Todd Z.'s Tilt Column For Your Bronco

By Todd Zuercher

As our Broncos get on in years, and we as drivers get older, there often seems to arise a conflict between various portions of our bodies and certain physical features on the Bronco. I'm speaking, of course, of that common point of contact where the driver's stomach becomes intimately acquainted with the Bronco steering wheel. The interference may not arise while the driver is actively involved with operating the vehicle, but may first manifest itself when the driver decides he wants to exit the truck for other activities

Whether you're diametrically disadvantaged or not, a tilt steering column still has its advantages. Most, if not all, tilt columns come from vehicles newer than our Broncos and may incorporate such innovations as lane change signaling mechanisms, column mounted locking ignition switches, wiper controls, cruise control, and other advances not present in our medieval beasts

One of the nicest looking, and easiest columns to retrofit to the early Bronco is the tilt column found in 1978-79 Ford F-Series pickups and Broncos. The columns were optional items and most often found in the Ranger XLT series. They were available in both manual and automatic tranny vehicles, but are found most often in the automatic equipped vehicles. I have only seen one in a stick shift truck. In either case, the columns were fairly rare from the factory and as such can be difficult to find today. Thankfully, many of the parts interchange with Econoline van tilt columns from the same era and the van tilts are much more prevalent. The truck column is a few inches shorter than the Bronco column(see photos) so if the stock steering wheel seems a little close, it can be moved the desired distance when you install the dashboard column bracket(explained below).

To remove the column from the donor vehicle, simply remove the plastic column cover, if it's still present, and unbolt the two bolts that hold the column bracket to the dashboard. Remove the bolt and nut that retain the u-joint to the column and separate. Separating the u-joint from the column make take some prying with a large screwdriver to remove its grip on the shaft. Once the u-joint is removed, you'll see the steering shaft has a ¾"-36 spline end which makes attaching an aftermarket u-joint and steering shaft extremely easy and clean. Unplug the turn signal wiring from below the dash. Disconnect the transmission shift linkage and you're ready to go. A hint for the shift linkage-it's often easier to disconnect the linkage down at the transmission than to fight with the plastic retainer clip on the shifting arm while the column is still in the truck.

Now that the column's removed, use a die grinder or similar tool to grind out the spot welds retaining the column bracket to the column. It may take several whacks with the hammer to break it loose. Remove and discard. Polish up the areas where the bracket was removed. If you've got your Bronco column removed, remove the column bracket from it in a similar manner. Place the Bronco column bracket on the tilt column and place the tilt column in the truck to the approximate position where you'd like to have it. Check to make sure enough of the column is poking through the firewall to attach the shift linkage if you're using it(I don't recommend it). Now is also a good time to replace the rubber boot between the column and the firewall-yours is probably old, crusty and partially missing. A new boot helps keep the heat in the engine compartment along with water and other undesirables.

Although the auto shifting mechanism in the column can be used, I'd recommend switching to a floor shifter if you already haven't. If you plan on doing this, disassemble the column and remove all the shifting guts from it along with the lighted indicator, light wiring, shifter lever, and shifter arm casting on the column piece. The latter can easily be covered up with some careful grinding followed by an application of body filler that can be sanded,and painted. It really dresses up the column and aesthetically cleans things up. The turn signal cam in the column may need replacing and of course now is the time to replace it too. If you do remove the shifting arm from the bottom of the column, you can easily place the Bronco firewall seal retainer over the column for a factory like fit. The metal column piece where the shifter arm once resided is also a nice plate to mount a tachometer. If you use some nut-serts, you can screw the tach directly to the column, hide the wiring, and avoid that oh-so-tacky hose clamp on the steering column look!

Once you've reconditioned the column and have it mounted where you like it, remove the column and column bracket and weld the bracket into place on the column. Clean everything up and paint as necessary. Install the column with its firewall seal and retainer bracket. Install your choice of steering shaft and u-joint setup. I recommend a Double-D slip-shaft from either Borgeson or Flaming River for both safety and reliability reasons. I also recommend using their high-quality needle bearing u-joints on each end of the shaft as well. It's expensive, but worth it. There will be no machining required-just a couple of lock screw divets to drill.

To finish up the column inside the cab, you'll of course install the steering wheel of your choice. I chose to re-use my Grant wheel and removable wheel feature from my Bronco column. Some people like to just leave the metal portion of the column as-is, but I wanted a nicer transition between the column and the dash so I modified the plastic column cover that fits on the column below the transmission shifter piece. I basically cut off the end, leaving a tubular piece long enough to fit into the dash. I then modified the two Bronco column cover pieces with a Dremel tool to allow the larger diameter tilt column plastic cover to fit into the dash in a clean manner. See the photos for additional details.

The biggest headache for me was the wiring. If you've got a newer Bronco with the late model half moon plug on it, I'm told you can just hook up the two plugs and everything works perfectly. I do have some charts of how things are supposed to work in mating up the earlier trucks' wiring, but I wasn't able to figure it out myself. I spent some dollars at the local auto electric shop instead and everything now works well. I mated a late model half-moon connector to my stock wiring so disconnecting the column wiring for column removal is now a simple matter of unplugging the two plugs.

I have had the column installed now for about 8 months and everything is working out well. The tilt feature breaks up the monotony on longer road trips and is handy for entry and egress of the vehicle. The lane change feature is handy for those who travel freeways in urban areas. This has been one modification to the Bronco that has proven its worth in a very short period of time.

Feel free to email with any further questions. toddz69@juno.com