1972 F250 auto., PS
I tried removing the shift lever on the steering column to find out what is wrong inside the column. There appears to be a pin that could be driven out. It is located at the point where the lever pivots, near a rubber bushing. I tapped it with a punch from top and bottom. It don't move. I hesitate to hit it harder lest I do real damage. This area seems kinda fragile. How hard can I hit this? If I do get it apart, will I have a lap full of parts to sort out? Anyone out there who has done this successfully in this vintage Ford? Oh, and I applied penetrating liquid.

Jerry

 

I believe they use a serrated pin. They are removed from the bottom up. You have been going in the wrong direction. Lets hope you didn't drive it in to hard. When reinstalling the pin it can be squeezed in place with a pair of pliers instead of beating on it. Did you also post the original problem on another post? If you can spare the time and vehicle to open it up carefully making notes of what you remove in steps you should be able to reassemble with the new parts. The easy way was to replace the whole steering column if a replacement was available from a salvage yard.

 

he should be able to replace the whole column with a good used one any one from a list of trucks can be used as long as they are from a truck with p.s. and have an auto trans. just make sure that you install a new rag joint along with it. btw it not hard to change them out I've done it a few times

 

Thanks, Hanky for giving me some information about the pin holding in the shift lever. I got it out after using penetrating liquid over a period of days and by beating it out from the bottom with a punch. Took much time. I was grateful that I didn't do other damage in the process. It was a smooth pin with a slit. Not sure which way it goes back in, as the last hammer blow sent it flying into the cab. Even with the shift lever out, I can't see anything, so I will now pull the steering wheel to determine if there is a replaceable part that I can access from the top.

I understand the correct way to pull the steering wheel is with a puller. It seems I could make a crude puller with a small bar of thick iron and two bolts that fit into the threaded holes. Does this sound realistic? Does someone know if an "ordinary" puller of some type might be used in this application?

 

There were times when we had to go to a customer's location and working the afternoon shift it started getting dark and the steering wheel had to be removed to repair a problem and I managed to remove the steering wheel on those years without a puller. If you placed the nut that held the steering wheel on the shaft flush with the top of the shaft , placed your knees under the steering wheel to provide upward tension and gave that nut and shaft one good rap with a hammer and the wheel would pop right up for you. Just make a mark on the wheel and shaft so they are assembled in the same position. Of course you could not dare to use that method on any later years because you could do some damage. I believe that was when we had to replace the signal switch with the attached wiring under the steering wheel. Just go slow and plan your moves .

I don't know what problem you were after, but if it was a hard time moving the shift tube it was because of corrosion between the shift tube and the nylon bushings. All you had to do was to remove the steering column clean the corrosion and lubricate the bushings. To prevent a recurrence, I made a slight spiral depression on the bearing surfaces of the tube to hold the lubricant (grease).

 

So I'll latch on to an old thread since I can't find the 'New Thread' button.


2002 Escape, 3.0, XLT, 2WD, Automatic. The shift bushing is shot. I'm unable to find an efficient way to confidently order the right part. Can anybody help zero me in? I've made a temporary fix that is 100% effective, but I'm sure it will start to fail within a few months, so I'd like to get the right thing on order.