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Daves55Sedan · 09-13-2020, 08:14 PM

Ditto what Ole Don said.
I believe you are missing the tapered sleeve. It slips down over the steering shaft and rests on the roller bearing that is built in to the hub area of the steering column. That tapered sleeve keeps the top of the column centered with the steering shaft. Then there is a spring that rests on the top of that tapered sleeve. That spring keeps the tapered sleeve compressed around the roller bearing for perfect centeredness.
You will notice that it is a fight to adjust the steering column height after the steering wheel is on. Thats because that spring is pushing the whole steering column down toward the gearbox. You gotta get a crowbar to push the steering tube upward at the base while tightening the clamp at the bottom. Be sure your steering tube to dash mounting bracket is a little loose while doing this. After you get the height of the steering column adjusted, go in and tap on that dash mounting bracket until it is aligned to permit installation of the dash cover and gasket, then tighten the bracket to the dash.

09-13-2020, 08:14 PM	#5
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: steering column install Ditto what Ole Don said. I believe you are missing the tapered sleeve. It slips down over the steering shaft and rests on the roller bearing that is built in to the hub area of the steering column. That tapered sleeve keeps the top of the column centered with the steering shaft. Then there is a spring that rests on the top of that tapered sleeve. That spring keeps the tapered sleeve compressed around the roller bearing for perfect centeredness. You will notice that it is a fight to adjust the steering column height after the steering wheel is on. Thats because that spring is pushing the whole steering column down toward the gearbox. You gotta get a crowbar to push the steering tube upward at the base while tightening the clamp at the bottom. Be sure your steering tube to dash mounting bracket is a little loose while doing this. After you get the height of the steering column adjusted, go in and tap on that dash mounting bracket until it is aligned to permit installation of the dash cover and gasket, then tighten the bracket to the dash.