a good one. Thanks for the info guys.
Markus
SHO Member
If you're going to be looking at a junkyard for one I suggest you look at cars with no more than 60K miles. I found play in all of the junkyard Taurii with 60K or more miles. The part that actually wears is a thin plastic sleeve and it seems to have a fairly short lifespan.
revhardSHO
SHO Member
This is the telescoping joint on the steering column, near the brake pedal. You should see it pretty easily if you get down there and poke around, just follow the column down to where it goes through the firewall, it will be right there. Looks like a real PITA to replace, I think you would have to remove the column and / or rack to get it out.
Markus
SHO Member
revhardSHO said:
It's actually very easy.
1) Remove the 3 nuts holding the rubber boot to the firewall
2) Remove 1 bolt from each end of the joint
3) Remove the joint
It took me about 30 minutes to replace the joint. This included removing the driver's seat. Most people will not need to remove the driver's seat - I'm a pretty big guy and I found the job easier with the seat removed.
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