Re: steering wheel installation

Posted by HH56 On 2020/12/29 10:49:27

As Ross suggests, loosen the clamps and slide the column up a small amount. If you find the column does not want to move enough you may need to remove the wheel and heavy spring again. Under the heavy spring there is a small stamped concave ring around the shaft that forms the inner race for the upper ball bearing. The ring may be recessed in the bearing and hard to see or can be covered with grease. After the spring pressure is gone the column may move but sometimes the ring is so snug on the shaft it will still not allow any movement. You can manually move the ring up a slight amount and then move the column. When the ring is away from the bearing and the inner area is visible also take note of the bearing condition to make sure all the balls are present and securely retained by a little cage like affair.

Here is a 47 photo showing the ring. Later cars thru 54 have the same bearing and ring arrangement but the shroud holding the shift lever and turn signal switch is styled differently..

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