Steering column rebuild question

[Mysocks4]

For anyone who has rebuilt their tilt column...

New bearings are on the way from Tousley for the upper portion of my tilt steering column. The old ones were reduced to powder (literally). I had to pry what was left of the old bearings out of the upper column housing, but the seats look good.

My question is: Do the new bearings need to be pressed in or should they slide into place and seat themselves when I put the shaft/thrust washer/spring and clip back in?

I just don't want to screw up the new ones and have to wait another week for them to get shipped in. Thanks all...

[Mini-Stroke...]

Did you ever get an answer? I need to do this to mine as well..

[Mysocks4]

I never got an answer, but it was easier than I thought. Some tips for you -

1. Try to do the job all in one day. Its about a 3-4 hour deal; taking it all apart, inspecting and rebuilding it. I did mine over a three week period and forgot a couple of things, had to take it apart once or twice.
2. When you remove the ignition cylinder from the column housing, make sure you indicate (mark) the location of the teeth on the gear as it relates to the ignition release/ slide bar.
3. Be careful when you remove the old bearings (or what is left of them) from the column housing. Try not to gouge the seats they sit in.
4. Use only Ford parts. The guys at Tousley are awesome and will help you get the right stuff the first time. I could not afford a new shaft or upper column housing, so I grabbed those out of the bone yard (for 30 bucks!).
5. Use assembly lube on all moving parts (bearings, actuators, ect).
6. When installing the new bearings, gently tap them in. I used pieces of pvc and sockets that were a perfect fit around the outside edges of the new bearings.
7. Be very patient, go slow and your truck will steer like it did when it came off of the assembly line.