Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

thank you man I just cant believe i didn't notice that. Here is a pic of the bolt someone stuck in it,Attachment 1508213

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Glad You are OK, Scary situation.
Ron

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Did you by any chance have pictures of the BMW?

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Nope

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Glad you're OK, hope the BMW guy is too! Did it feel like this at all? Of course this guy was going 200mph...

https://www.facebook.com/MagicTouchM...2322269870361/

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Lol yep pretty much.... bmw ok only dent in fender barley hit him wall hurt

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Glad you're still here to look for repair parts. And new skivvies!

Man, that must've been a sick feeling.

Heal quickly!

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

The underlying cause seems to be the rigged clamp bolt in pic 2 of post 19, or as stated the fubar bearing causing slop wallowing things out. Still there's a U-joint arrangement 2" above.
Gotta maintain the old girl.
I had a 69 C20 for years that would come apart at the same spot. I knew not to pull on the wheel but someone else would when trying to drive it. I could put it back together in seconds.
That said, I think you're missing a spring, and a large round disk like a washer.

You can probably measure the shaft diameter, and I of the tube and get the bearing from the local hardware store home store etc. for cheap today. Google steering tube bearing 70 chevy truck and look at pics, measure and shop.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Defintly gotta do some work just bought truck couple months ago so i expect some n issue got my motor right now on to the other things.. should have checked steering you can bet next time i will

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Even with no bolt I don't know how the column came apart, unless the column pulled back toward you. The steering box is fixed to the frame and to separate. The person liable should be whoever did that garbage work on one of the most vital components on any vehicle. Is the column clamped at the firewall? Is it also loose under the dash where it is clamped?

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

The whole inner shaft with wheel came out.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

When dealing with old vehicles we cannot know who has worked on them and whether they were qualified or not to do so. Many of us would be surprised at the quick fixes that have been done to "just get us home" but were never properly done once it made it home. Bailing wire, duck tape, and the like come to mind. All good quick fixes but not intended to be permanent.
That undersized bolt in the steering shaft coupler was a quick fix that shouldn't have been left there. Who knows if the large flat washer and spring were even there that preload the bearings and shaft? The lower bearing failure didn't happen all at once. It wore out over the years and column looseness wasn't noticed. Once that coupler vibrated loose and slid down the column there was nothing to keep the two parts together. That's why the notch in the shaft is there, to prevent the two parts from completely separating if the bolt gets loose. That bolt was undersized so it failed. With the correct bolt in there that column would have stayed together for many a year with the lower bearing completely missing.
Special K is right. The one who put that bolt in "should" be the one liable if anything came of this accident but how could you possibly know who that was unless you did it your self. Since you recently bought the truck we can guess it was done by someone else.
Just think how bad this could have been if you were on a two lane highway. Maybe head on into another vehicle with a family inside.
We can't take anything for granted.
For instance: our company leases forklifts with maintenance included. When the term is up they are replaced with new units.
One of our newest lifts started having a steering tire wobble. We lifted it up and found the nut missing on a tie rod end. The cotter pin was there but no nut. This lift had not been worked on since new so it had to leave the factory that way. I took a picture and sent it to the lift truck company owner who was forwarding it to the factory. Whoever put that lift together knew what he was doing, it was no mistake to leave that nut off but put the cotter pin in.
I'm just saying with these older vehicles we have to really look them over good. Be careful out there guys.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Oh right. Looking at the picture I didn't consider that. Holy sheep sheet, what a ride? I thought at first it was just extreme play causing serious darting with delayed and equally sloppy response. You were totally at the mercy of the powers that be. No control but brakes!

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Yes i could have dealt with excessive play, o had nothing lol and yes the person who was stupid enough to put that bolt in should be liable but i cant prove Nything and i should have looked it over a little better i reckon, lesson learned. Life goes on truck is fixable nobody was hurt and wha g a story to tell the grandkids haha thanks everyone for all the concern..

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Based on what you described, I can't believe how "light" the damage is. You must have been almost stopped by the time BMW came along. If you both weren't wearing brown pants before the incident, you probably were after... :D

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

GLAD YOU ARE OKAY!! I wish you were closer to me, i have most everything you need

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

The bolt that goes in the clamp has a flat head with a square shoulder and is specific for that purpose. It's not a typical 3/8 bolt! We should all look under our hoods to verify what we got! Glad your OK!

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Wow what a ride.glad everyone was ok . That could've been way worse than what it was/is.

My kid used a bolt that was way to short in that spot he only had a few threads into the nut.
I cursed him out and made a dramatic situation out of it. Just to make a point.
And made him use a oe bolt idk why he didn't use it to begin with.

I was always taught brakes,steering,suspention and tires are the main things anytime your planning on driving a old vehicle.

I could even imagine being in traffic with no steering ablity just the thought makes me cringe.

I bet you'll go over your truck real good now.