Steering Column Rattle
 

Hi All!
I have this annoying rattle coming through the steering column. Not all the time, but only when there is a load on the engine. From a stop and going through the gears until I'm up to speed. Then quiet, until going up a hill, or down, with my foot off the pedals. My guess about the source might be the spark and throttle rods. Where they are visible on the firewall side, there is no insulator, grommet or anti rattle rubber. Should there be? In attempt to prove that theory I jammed some fabric around them to see if it would quiet down, but the rattle persists. Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Re: Steering Column Rattle
 

When the rattle is happening, touch the control rod with your fimgers to see if the frequency is the same as you hear. You may need to istall some brass bushings in the top holes.
Once had a rattle I was sure was the control rods and it turned out to be a loose rad support rod on the drivers side.
If it turns out to be inside the colomn you'll need to remove the wheel, horn rod, (disconnected) and the top column bushing to pull it all out enough to install some felt or rubber on the rods.

Re: Steering Column Rattle
 

Re: Steering Column Rattle
 

I have to keep my thumb on the light switch, its just a habit now. I might fix it someday, but, it tells me how fast I'm going. Different speeds cause different rattles.

Re: Steering Column Rattle
 

Mine makes a buzz under many situations too. I finally isolated it to the steering column - to - dashboard mounting bracket. When I held onto the steering wheel at the top the buzz started. When I pushed the steering wheel up from the bottom the buzz stopped. There was clearance between the bracket and the steering column.
Simple fix, just put in a new gasket.

Re: Steering Column Rattle
 

Your's is the later '31 style mount correct? My tank was leaking badly, so after repairing the tank, I replaced the original mount with the 31 style. That was the first thing I checked. It was tight and the rubber anti rattle gasket was properly in place.

Re: Steering Column Rattle
 

While driving and rattling along, I tried to find the source by touching everything attached to or near the column. Could not silence the rattle by anything accessible from the driver's seat. I guess that led me to believe it was the rods, but inside the column or on the firewall side.

Re: Steering Column Rattle
 

I'm wondering now if its the fuel tank thats rattling since its been worked on. Has it been disturbed ?

Re: Steering Column Rattle
 

Yes I suppose it could be the tank. It was removed for the repair. But not sure how that could be the source. I hear and feel the rattle in the wheel and now with the dashboard mounted column bracket, there is no part of the tank directly attached to the column. However, the tank is the under cowl design and there are 3 sections to the firewall one of which welded to the top of the tank. They are all held together by a flange on each and 8 or 10 bolts. There is no insulator between them, just metal to metal. I checked those and all is tight. Doesn't seem like that would be the rattle. But I guess anything is possible. :)

Re: Steering Column Rattle
 

TIP: Tape down everything in the car that could possibly RATTLE, then remove 1 tape at a time.
Bill W.

Re: Steering Column Rattle
 

someone suggested drilling a small hole at the column clamp area an injecting spray foam towards the control rod area. (If doing that, use very small amount of foam which expands a great deal.)

Re: Steering Column Rattle
 

I did that. After drilling the hole I sprayed some penetrating oil inside before squirting the foam inside.

I didn't get enough of the steering column coated with the lubricant and it caused my steering wheel to squeak so damn bad when turning I had to pull the steering column out of the truck and clean it all out.