Installing OE steering wheel and horn on 72 C10

[jwendell413]

PO had an aftermarket POS steering wheel and adapter. I removed it and am trying to install an OE with horn assembly and it won’t go back far enough. I feel like the horn contact plastic piece is in the way….but it’s required right?

Good news is the horn works when I accidentally connected all metal together (yes I’ve since disconnected the battery).

But I can get it seated enough back to grab the shaft teeth for turning the wheels, or to getting the securing nut back on.

TIA
John
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[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

John, the button on your canceling cam is upside down.

[jwendell413]

Thank you, I just made that adjustment to the correct way. Unfortunately that still doesn’t affect how far back my steering wheel will set in. No matter how hard I push it back, the teeth on the inside of the wheel aren’t able to go back far enough to grab the teeth on the spline of the shaft. I see another detent on the inner part of the column… Is that redundant or in place of this plastic bracket? Thinking that if I was able to remove this plastic piece all together that the wheel would sit back far enough. Or is there a way to get an extended shaft threading?

Sorry for the dumb questions.
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[70shortfleet]

The slot for the horn button should be in the twelve o'clock position. Do you have any pictures of the column in the engine compartment?

[jwendell413]

What an excellent question I hadn’t thought of. I took pics of the engine side of the column. On the close-up it looks like there’s some play/separation near the sleeve. I could be wrong, but if so, then I suspect finding how to feed the shaft (if proper term) higher up into that serve would help.

[jwendell413]

Any ideas on where to start with fixing this big gap in the steering shaft? It’s back out so far I can’t thread in my new steering wheel. Obviously there are other concerns and very loose steering at play. I just realized this gap today.

TIA
John

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

The upper steering shaft appears to have slipped down, which is why the steering wheel can't seat. The bearing (18) inserts into the adjusting ring (17).

You might check your rag joint (behind the steering box) at this point, and that bearing. The point joint (25) doesn't looking great, but I'm no expert.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by jwendell413

Any ideas on where to start with fixing this big gap in the steering shaft? It’s back out so far I can’t thread in my new steering wheel. Obviously there are other concerns and very loose steering at play. I just realized this gap today.

TIA
John

Not sure why but the lower bearing has dropped out of the lower column tube. Probably did that when you pulled the steering wheel off. You need to loosen the bolt above the flex joint (do not remove it) and pry up on the clamp assembly to put pressure on the bottom of the bearing, to push it back up into the tube. While holding it, tighten the nut back up. You should have enough shaft above to put the steering wheel on and that will pull the bearing up into the tube all the way.

This thread might help too.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=4755990

LockDoc
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[toolboxchev]

Interested to see how this goes for you. I know there is some adjustment in those columns.

[LockDoc]

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I posted in the other thread you started down below. I am going to merge the two threads into this one. My reply will be post #8 above.

LockDoc

[pjmoreland]

Is there axial play in the joint at the top of the center shaft? Maybe you need a helper to push up on the steering shaft to seat the lower bearing back into the column housing while you push on the steering wheel.