Steering Shuttering, wheel spun durning BL

[Equnoxe]

OK so after doing my body lift last night... my setup for holding the wheel in stock location failed.

i have no idea how many turns it has done in either directions

i tried to re center it by turning it each way until the noise (crunch/grind) was least notable.

i have disarmed the airbag system just in case

after putting in my modified 98 low steering shaft and taking it out for a test drive i noticed very little of the noise it had before, but the steering shutters lightly at slower speeds. (binding?)

after adjusting the wheel again, the shuttering and noises dissipated a quite a bit.

any ideas? there is no play in the shaft inside the engine bay so idk whats up.

im quite sure i mangled the internals of the steering column


suggestions PLEASE.

 

[TedJ]

I would say the clockspring is now toast.... it only has a limited amount of play in it..... and going many turns has most likely not been kind to it.

The binding is probably either the remains of the clockspring jamming up or you have an angle/setup issue with the body lift and the steering shaft causing it to bind. Other than the clockspring, I don't think there is anything else that limits how much you can turn the column, so you should be ok if you replace it. Be careful with that airbag, not sure how likely the 12v supply could be shorted to the airbag wiring but accidental airbag deployment is a scary thing.

I'm not too familiar with the column on your truck, but you might be able to take it apart, remove the clockspring, and put the wheel back on just to check if there is still binding while you get a new one. Hopefully someone can come up with the correct procedure for installing it.

 

[corkey]

just a heads up, in the Holmatro Book used by Firefighters and Ambulance personnel, it says that the capacitors in the Ford Explorer air bag system can hold enough voltage to trigger the airbag for 45 after the battery is disconnected from the system, so , maybe if and when you change the steering shaft , make sure you disconnect the battery first, than go sit down for a while before you start pulling it all part.

 

[Equnoxe]

thx guys, ok so the binding/shuttering has gone away now, Ive left the fuses out for the airbag system, and its been along time since it happen now so im assuming they wont go off now.

would you happen to have a bookmark to a thread about how to replace the clock-spring/remove steering wheel? (i want to remove it because it is off center, hopefully i can just take it off and put it back on straight? splines?)

just to save me the time of searching.


ill be closing this soon, thanks again