[TxCajun]

When I was putting the engine & transmission back in the truck, I greased and adjusted the lower column shift arms along with installing new bushings at all of the shift arm pivot points. However, the top of the column had a lot of side-to-side steering wheel play and the column shift arm was very loose.

I disassembled the top of the column and cleaned, inspected all of the parts. The shift lever holes on the "Shift Lever Housing" were worn out oblong and cracked, so the shift lever roll pin which should be pressed in was just a wobbly fit. I thought about trying to repair these holes with aluminum brazing rod and then re-drill, but upon investigation it appears that the commonly available brazing rods have a melting point of about 720 to 750 degrees F which is very close to the temperature at which the die casting would melt or distort. Also, since there are hairline cracks between the hole and the end of the casting boss, I don't think a bushing would work or, at best, would only be a temporary solution. After cleaning up the casting, I found a part number cast on the inside: 3873134. In doing a web search, I found an NOS part for a reasonable price from AutoPartsObsolete, and bought it.

The steering wheel also had 1/8” cracks/gaps next to the center hub and a few other places. Using a Dremel tool, I cleaned out the cracks and made them wider at the base than at the top, then I filled these with JB Weld, sanded, and painted the wheel satin black. I'm in the process of installing an “old school” lace-on steering wheel cover, but the last picture shows close to final results.

After greasing the column parts with white lithium grease and reassembling everything, the shifter feels more precise and the steering wheel play is gone.