Loose steering wheel - Ford Cars & Trucks

once you have removed the centre cover from the steering wheel you will have to remove the lock clip above the large nut holding the steering wheel to the steering shaft. loosen the nut enough that the nut is still threaded to the shaft at the top, then using a puller pull the wheel loose from the shaft. if you don`t have a puller you can hit the top of the steering shaft with a hammer and it should pop loose.

A wobble in the steering is more likely to be one of

- loose wheel nuts
- loose hub nut
- worn steering tie rod outer joint
- worn steering tie rod inner joint
- loose steering rod universal
- worn steering knuckle ball joint

Out of these a worn or loose steering tie rod joint is most likely. If you can, jack the front of the car up and rest it on axle stands, NOT just on the jack, then have one person shake the front wheel back and forth while holding it at 9 and 3 o'clock, while another holds the steering wheel still. Then look at and feel each joint to see if you can locate the looseness.

You could have an out-of-balance or out-of-round condition on the front tires, but similarly it could be something more serious


-loose front wheel hub
-worn front suspension joint
-worn steering tie rod joint
-loose steering box mounts
-loose steering column u-joint
-loose or word steering wheel attachment

If the loose motion is coming from the tilt part, there are three bolts inside the column that need to be tightened up.
Someone would need to remove the steering wheel to access the bolts.

Park the car on level paved ground, not gravel or dirt, with the wheels centered and the steering wheel unlocked. With engine off, grab the steering wheel at 12 o'clock while rapidly and repeatedly jerking the steering wheel back and forth between 10 and 2 o'clock. You will hear noise that will direct you to the loose parts.

Then you will need to show a helper the same thing as you look under the car at the steering linkage components to find the ones that are making the noise indicating that they are loose. It's a very simple method. You cannot do it wrongly.

This sounds like you need new track rod ends, this would cause free play in the steering, also it could be the bottom suspension arms. the garage should have checked these though! if the wheel is vibrateing then it may need the wheels rebalanced. if it is that you steering will shake at 60mph

You must remove the steering cowl below the steering wheel and see what is loose, broken or worn. It more likely to be a loose bolt, in which case just tighten it and refit the cowl.
Hope that helps

Just an fyi it is the steering wheel and column assembly. Nissan suv's and trucks are NOTORIOUS for having the upper bearings inthe steering column sheer and or go bad, HUGE safety issue.

look for loose steering gear shaft adjusted too loose or shaft bushing worn. steering linkages loose.wheel bearings improperly adjusted.

your steering wheel has splines . they strip or worn cant tighten have to replace steering wheel . it has a nut under the horn pad .it might have come loose. but i have never seen one come a lose. but i have known the splines wear on them. disable air bag in steering wheel before removing steering wheel.