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Steering column interchange on 80s D150

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volaredon

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Among the many things on my 85 that were damaged by previous owner butchery and out and out "interference" is my steering column. I went to fix what is normally a pretty easy to fix problem and opened up a hornets nest.

How many of you have experienced the ignition switch that loses its "spring back"? I have and more than once. So I bought a couple of (OLD!) NOS "standard" brand replacements (one as a spare for later down the road as I don't plan to let this one go anytime soon) and discovered butchery off the bat. As in deck screws holding the horn pad. Then to get the nut off and the shaft is mushroomed.
Then to find out the steering shaft "telescopes". And spring tension pulls it out towards the engine compartment end of column. Then missing screws and the plate that holds the turn signal switch in and the 2. (Should be 3) screws buried into the nylon turn signal switch itself. So I either need a pile of parts to fix this one or a different column.
What years will interchange?
Currently have non tilt.
Would like to have a tilt column and maybe one day add factory cruise control. I have the vacuum bellows for under the hood already.
What would it take to properly put a tilt column in without butchery?
Mines an 85 with a 727 trans and currently non tilt.
Please provide interchange info on both tilt and non tilt columns.
 
There are some differences to the ignition harness but 82-87 and 88-93. The break would be in when the dinner switch and wiper switch was installed in the column. Even those could be changed if one was so inclined. I changed out the 82 non-tilt manual for an 83 tilt auto many years ago and only had to change a wire or two in the harness location due to the actual ignition switch location. The column would not even have to come from D150. D150 to D350 were all in the same class even though on different frames cabs where the same.
For starts it sounds as if the nylon bushing at of the shaft is either gone or sheared. It holds the lower shaft until impact when the column collapse. Your switch should be on the column and not in it I believe. The return spring is in the switch and not the key cylinder on those. 83 was an old ball year for that switch. You should be able to add cruise to any of them by replacing the turn signal switch with one with cruise and turn signals.
Basically, find a similar column with the right extras. If you find one still in the truck with cruise it would be a good time to pull everything needed. The normal harness doesn't carry those wires. They were an axillary harness. Make sure to also get the speedo cables.
At the time I had both trucks side by side. If I had known, then what I know now the cabs would have been stripped and sheet metal swapped.
 
Yup I know about that "spring in the ignition switch" that's what I tore my column apart to fix in the 1st place.
I just got a column from a buddy, another non tilt/ and judging by the steering wheel I'm guessing it's out of either an 81 or 82. My son just bought an 83 d250 that used to be mine, back from my cousin who bought it from me. And the steering wheel is different than this column.

I know where there is an 87 in a boneyard with tilt and cruise, but it's all loose, just gotta take it all apart and loctite those 4 screws not hard to do/did a lot of them in the 90s. Just gotta see if he'll come over ff his asking price with that consideration I'm gonna have to rebuild it before I can use it.

On another note I thought the dimmer moved from floor to column between 86-87
My dad had an 86 B250 and it's dimmer was on the floor, my 87 B250 had it in the column
(B series were the vans)
 
volaredon said:
Yup I know about that "spring in the ignition switch" that's what I tore my column apart to fix in the 1st place.
I just got a column from a buddy, another non tilt/ and judging by the steering wheel I'm guessing it's out of either an 81 or 82. My son just bought an 83 d250 that used to be mine, back from my cousin who bought it from me. And the steering wheel is different than this column.

I know where there is an 87 in a boneyard with tilt and cruise, but it's all loose, just gotta take it all apart and loctite those 4 screws not hard to do/did a lot of them in the 90s. Just gotta see if he'll come over ff his asking price with that consideration I'm gonna have to rebuild it before I can use it.

On another note I thought the dimmer moved from floor to column between 86-87
My dad had an 86 B250 and it's dimmer was on the floor, my 87 B250 had it in the column
(B series were the vans)
Click to expand...
You are likely right on the dimmer location dates. I knew it was in the column in 88. As to steering wheels it would not be surprising if they changed every year and different trims used different wheels.
 
So/ being as how that's when they "squared up" the body lines on the D/W series, would one from an 81 work on an 85?
And yeah I know 88s had the wiper and dimmer on the column, whether 87s did or not. I had an 88at one time. Of all the D/W trucks I've had that one must have been the 1st one down the assembly line Monday morning. It was a pile o junk
 
The ignition switch will be in the column and not on it but switch wiring was still switch wiring. They should still plug together and the column bolt to the dash. I would still compare the wiring diagrams to make sure thing are still in the right place.
 
