Steering Shaft Pinch Bolt Play

[mr7743]

Although my steering is really good (almost no play in it at all) I have a slight clunk sometimes when I switch direction of the turn on the steering wheel. I spent some time tracking it down, and I found a small amount of play (I can rock it back and forth by hand) on the pinch bolt on the steering shaft between the frame rail and the valve cover on the driver's side.

When I had a buddy turn the wheel while I held that connection it seemed to be where the clunk was emanating. My question is this - Can I just tighten this pinch style connect? I put a wrench on it, but it already seemed to be pretty tight - but I didn't want to go too far until I checked. There is still space between the two sides of the pinch bolt so it seems like it could be tightened more.

Here's the pinch bolt in question:

 

[kep5niner]

You could tighten that bolt further - but that might not be your issue. I think the torque is 35 ft/lbs, but that’s just going from memory. A likely culprit is the steering shaft itself. Ford wants something like $500 for a new one. I replaced mine with one from the Amazon for about $50. That was over a year and 20,000 miles ago. No issues yet. This is what I used.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Manufacturers often specify replacement of the intermediate sterling shaft (ISS) bolt after removal.

If you have play with the bolt already tight, I would recommend replacing the the ISS and bolt.

 

[mr7743]

Just ordered the ISS linked by kep55niner. Thanks for the info yall!

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Just ordered the ISS linked by kep55niner. Thanks for the info yall!

If you change the ISS yourself, ensure that you do not turn the steering wheel too far - as it will damage the clockspring.

Some people tie the wheel to the window frame, others have someone sit in the LF seat and hold the wheel while the ISS is being changed.

 

[kep5niner]

Vice grips on the steering column in the engine bay, near the firewall worked great.