Ford 850 steering hard to left, easier to right

[Bruce(OR)]

Greetings one and all.
Playing with an August of 1956 Ford 850 that steers hard left and a bit easier right. Not much, but just a tad
bit. I also noticed the column center shaft is moving up and down a bit. I suspect the bearings are worn out.
Any experience out there have a better idea? I have never torn apart a manual column and this might be a can of
worms that I would like to have an idea about before I open Pandora's box.
I also need to order parts and make sure I get the correct ones for this application.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Yes, it's most likely the upper thrust bearing that is worn out.
They don't get enough oil up there and dry out.
Those manual steering columns are Very simple mechanisms.
Time to take it off, clean the 60 years of crud out of the bottom, replace that upper bearing, give it some fresh 90 wt, adjust the sector gears and have nice, crisp steering for another 40 years.
None of it is hard except for pulling all the tin off to get at it.
Do it sooner rather than later so the dust from the bearing grinding away doesn't get into the rest of the column and booger that all up.
It is well covered in your FO-20 manual.