Fix Steering Play on Old Ford Trucks (Cheap and Easy!) 

Will the two steering shaft pieces still slide apart (or together) after doing this? Great idea either way.

That’s what I did on 2 ford vans back in the day. No disassembly....I just crushed the steering tube with a mini vice.

Slopped 'Em...

are you able to walk me through this like i’m 5? Are we talking about the upper tube under the dash or by the firewall??

I think everyone's done that at some point in time...

Loss of torque

My longest extension is 3 ft long, but hey his worked, use what you got.

@@MrMygeeain’t stupid if it works

@@WalterMelonsI know that’s right

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

Welding it? Thanks for the tip!

Do you have to replace the entire steering box?

Try the squeeze method (see other comment).

Mine's a 97 ranger and I paid big bucks for inner/outer tie rod replacement when I brought truck to shop for extreme steering drift. Not happy with failure of mechanic to check the rest of the steering components for an actual fix. The drift is scary; but still better than when I first got truck back from mechanic who 'claims' my axle bolt backed out after his repair which had truck feel like it was "hitting a rail" at every curve before throwing throw the truck in a straight trajectory - steering was completely over ridden. Mechanic made good to tighten axle bolt (never said if threads were compromised; and never apologized for the threat to my life!) Needless to say, won't go back there and why I am here still trying to resolve the original steering drift!

Try the squeeze method (see other comment).

oooo, will look for this too!

Jacks Mail did you end up giving this a go? I have an 85 B2 with the same issue. If this tightens up my steering I will be so excited.

@@alanl2568 Never give up ! This ol Bronco (95) is kinda a hobby horse. Have resolved many other issues but the steering box is the source of the wandering.. Is on my todo list...Hobby Horse is running great tho and fun to drive. Have learned one new trick lately..some aftermarket plug wires have rather thin casings; so, experimented with some Temflex Rubber Splicing tape..Wrapped some plug wires with this rubber tape especially where the wires overlap or come very near hot metal surfaces..Also did this in the 05 buick lesabre..Wow..what a difference..Every bit helps. Hope u have a good virus - free day. Over and out..

Consider turboing the 4.9! Here's part 1 of my full performance build: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-koLTt2H_-Bw.html I am also tinkering with the stock engine to prepare for low boost. More videos coming soon.

tie rod maybe. If it were mine I'd jack up the front end and start trying to see if you can wiggle any of the steering stuff around or if it moves with a pair of channellocks

Check tie rods ,ball joints ,radius arm bushings and i beam pivot bushings . Also turn steering gear adjustment srew one round ,to do so loosen lock nut snd turn adjustmet with screwdriver,

@@randallcarney1216 That will not remove any play. Tightening that set screw will just make the steering wheel harder to turn. Been there. It just applies a little tension.

If your front end is tight try getting it aligned and add more caster (6 degrees each side) to the alignment

I've heard of guys using a vice and squeezing the end of the shaft to make it tighter.

just pack the shaft with grease and then tack weld it together so it can t twist inside itself

@@soulmedicinesupposed to be collapsible so you don’t eat the shaft in an accident. I guess only tacking it might let it break still but if that were the case maybe ford would’ve done that. I’d rather pinch it together to have it bind a little more.

@@TheRedneckStigwhat shaft are we talking about ? the one he shimmed or somewhere else ?

​@@bobtailsthecatyes. The shaft I shimmed is purposefully collapsible so the steering wheel is not pushed into you during a front end collision. Watch car crash dummy testing for 1960s era cars and you'll see what I'm talking about

Nick David This could be your problem. Or it may be the pitman arm, idle arm or tie rod ends.

Doubt it. My Bronco drives straight but has the same play in steering. First thing I would check is ball joints and tie rods. Gwt the front end off the ground. Try and shake the wheel top-bottum and side-side. Top-bottom play is ball joints. Side-side is your tie rods. If it's tight, grease them while your down there. You just eliminated them as cause. Pitman arms, a windy day, and bumos can throw a Bronco all over the place. It's just a Bronco thing. Short wheel base, tall = top heavy and a lot of over steer. Bump steer can be caused by bushings going out. This vudep covers steering whell play, which will not make your truck wander. It'll just make it harder to correct.

Wandering is usually too much toe out

Clicking is from the camera's video stabilization. Forgot to turn it off.

It's a collapsible shaft so if the vehicle is in a front end collision it doesn't push the steering wheel into your chest

A tack weld should still break in a crash and allow it to collapse the shaft I'd think ?

@@TheRedneckStig ⬆️

@@soulmedicine with how easy the repair shown in the video is I wouldn't risk it

Temporarily permanent

That takes the play out of the gearbox not the shaft

Send a link

Borgeson heavy duty steering shaft. It also has no rubber rag joint . U joints at both ends. Also A company called redhead makes a precision rebuilt power steering gear box ,no play as long as your ball joints and tie rods are in good shape.

This fix is applicable for many years and models of Ford trucks and vans

Well, it did fix it.