Steering shaft alignment, source for upper bearing

[DaveMueller]

Hi all,
First the easy question - does anyone know a low cost upper bearing for a GM tilt column? I'm seeing prices around $50 for a single bearing which is unreal considering it's just a plastic race with 14 balls. Mine is about 1-1/4" inside the inner race and 1-1/2" outside the balls.

Second, the reason I pulled the column apart is that the upper shaft is installed with the tick mark at about 4 o'clock instead of 12 o'clock. Not a problem except the turn signal cancel cam only fits one way and I can't signal a right turn since the switch is always on the cancel bump. I thought I'd pull the upper shaft and rotate it, but the notch for the clamp bolt at the mid shaft only fits one way, so it seems there's something else out of alignment at the steering box end. I checked the adjustable collar on the passenger side linkage, it's pretty well centered.

I've never pulled a steering box apart, but is there some way inside the box to rotate the input shaft about 120 degrees?

Thanks

 

[Torxhead]

Dave, for that bearing, you might get lucky with one online or at an industrial hardware supply. You can start by getting the overall dimensions, O.D., I.D., and height as you have listed.
For that steering wheel adjustment, it can be done with adjusting the drag link. That is what I did for my 4" lift. Make sure the steering stops are set correctly also.
Edit: Is that a needle roller bearing like this:
https://bearingsdirect.com/shell-cu...edle-rollers-bearing-1-1-4-x-1-1-2-x-5-8.html. If not keep searching.

 

[DaveMueller]

For that steering wheel adjustment, it can be done with adjusting the drag link. That is what I did for my 4" lift. Make sure the steering stops are set correctly also.
Edit: Is that a needle roller bearing like this:

No, it's a standard looking ball bearing with a plastic race.

If I adjust the length of the drag link, won't that change the position of the pitman arm? I assumed the pitman arm should be parallel to the wheels, eg parallel to the frame when the wheels are pointed straight ahead.

 

[Torxhead]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=80&v=X3elMRdgq0k

 

[hagar]

Your splines on the pitman arm shaft could be twisted.
Might be able to see them if you remove the pitman arm and inspect.
Local parts house should have a "Help" repair kit for the steering/ignition rod rack and pinion; the column bearings should be in that kit if I recall.
You may not use everything in that kit, but it helps to have some of those parts and pieces lying around.

 

[DaveMueller]

I was able to find 3 bearings at the local u-pull-it. Took a while to find a pre-airbag steering column. One came out of an old Chevy pickup where someone else was nice enough to pull the steering wheel and upper parts, so I just snagged the bearing with needle nose pliers. I pulled another wheel from a Chevy van and got a bearing in better shape. When I finally made it to the "retired Jeep" section, I came across an old Cherokee (?) with an intact column. As a bonus, I got an OEM Jeep steering wheel.

I fixed the alignment problem by adjusting the drag link turnbuckle as shown in the video above (Thanks!).

I think I had to disassemble the whole thing 5 or 6 times. Once I didn't have the shaft seated and the wheel wouldn't turn. Then I got the park pin spring in wrong. The last time, I got it all together and turning smoothly, and saw the turn signal lever on the bench!

Even though I didn't need to disassemble the column to fix the alignment, breaking the bearing allowed me to fix:
Alignment, so now both turn signals work
Broken horn
Broken ear from ignition lock cylinder
Hard to turn lock cylinder (ignition switch rod was bent, plus grease was more like tar)
Engine Start position by adjusting the ignition switch (PO hacked the wiring and put a push button on the dash :-( )

I only had one left over part :-) It's a small metal shield of some sort. I couldn't find a good diagram online and it wasn't obvious where it fit so I left it out.