How To Replace your Lower Column Bearing: Better and Cheaper!!!

Oldmanmopar said

Once again the only columns that had bearings were column shift or 1970 with a lock out tube.

Adding a bearing at the bottom on the shaft is not a good idea unless your vehicle came with a rag joint combined with a lower slide joint.

If I was selling this bearing shown on this thread or installed one because I didn't know better . I too would promote them so I didn't feel stupid that I bought one. The top bearing and the bearing in the box is all you need. Putting a third bearing between them will bind the three if column adjustment is needed at the firewall and shimming the column at the attachment will be necessary as they did on the early years.
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Before replying watch this rebuild. This is a 70 column with a bearing . But it is only for 70 lock out tube not the steering shaft.
What I have seen on over 30 floor shift columns I have here taken from 70-75 is some remnants of a foam seal. I mimicked it on my column. Note the plastic ring is clipped in place by itself with plastic tangs. I do not have any columns here with a bearing on that ring or a inner race on the shaft. They couldn't all have fell out. LMFAO at some of you



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Here we go again. Just because you've never seen one, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And why is someone that allegedly knows so much about these cars trying to use a ONE YEAR ONLY, 1970 steering column as an example? Literally every other year was different than '70. And 30 out of hundreds of thousands means exactly squat.

For people that listen to logic, you can go back to the first page of this thread and see this exact same discussion from 9 years ago, read about how floor shift cars with manual steering got bearings that were inserted in a nylon block at the bottom of the column, see the actual part, the part #, all of it. Oh, and column shift cars that also had a shift tube supported by a bearing with a steering shaft that was supported in a nylon bushing. We've been down this road already, sorry you seem to have forgot we already proved you were wrong and have the pictures to show it.

Here's the reproduction factory part, nylon bushing with bearing

Here's the link to buy one, as well as a list of some of the cars it came on. Not sure why there would be a reproduction of a part that never existed.
Single Part Search Result For bh190

Here's the lower bearing set up on non 1970 column shift cars, bearing between the column shift tube and jacket, then a nylon bushing between the column shift tube and steering shaft.


And here's the Factory parts manual showing the lower column BEARING. Which is the same one pictured for sale above


No, not every car had this set up and I never said they did. Some just had the nylon ring with foam, some had a nylon ring that bridged the whole distance ('67, also pictured earlier in this thread). But the factory absolutely used bearings at the lower column support for the heavier duty applications. Kinda like how manual steering boxes for the HD B-bodies had bearings instead of bushings. I haven't seen one of those in person either, but I also know for a fact they exist. Just like the lower column bearing on some years and specific option packages.

And then there's the fact that I've been running the ER-16 lower bearing in my car for almost 9 years now without any problems.