Posted by Mark in Santa Cruz [172.68.141.181] on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 at 19:16:14 :
Greetings,
I thought my ’71 W200 360ci manual transmission truck needed a friend so I purchased a ’69 W200 with a 440 BB and 727 automatic transmission. Let’s just say that the wife wasn’t happy when it arrived and now that it is disabled in the driveway, she has suggested I sleep out in the truck bed. ☹
When the truck arrived last week, I promised myself that I wouldn’t do anything major for six months but I decided I would just change the turn signal switch so it was ‘safer’ to drive. I should have known this was a bad idea when I noticed the transmission column shifter was held in place with a wire. Nonetheless, I was undeterred and pulled the steering wheel. Since the turn signal switches come with the wiring harnesses attached, I ended up lowering the column to get the wires out of the plate that runs down the jacket. Bad idea apparently!
Long story short, I am stuck trying to reassemble the column. I can’t seem to get Bearing housing (19-14-21) to fit tight against the shifter Housing (19-46-8). Also, the steering shaft itself was loose and moved up-and-down and left-to-right when I attempted to reassemble everything and mount the steering wheel. The entire column looked terrible with parts not fitting tightly and the steering wheel was not secure within the jacket. Also, the transmission shifter is able to shift gears without having to pull the lever forward. I was concerned about safety so I disassembled everything again.
At this point, I decided I should consult the 1969-1971 Illustrated parts manual and service manual. I searched and searched but could not find any illustrations of a W200 with steering shift for an automatic transmission. The closest diagram to my application was the attached link for models D100 – D200. It appears to be the same so I am working off this diagram assuming that it applies to a W200 but I am not sure.
After studying this diagram, I realized that I may be missing some parts such as the shifter pointer (21-30-23), Button (21-30-101), Button Spring (21-30-100). Lastly, what is not pictured in this diagram are the bearing support screws with square captured bolts in the steering housing referenced in the service manual. The service manual says to back them off 5 turns during disassembly but I don’t understand their purpose. Mine do not appear to be retaining anything.
I am wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar to this and how they solved it. I have searched the archives but don’t see anything. I can’t find any YouTube videos or google searches about loose W200 loose steering columns. I am stuck on how best to proceed but I certainly don’t want to pull the entire steering column out of the truck. Any suggestions on what to do next?
Lastly, any suggestions on where to find the missing parts? Len Dawson at Deception Pass doesn’t have them in stock. I am wondering if any other Dodge vehicles used these parts.
Thanks,
Mark
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