got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Well guys coming home from work yesterday on 175 atlanta traffic going 60mph the lower steering bearing came apart resulting in steering arm coming off. I went across 3 lanes of traffic and hit a bmw and hit the concrete wall. Spent the night in hospital. I need a front drivers fender a grill a bumper and steering columm. I found a local steering column out of a 85 c10 will. That work in my 69?

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Glad you are ok. That does not sound like a good situation. just curious was this a stock column or aftermarket tilt?

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

The 85 column is not a direct bolt in. Could probably work wit some fabricating.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Stock colum was not fun tore some muscles in my left arm, not a pretty site

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Take it easy and get well soon. I have never heard of a stock column doing that. I know some aftermarket tilt columns are poorly made that's why I asked.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

first time ive seen it too, found part laying under truck when wrecker picked up

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

I would really like to see what came apart. Sounds like some sort of major failure to completely loose control. Steering column is designed to still have sort of control in the event of failure. You can loose the lower bearing and the rag joint at the box and still retain some sort of control for a while.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

I will get you pics tommrow and n post here for you. When i popped hood you could see bolt and nut was still in place where shafts connect but shaft was unhooked and wobbley as crap, could tell some is missing lol.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Glad your ok, and the others I assume. From the sounds of it, it's hard to imagine that's all you need for parts.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Im amazed thats all i need too, tough truck is all i got to say bout that.. i got out expecting the worst but was suprized at the little damage to truck. And thanks for your concern. Im ok just in pain trucks in better shape than me haha

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

First glad your ok. That is the main thing. The truck as you know can, will be rebuilt better than before.:chevy:

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Thanx spent day searching for parts..

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Losing steering has got to be the worst system of all to have go out on you.. I'd rather have the brakes go because at least there would be hope for a choice of what to steer toward and hit to stop.. in other words between that oncoming truck head on - or that chicken coop in somebody's yard; aim for the coop!

Three lanes of traffic - I hope you mean they were all going in the same direction as you and not head on -

There is a two lane road near my home with a long flat straightaway where people routinely seem to just want to naturally drive at 85.. so as you motor down that road the high speed oncoming traffic is just three feet away from your left shoulder and even doing 65 mph (no doubt with five cars buzzing angrily on your bumper) every time you feel that whoosh of the oncoming car going by it is a reminder that your closing speed is probably 150 mph... (and we've seen the NHTSA videos for 100+ mph crashes ...gulp).

NASA would have a checklist for a system as risky as this.. maybe to preserve board members we can come up with a steering system checklist and prevent this from happening to anyone else.. Glad you wrote to tell the forum and glad you are okay to tell the tale.

As far as your question - I have been tempted by those IdidIt columns - because the NOS and limited repop GM steering column parts seem to be really expensive for what you get and relatively hard to source - also the sloppy shifter syndrome seems all too common and hard to fix - so if it were me I would take the opportunity to try the IdidIt product.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Man I hate seeing posts like this. Its great that you're ok though cause these trucks can always be fixed but us not so much. Hopefully your truck gets back on the road soon!

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

glad you are ok, weird that your steering failed like that

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

I'm also glad to hear you weren't hurt worse or dead! Suddenly having excessive play at hiway speed is a thing few have experienced. Many know what getting in a truck and driving with sloppy steering is like and/or a truck that pulls in one direction or the other. You figure how to compensate and get on down the road. The darts are consistent and within a tolerable range (just from slightest wear movement). In this case, the compensation didn't do what was expected any better than going straight was working with the dart extreme. I imagine the bearing balls came out of the races after a long period of being dry?

I had a steering box coming loose with a cracked frame that sent me over into the car next to me on a multi-lane road on a Blazer I had. I was on my way home from 4 wheelin' which was when frame cracked and box started working loose. Off road in 4wd I couldn't tell. It felt funny once on the road and I stopped and checked it out best I could, being alone. I was aware of the sloppy steering and I was doing ok, but still had a problem. It went from perfectly normal to WTF? and back randomly. Both vehicles "buffed out".. I should have parked it and had it towed

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Wow, that really sucks. Had to be a scary few seconds. Glad you and everyone involved is okay. Hopefully you're able to get your truck back on the road

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Glad you're okay! Sounds scary! Did you get any pictures of where the failure happened? If nothing else, you can warn others of potential problem in the future.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

here is pics the part may or may not came from truck was at scene of accident..Attachment 1508207

Attachment 1508208

Attachment 1508209

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Happy to hear you survived it. Even enough you're looking for parts today.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Good to hear you're ok. I can't believe it wasn't worse, what a terrible feeling to loose steering. And the minimal damage to you're truck considering what happened, lucky guy. Hope you find everything you need

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

That part you found on the road is from another vehicle, and probably not steering related. However, I see why your steering failed. Yes, the lower bearing in the steering column is gone, but that would not cause loss of control. The coupling at the end of the steering column came apart because the bolt that is being used to secure the lower shaft to the splined end of the steering column is too small in diameter to engage the "cut out" slot in the splined shaft. When the proper size bolt is used, there is practically no way for the coupling to come apart, even when the bolt is loose. You have to completely remove the bolt to separate the two sections. Your problem was the result of a sketchy fix on the coupler. Its a good thing nobody came after you with a lawsuit, because you would have been 100% liable.

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Thanx guys ill get it fixed, im a paint and bodyman in shop so just gotta find some parts

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Is there a pkace to buy a bearing kit for it and just get right size bolt? And would you happwn to know what size bolt i should use?

Re: got in wreck cause steering colum came apart
 

Any shop like LMC, Brothers, etc. will carry the lower bearing. They will probably also carry the coupler/bolt kit. The bolt is actually a carriage bolt with a square shaft on one end that engages the coupler to keep the bolt from spinning while you tighten the nut on the other end. Everything should cost less than about $20.

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