Lower steering column bearing

[shadams]

Anyone have any suggestions on a replacement lower steering column bearing for my 85 K20 4x4 4spd floor shift. The truck has a horrendous clunking when on rough roads and I grabbed the steering shaft and it is loose at the point where it hooks up to the column. I removed the retainer clip and pulled out this weird looking bearing and it is loose and rough.

I work at a GM dealer and I think the catalog is wacked. If I look at the parts description they list a lower column bearing but the drawing number shows it up top. The one in the pic at the bottom shows to be discontinued.

Sounds like a trip to the junk yard may be in order, but I cant imagine I will find another 27 yr old bearing that is any better.

[jhngardner367]

Take the bearing to a NAPA,or CarQuest,and see if they can match an after-market one,from the #s on yours,or id/od measurements.

[shadams]

Tried that. The Napa guys we use were going to take it somewhere they said sells bearings and see what happens, but wasnt very optimistic. It isnt just a standard flat roller bearing. BUT...since then I just took a gamble on the GM bearing, and I finally found a pic online associated with the GM part number and it looks right. Looks like the catalog pic was just a little hard to decipher with the way the explosion was laid out.

Here is a pic of the bearing....GM part #7805700



I'll come back and cofirm if it worked or not just for future info's sake. I also titled the thread to make it easy to find. I hate when people dont do that, makes searching a nightmare and then the forum police get after you for starting a thread without searching....

[4x4toy]

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-7805700/

Looks like Summit Racing has a listing.

[shadams]

Worked like a charm!

[8lugnutz]

X 2

[shadams]

Funny this came back up....that bearing wasnt what was wrong, it was actually the brake pedal jiggling around. I busted my ass replacing the little bushings in the pedals for very little improvment.

Now I either deal with it or put my boot under the brake pedal and pull up on rough sections of the road. Obviously off road you dont notice it, but I have a mile long road off the highway that has been patched so many times it is all patches and the rest of the truck is nice and quiet except for that...

[willett]

check your e brake pedal too. mine rattles loose once a year so and rattles like a bastard in the dirt

[8lugnutz]

Well... It didn't fix rattle, and it's not thee brake or the brake pedal, but I can feel through the steering wheel and through the brake if I put my door under it and pull it back towards the seat. Don't know where else to check from here. Any suggestions are welcome!

[rs74]

Originally Posted by 8lugnutz

Well... It didn't fix rattle, and it's not thee brake or the brake pedal, but I can feel through the steering wheel and through the brake if I put my door under it and pull it back towards the seat. Don't know where else to check from here. Any suggestions are welcome!

If you can feel it through the column or brake pedal have you checked your front suspension or steering parts for worn out pieces?

[8lugnutz]

That is going to be the next step. The PO said that he replaced the whole front end, but I will be checking it out. I know that most of the joints have new rubber on them, I can see that, but will be checking the rest to be sure. Trust, but verify :-)

[rs74]

Originally Posted by 8lugnutz

That is going to be the next step. The PO said that he replaced the whole front end, but I will be checking it out. I know that most of the joints have new rubber on them, I can see that, but will be checking the rest to be sure. Trust, but verify :-)

Not sure if there is a problem with the intermediate shaft but the newer trucks have that issue. You have to disconnect the shact from the steering box and stroke the shaft back into the column to redistribute grease. I have to do my 03 2500 that way every so often because it sounds an feels like there is something loose underneath the truck.

[Axle]

Originally Posted by 8lugnutz

That is going to be the next step. The PO said that he replaced the whole front end, but I will be checking it out. I know that most of the joints have new rubber on them, I can see that, but will be checking the rest to be sure. Trust, but verify :-)

If the PO did that as a selling point, I'd expect he used the cheapest, possibly lowest quality parts, he could get.

Alex.

[8lugnutz]

Well guys, after checking everything else out on the truck, which seemed to be mostly in order, I had the truck idling and noticed that the brake booster was moving left/right at low idle. I grabbed ahold of it and moved it a little more left and right, and discovered that it was what was making the noise. I happened to be at work with no tools in the truck (yeah, I know. Bad idea), so I too a bungee cord and strapped it to the fender. All the way home NO NOISE, NO RATTLE. Nice and quiet!!! So, once I got it back to house, I took a look at it and a couple of nuts were a little loose, so I tightened them back down. I still have a little bit of a rattle now without the bungee, but it's not near as bad as it was.

So, the moral of the story is, if you have a rattle in the dash and you can't figure it out, check the brake booster mount and nuts. This whole time I thought it was steering, front end etc, and it may turn out that any one of those may have been a contributor, but the root cause was the brake booster.