[Help] 88 Mustang LX steering column repair.

Possibly the steering rack bushings? That might cause your steering to feel sloppy. Take a look at

Thanks Garth. I should have explained more, the movement is not the column itself, it feels loose starting from where the turn signals arm is to the steering wheel. I wish it could be possible to upload pictures so you guys can see what I'm talking about. i might have to read the group rules.

Sounds like the bearing on the top of the column has either come loose or is wrecked. I would pull the wheel and have a good look. The rubber part your cousin mentioned may be the the "rag" joint. which is where the upper steering shaft connects to the lower shaft and onto the rack. It is in the engine bay not in the column. Early cars were made of rubber but by '88 they were using a synthetic material like silicone. HTH StuK

Yeah, just put pictures up on a free web host (like

and post a link. Pictures are frowned upon in any text-only newsgroup, in other words, any group that doesn't have "binaries" in the name.

Anyway, I was just throwing out an idea. Maybe I wasn't reading very carefully, but I couldn't tell if you meant that the steering felt loose (like when you try and turn a corner, but the tires don't respond well to the steering wheel), or the column itself was loose and wiggling around (as in "watch the entire column come off in your hands" kinda loose). :)

Remove the plastic shroud around the top of the column, unloosen the two screws holding the multi-function switch (turn signal, wiper, etc.) in place. Behind the multi-function switch will be two bolts, these bolts tend to loosen up with time and cause the steering wheel to flop around, it is a very common occurence and only takes a few minutes to repair.

TIM -aka- MUSTTANGUY "at" AOL "dot" COM

Thanks Stuk I will take a trip to the junk yard to mess with those death mustangs before experimenting with mine. Garth I will try that site when I have the time, thank you, I will keep you guys posted.

I will have to dig deeper, remove part of the dashboard to see the whole column, so far I can't find the bolts you are talking about. Thank you very much for your reply, I'll keep you posted.

Tim thanks a bunch man, today I had the time to dig a little more in the steering column and after I removed the multi-function switch, I found the two screws you were talking about. They were loose, so the problem is gone now. Thanks a bunch man, I was about to take the car to a mechanic.