Why is my steering wheel squeaky?

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ashooter

ashooter

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
May 13, 2006
Threads
114
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634
Location
West of the Pecos
This is kinda wierd... When I first get in my truck in the morning, the steering wheel creaks and squeaks. After I drive it around for a while, like 10 minutes or less, it quits.

Does NOT sound like it's coming from the steering box or pump. Definitely sounds like it's coming right from the steering column inside the truck... kinda sounds like it's the plastic housing rubbing or something. The wierd thing to me is that it goes away after driving for a few minutes.

Any ideas about what is going on?


?
 
This a good question, mine does the same thing, but only when it is cold outside. Doesn't do it when it is warm.
 
are you located where it is getting cold (30ish) at night? If so, the plastic is expanding just enough to rub and once the rig warms up a bit, it shrinks back and stops. Mine is doing this now and I plan to open it up and sand/file down the rubbing areas this weekend. Just be careful when you put the cowling back together, go very easy on the screws, they can break off the plastic they screw into!
 
Be careful of taking it apart due to the air bag. I have the same problem and am told this is due to the "clock Spring" which is a ~$200 part. Getting to the clock spring requires disabling the air bag so it is more than likely a garage shop item. It only does it when it gets cold and I have decided to live with it.
 
Wow... I never would've guessed it was this common. I live in Kerrville, Tx so it's not COLD, but it has been a lot cooler lately than when I bought this truck in May. The noise does seem to be worse in cooler weather.

I guess I will eyeball it on one of its squeakier days and see if I can figure out exactly where the noise is coming from. Maybe a little surgically applied sandpaper is all it will take to shut her up.

thanks for the input!
 
A frequent source of squeaks behind the steering wheel is the electric contact ring for the horn.
No need to pull the wheel. Pull the plastic covers off the column wipe the ring clean and apply a small amount of dielectric grease to the contact and ring.
 
TCH2FLY said:
A frequent source of squeaks behind the steering wheel is the electric contact ring for the horn.
No need to pull the wheel. Pull the plastic covers off the column wipe the ring clean and apply a small amount of dielectric grease to the contact and ring.
Click to expand...

X2

Or... for the rednecks among us, spray a BIT of wd-40/silicon lubricant/teflon lubricant/graphite lubricant/whatever else you can think of between the steering wheel and the cowl. It will work for 2 months or so before reapplication

Dan
 
The noise could be anything from the clock spring to the plastic bushing at the end of the column being dry. My case was the latter.
 
KliersLC said:
X2

Or... for the rednecks among us, spray a BIT of wd-40/silicon lubricant/teflon lubricant/graphite lubricant/whatever else you can think of between the steering wheel and the cowl. It will work for 2 months or so before reapplication

Dan
Click to expand...

Thank goodness I'm not the only redneck who did that trick.

SJ
 
my truck does this too.... only in the morning when it's cold and it's loud and annoying. Middle of the day when it's above 65* no squeaks. very weird. Any definitive answer here as to what the problem/fix is?
 
Leroy said:
my truck does this too.... only in the morning when it's cold and it's loud and annoying. Middle of the day when it's above 65* no squeaks. very weird. Any definitive answer here as to what the problem/fix is?
Click to expand...

Well first you need to determine where the noise is coming from. Is it near the steering wheel or is it further down at the bottom of the steering column? Crawl around the steering column while turning it to located the source.
 
Leroy said:
my truck does this too.... only in the morning when it's cold and it's loud and annoying. Middle of the day when it's above 65* no squeaks. very weird. Any definitive answer here as to what the problem/fix is?
Click to expand...

Look at post #8 and the subsequent fixes. If the noise is from the steering column area in the cabin, then it's almost guaranteed that's what it is.
 
CJF said:
Look at post #8 and the subsequent fixes. If the noise is from the steering column area in the cabin, then it's almost guaranteed that's what it is.
Click to expand...

Oh course that's only assuming he has a 91-94 80 series. The 95-97's don't have the brass contact ring. Instead they have the clock spring which is housed in a non serviceable plastic housing.
 
Darwood said:
Oh course that's only assuming he has a 91-94 80 series. The 95-97's don't have the brass contact ring. Instead they have the clock spring which is housed in a non serviceable plastic housing.
Click to expand...

Ah; I see.

Knowing that, it's pretty interesting to re-read the thread: All uf us 91-94 folk saying, "It's this", and the later year folks saying, "It's that." :lol:

Thanks for the info,

Curtis
 
mine's a '94. it's definitely coming from right where the wheel connects to the column. i will follow the tip in post #8 and see what happens.
 
I have a squeek sometimes when I turn my steering wheel. After ignoring it for a while I finally diagnosed it as a worn out dust seal in the firewall that was allowing the steering shaft to rub against the firewall. Metal on metal squeeking. I finally obtained the replacement part and installed it. The squeek was still there. In fact, my steering shaft was not centered in the dust seal as it should be and it was still rubbing.

Stumped as to the root cause of my problem, I did a little more thinking and realized that what's more likely causing my problem is a worn upper seal in the steering gear. I believe a failing seal is allowing the steering shaft to sag which is what wore out the first dust seal. I did get a little help with this diagnosis in that I recently discovered the steering box is leaking at that upper seal. I didn't notice it leaking when I found the first damaged dust seal (that doesn't mean it wasn't or maybe the seal wasn't worn enough to leak). I'm hoping rebuilding the steering gear will alleviate my steering shaft rub. It will at least stop the leaking.

Does anyone know if steering wheel vertical position affects the the steering shaft position? Of course, there could be a different cause of my misaligned steering shaft that in turn caused the steering gear upper seal to fail.

I would say to anyone with squeeking sounds coming from around your feet to pull away the carpeting and padding behind the brake pedal and have a look at that dust seal. It's a diamond shaped doodad held in place by two bolts. I now believe a damaged dust seal is not a problem, but a symptom of the root problem I have yet to definitively diagnose.

breathed
 
breathed said:
Does anyone know if steering wheel vertical position affects the the steering shaft position? Of course, there could be a different cause of my misaligned steering shaft that in turn caused the steering gear upper seal to fail.
Click to expand...

By steering wheel vertical position do you mean the tilt steering? If so then no, the tilt steering doesn't affect the steering shaft position. The fact that the shaft was rubbing on the firewall is probably what you diagnosed, or it could be a body on frame alignment issue since the steering shaft is connected to the body and the steering box is on the frame.
 
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