Hi Everyone -

So I pulled the instrument panel in my '69 coupe to sort out a bad ground and now I've developed a new issue.

The instructions for pulling the panel include loosening the 2 nuts to lower the steering column, which I did. I tightened everything up and now when I turn the wheel at standstill or low speed I get a distinct "thunk" that appears to be coming from the column. You can visually see the column kind of shift when this happens.

The car appears to steer normally otherwise. It has power steering and there were no issues prior.

I'll try loosening and readjusting the column itself to see if that solves it, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this and might know what's causing it.

Thanks!

Riv

Check the rag joint. That's what gets put in a bind when you drop the steering column.

Thanks Bob!

Any tips on how to realign it? Or is it just going to need to be replaced?

I'd just do a real good inspection and see if anything looks bad or moves more than it should. You could try taking it apart and putting it back together but if it looks good it probably is. My guess is something just didn't get tightened down in the right place. Do you notice the column or the wheel shifting position when it clunks?

Sorry for the delay in responding.

Yes, when the steering makes it's noise I can see the wheel and column kind of shift. I did make sure that the column was tight but I should probably just try remounting it.

Thanks!

When you loosened those bolts, the column may have moved downward a bit..toward the steering gear. Loosen those same bolts and pull toward you a bit and retighten. That should do it.

Did you resolve this issue?