1 further question. According to the lookups I have found they all ask if 2 or 4 wd.
What would the difference between a 2wd and a 4wd column?
I thought the difference between 2and 4 was made up in the extension shaft (lower shaft) after the rag joint?
 
That is it as far as I know. I don't remember doing anything else when we put a 93 two-wheel drive body on a 73 four-wheel drive frame.
I will have to check but I think the two-wheel drive 1 ton has an extension shaft. It has a D150 column in it.
 
I know the earlier 70s columns were different than the 80s columns. I had a 79, "3 on the tree" many years ago. at the time the closest I could find in the boneyards was either out of a '76 or a '78, I forget now. (I had to have that truck the next day as it was my only transportation in those days) The older truck's steering shaft was 1 solid piece all the way to the gearbox. my truck had an extension shaft from just outside the firewall, to the gearbox. which is what all the 80s trucks Ive looked at recently have had. I would think that any difference in distance between steering column end, and the gearbox, would be made up for in that extension shaft.
 
This column that I got a couple days ago, which I believe is from an 81 (or could be 82 but I doubt newer) looks like it will work fine. Price was definitely right! (free, one of my buddies had it lingering in his shed for years)
I measured from the flange that mounts to the firewall, to the end of the shaft and it's the same as my original. the spring on the beginning of the shaft, where it protrudes from the bottom of the column, seems "longer" than that gap on the replacement I have here.... and the arm that the shift rod snaps into seems to be a bigger gap on my original that "closes up" if I pull up on the steering wheel. I figure that is from whatever the ham fisted idiots who were previously in my original column did to damage it.....because that shaft which shouldn't telescope, does? and definitely seems "spring loaded" That gap by the shift linkage arm on my original, does close up when I pull up on the steering wheel.
I also have one coming to me from an 83 D250 that "used to be mine". My son is parting taht truck out. so I'm covered for now in getting that part of my truck back to a safe condition. I would like to eventually find a tilt one, but not for the kind of pricing I'm seeing on a junkyard search, of those yards reporting that they have one available.

Im gonna put that new ignition switch I have here into this column I have here as the wiring hanging out does look brittle and has a Scotchlok hanging off the red wire (I HATE THOSE THINGS) and besides I have the new switch already.....
just gotta paint the new column, its black like my original but all chipped up. I have some Rustoleum satin black that I think will look decent in there and not be glossy so as to create a glare from the sun....
 
Well better news.
I had to partly dismantle the column from my buddy, to replace that ignition switch and to clean it up for paint.it was bare in an arc around the key switch like so many of them get.

The upper bearing was also rusted tight from sitting so I took the upper most steering column collar from the original column. that bearing was one of few upper internal parts that were good from the original column. On that upper collar were date codes. The column from my buddy had the clock/date code thay said 82 and 83. The original said 84 and 85. So given the interchange info I've seen from the online junkyard listings I saw that 82 definitely was offered as the same. Wasn't sure about 81 which was what I thought this replacement was.
 
Otherwise the replacement is complete with no missing parts and no home made "telescope" function.
 
And again all of this is going out the window.
I pulled the column that I got from my buddy, after combining most of it with a couple of parts from the original column, the new ignition switch and the lock part of the ignition switch rekeyed to fit the trucks original key
I got my arm twisted hard by another buddy who restored a truck like mine, and all the parts to convert to a stick found me..... For the price I couldn't say no.... (I could make money on the 4 speed parts if I wanted but they're being used) so I'm changing columns again, found a floor shift column at the Indy swap meet for these trucks ... Thw "musical columns" continues.... And the truck hasn't moved 6" since I started this thread....
 
I swapped the tilt wheel from a 90 FWD to a 89 2WD. It requires a little adjustment to the length of the steering shaft but, it's not difficult.
I also swapped the Cruse control and, I'm wondering if that has anything to do with my not having spark! Far fetched as it might be, I'm at that much of a loss.
 
The guts and maybe more parts from a van or F-body will work. I made my tilt-cruise out of 3 different columns plus the wiring which came from an 88 van. Tilt will need totally different joint at steering box because the guts have to come out from the top, standard come out the bottom. Thankfully Dodge was consistent with making wiring interchange between van and truck so no cobbling up the wiring. If yours has the hi-low beam on column don’t try to interchange for floor type. The best case is a direct replacement wheather tilt or not.
Mine, tilt-cruise and intermittent wipers

47DDBDAF-F735-4A77-8AEF-CC681DF296D3.jpeg
 
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