Steering column alignment

[garym]

1984 CJ7 Laredo , No tilt wheel, 4 spd manual Transmission .

I was looking at aligning the steering in my CJ7 and have a question.
My Chilton manual says the remove the bottom part of the toe plate and loosen the dash mounting bolts and push up on the column and tighten the dash bolts.
If I loosen it all up, from sitting in the driver seat, I can push or pull the steering wheel toward or away from me about 3/4". Should the steering wheel be pushed away from me or pulled towards me? The slack is in the shaft coupling at the steering gear. Should the coupling be replaced or is this normal.

Thanks

gm

 

[yellow85cj]

The "bell coupler" (technical name ) does have movement. In fact, it should have some grease in there.

What is it you are trying to do? Don't think I have ever heard of anyone trying to adjust the column. It is pretty much designed to be in one place, no adjusting.

 

[garym]

The "bell coupler" (technical name ) does have movement. In fact, it should have some grease in there.

What is it you are trying to do? Don't think I have ever heard of anyone trying to adjust the column. It is pretty much designed to be in one place, no adjusting.

If I loosen the dash mount bolts and the clamp at the firewall, the column can be pushed or pulled about 3/4" if sitting in the drivers seat. The bell coupler compresses when column is pushed from the drivers seat.
Should I push the column and fully compress coupler or pull the column all the way towards the driver?

Thanks
Gm

 

[yellow85cj]

Would only be a guess to say all in or all out. Where the play is coming from on the column is most likely from the upper mount. The silver/gray part on the column support in the pic. The first pic is an XJ mount, so it is a little different. The second pic is a CJ, but you can barely see it.

Maybe center the bolt in the hole and let the bell be where ever it ends up. Again, only a guess.

If you weren't having a problem, check the dirt/rust line on the column on the firewall side and line it up. If you see "clean" column, it's too far forward.

 

[hdgapeach]

I set mine all the way toward the dash, mainly for more room (CJ5 ). So long as you don't bind the steering at the bell coupler, I wouldn't think it would matter what position you anchor it at.

 

[jdarg]

Right in the middle - definitely not at either extreme.

It has to more or less sit in the center of travel to do its job.

The reason it is there is because CJ frame are not very rigid. If it was a solid connection the column/mounts/firewall/dash would get beaten up until they fall apart because the shaft needs to expand and contract to follow the frame's flexing as you drive over potholes and raised bumps.

I once had a cow catcher front bumper that went over the top of the hood a bit - you'd be shocked how much the frame moves relative to the hood.

Aftermarket steering shafts actually eliminate the bell joint, but they include a slip joint in the middle of the shaft to compensate for that need for the shaft to slightly change lengths as you drive down the road.