See uns how you filled out your profile so well

I just had to guess you have a JEEP CJ???

And a year?

It may not matter, as lots of stuff is the same for other years --- some things may be different too!

So

I'm throwing you a 1981 factory manual --- Catch it and try not to get it all greasy

https://oljeep.com/edge_81_tsm.html

See chapter "2J"

Maybe that will aid you

Return with good news

----JEEPFELLER

 

I filled out some of my profile. I don't have a current pic of the jeep or I would have added it. Its a 76 jeep CJ5...but who knows if the column is original. I have seen anything that references that steel tube on the inside of the column jacket. I read the manual you sent me (thank you) but didn't see anything in there that referenced this tube in the column. Its weird that it has that tab folded over at the end of the column. Looking up the shaft with a mirror and flashlight it looks like a secondary jacket on the column. Its a tilt column and the shifter is on the floor.

 

The end of your column looks pretty normal to me. Here’s an old picture of mine before I tore the Jeep down. Did it look like this with the bearing installed?

 

Can you post a pic of the steering wheel and column from inside? May help others reference if it is OEM or from another vehicle or year.

 

I can post a pic of the wheel and column from the inside after work. Buster1 yes mine looked like that when I pulled it but only the plastic race was present, the bearing was non existent so the plastic race was able to slip into the notches all the way. Once I put the plastic race with the new bearing installed in it the inner metal tube protrudes out to far and will not allow the plastic race to fully seat in the notches in the outer jacket. See pics below.

 

It almost seems like I need a smaller OD bearing that fits the plastic race to slip inside the tube. Do they make different size bearings that fit the plastic race?

 

The more I look at it, the more I'm sure that is a steering column for an automatic transmission. That tube is the shifter part for the tranny.
The part that is bent over is suppose to connect to the linkage on an automatic transmission.
I wonder if it can just be removed.

I do not know if the bearing for that type of steering column is different than one for a steering column for a manual transmission.
I'll have to look at mine to see.

 

Column pics.

 

I don't recall seeing that in mine.
Could that possibly part of a column shift steering column? something that just fell down when you took the bearing race off and now will not go back up into place? There are so many parts on that column that looks like it was patched together out of many different parts.
Something like this shift tube for a 76 CJ i found onlike

I have a tilt column for an automatic in my barn someplace, I'll take a look.

 

Thanx guys, you're replies are great and giving me hope I'll be able to figure this out before getting to frustrated and start hacking on it.

 

Not sure if this helps but these are pics of my 1977 CJ7 automatic non-tilt column. Here the tube is attached to the column shifter and it shifts the transmission. I have no idea if columns interchange between 76 77 CJ5 and CJ7. I agree with John, your column appears to be patched together with various parts.

 

Yep, I just looked at my tilt column for an automatic and it looks identical

unfortunately the bearings are missing. I probably threw it away when I swapped the internal shaft over to my YJ column

 

Hmm. So it looks like the automatic column fits the same bearing assembly. The shifter tube must slide up and down somewhat in the outer jacket tube. But as you can see from my pics the shift tab is folded over and welded to the outer jacket preventing it from moving up inside the outer jacket. If I cut the tab maybe I can get it to move. Jeep life I guess. LOL. otherwise I'll have to save for a new column. Or....I've been running without the bearing for 20 years so maybe I just bolt it all back together and run it as is.

 

Any other creative suggestions are welcome.

 

Verify if that is the shift tube spoken about above, and if it is, cut off what is in conflict with your assembly..........OR.......complete disassemble the column to physically remove the shift tube from the equation.

 

I'm wondering if I remove the shift tube completely if that would affect the operation of the rest of the assembly some how?

 

Post a picture of your new bearing.

Looking at the picture Maladroit posted, It looks like the bearing should fit over that inner tube.

Maybe the PO bent or distorted the tube when he bent the lever over and welded it to the column and that is why it doesn't fit.
If he bent it over with the bearing attached, then it might of not been a problem until you removed the bearing and now the new bearing won't fit.

It wouldn't take much distortion to not make it fit.

It also looks like there may be dome 'flashing' or 'dings' on the end of the tube. You can just file or grind off the 'dings'