| Tilt Steering Column Upgrade |
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I bought my girlfriend a tilt column for her Jeep recently because I saw how
useful it was on the first project Jeep. I actually bought it for her as a gift with me in mind. Basically I
was tired of smashing my boys on the non-tilt column, so this really was more of a gift for me ;)
The first occurrence of this was when I picked up the Jeep. I tried to get into the Jeep and there wasn't
enough room between the steering wheel and the seat for my quads to get into the Jeep. This meant that I had
to really contort to get in and out of the Jeep.
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| After a few times more of doing the contortionist lifestyle, I gave up and went
out to get a tilt steering column. The column was purchased from a guy that had an extra one and I took it home.
I had to remove the steering wheel since it was bent, but otherwise the steering column was in good enough shape.
It spun freely, but the lower bearings had to be replaced. With the replacement completed, the column was ready
to go into the Jeep.
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| Since the Jeep had undergone a frame off restoration, it was quite easy to put it
in, but not before a new heavy-duty steering shaft was purchased to mate up to the end of the steering column.
One last thing to note. With the manual steering on the way out, the power steering box was placed in the Jeep
prior to hooking up the rest of the parts.
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| The tilt steering column bolts into the Jeep the same way the manual one did. It
simply slides through the firewall, connects to the steering shaft and then bolts up to the top of the firewall.
Make sure all the clearances are good and hook up the wiring and that will complete the installation. You can
also replace the internals of the steering shaft if you wish, for the turn signal might not be working due to
worn components.
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| Lessons Learned the Hard Way |
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| So, my lessons learned here would have to be that I should have had an extra set
of hands when I did this upgrade. Trying to manage this around the outside of the Jeep was a pain in the butt,
but is manageable by one person if need be.
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| Conclusions |
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This is a pretty easy thing to do to upgrade the functionality of the Jeep.
Having a tilt steering column allows for the wheel to be placed exactly where it is comfortable for the driver to
maneuver as well as entrance and exiting the Jeep.
NOTE: See the Hints section on this here
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