87 Ford Aerostar stering wheel

[BobReeves]

Friend of mine just gave me an 87 Aerostar mini van I am going to turn into a work van.. Runs great and A/C works but has a few small problems.

One problem is the whole steering head is loose.. I removed the steering wheel and all covers.. Can't see any loose or missing screws but can't really tell how the head attaches to the column. What I am calling the head is the part with the ignition switch, turn signals and tilt mechanism. I have a Clinton manual but it doesn't go into enough detail (typical of these manuals)..

Looks to me like a bracket or clamp may be missing as the rear of the head can be moved side to side and there is a bracket welded to the column close to the rear of the head with nothing attached to it. This van was rear-ended at one time but my friend can't remember if the loose steering head was a result of the accident or not..

Anyone familiar with this minivan that can tell me how the steering head mounts to the column..

 

[BobReeves]

Friend of mine just gave me an 87 Aerostar mini van I am going to turn into a work van.. Runs great and A/C works but has a few small problems.

One problem is the whole steering head is loose.. I removed the steering wheel and all covers.. Can't see any loose or missing screws but can't really tell how the head attaches to the column. What I am calling the head is the part with the ignition switch, turn signals and tilt mechanism. I have a Clinton manual but it doesn't go into enough detail (typical of these manuals)..

Looks to me like a bracket or clamp may be missing as the rear of the head can be moved side to side and there is a bracket welded to the column close to the rear of the head with nothing attached to it. This van was rear-ended at one time but my friend can't remember if the loose steering head was a result of the accident or not..

Anyone familiar with this minivan that can tell me how the steering head mounts to the column..

 

[HGM]

Well, I dont have anything that old, but the Ford collumns were pretty much the same for many years.. Although I havent been into one in a while, it sounds like your upper bearings have been beat up.. There is a pretty stout spring in the tilt mechagnisim, so you need to be careful... PM me your e-mail address and I can send you a few pages I think may help..

 

[HGM]

Well, I dont have anything that old, but the Ford collumns were pretty much the same for many years.. Although I havent been into one in a while, it sounds like your upper bearings have been beat up.. There is a pretty stout spring in the tilt mechagnisim, so you need to be careful... PM me your e-mail address and I can send you a few pages I think may help..

 

[Soundguy]

My 90 aerostar has had a slight bit of side to side movement ( of the whole column) since it was new. That's a 1/4 or a tad more.. It's been apart by a ford mechanic to replace a key cylinder and nothing else was -broke-.. so it is still like that.

Soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

My 90 aerostar has had a slight bit of side to side movement ( of the whole column) since it was new. That's a 1/4 or a tad more.. It's been apart by a ford mechanic to replace a key cylinder and nothing else was -broke-.. so it is still like that.

Soundguy

 

[BobReeves]

Thanks guys, going to be a couple days before I can get back to working on the van and will let you know what I find.

 

[BobReeves]

Thanks guys, going to be a couple days before I can get back to working on the van and will let you know what I find.

 

[dubba]

My memory is going but I believe there are 3 recessed (as in 3") torx head screws that are accessible by tilting the column up & down, using a 1/4" drive bit & universal joint. They used to loosen all the time. I remember the job being a pain, but fairly straightforward /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[dubba]

My memory is going but I believe there are 3 recessed (as in 3") torx head screws that are accessible by tilting the column up & down, using a 1/4" drive bit & universal joint. They used to loosen all the time. I remember the job being a pain, but fairly straightforward /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif