Anyone who has ever owned an elderly vehicle knows there are periodic events that allow opportunity for stretching one’s mind into new territory. Such recently happened with my 1991 Dodge pickup. This particular event required a repair that needed to be approached methodically every step of the way. So let’s get started.
Several weeks ago my wife and I made a trip to the nearby town of Wardsville. She had sold this balloon candy cane to an assisted living facility five weeks prior so we came to pick it up. We took the Dodge to haul the reusable pieces back.
Yes, these balloons were five weeks old in this picture and looked great.
As I turned into a parking spot at the facility, I heard a crinkling sound in the steering column. The noise sounded like a combination of wax paper and tinfoil being wadded up. I knew this wasn’t good but decided to think about it later.
A week or so afterwards I hauled some used oil to the auto parts store for recycling. Backing the Dodge out of the driveway, I saw a thin piece of copper wire erupt from between the steering wheel and steering column. It shot out at the 12:00 position so there was no overlooking it.
Getting to the auto parts store I asked the guy at the counter about it. “Oh, sounds like your clock spring. Huh, this says your truck doesn’t have one.”
Given the horn had honked on the way there when the turn signal was activated, there was obviously an issue at hand. A few days later (yes, I was still short tripping it and there were reasons why), when leaving work, the horn began blaring with the turn signal on. Turning off the signal turned off the horn. So the pickup was parked until I could figure things out.
Looking under the pad on the steering wheel revealed more copper wire. This was looking ugly.
Adding to the fun was this needed part (which I’ve heard called both a clock spring and a steering control module) could not be found at four brick-and-morter stores, two very large online auto supply places, and one Chrysler specific parts house. A forum for first-generation Rams said to use part number such-and-such from a specific aftermarket company. That company’s website revealed this part number was long out of production.
This wasn’t looking good and the only alternative was to find one at the salvage yard. But how many salvage yards keep thirty-odd year old vehicles on hand? Plus, the part would be the same age as what had just gone kaput.
Calling around, I found several examples of what was needed. None were located close, all wanted to sell me the entire steering column for $250 or more, and there appeared to be some differences in the part depending upon whether or not the subject vehicle has cruise control (which mine does) and a tilt-column (mine does not).
We have a grand total of one self-serve yard in the area. Last I was there, there was nothing that old. Talking to a coworker, he said he had just seen two Dodges of this vintage parked there.
Sure enough, there were. From having scoured procedural videos on YouTube, I knew the older Dodge (on the left) did not have this part. Interestingly, both of these have power windows and locks.
A quick aside about this…so much of what I have found shows a clock spring as typically found in vehicles having airbags – although that appearance could be based upon less than comprehensive information. Dodge didn’t put an air bag into a pickup until 1994. From what I can determine, this piece appeared for the 1991 model year, which is when the front end was revised (as seen above, on the right). While this is pure speculation, it really makes me wonder if Chrysler had considered equipping these pickups with airbags but then paused until the new trucks appeared for 1994.
Or perhaps there are other reasons. Maybe somebody here will know as it’s got me rather curious.
So the choice of donor was clear. It was a two-wheel drive, gas powered 3/4 ton.
While I did not check for model year on this Dodge, it was equipped with cruise and tilt, and I was hoping for no bad surprises later given what I had learned during my initial search. As one of the persons wanting to sell an entire steering column had told me “the interchange guide says a spring from a tilt wheel equipped unit won’t work and I can give you 500 times where that guide is right but another 50 where it is wrong”.
Getting the steering wheel removed showed a truly beautiful part waiting to be harvested. It pulled right off the shaft.
The steering wheel removal tool was a loaner and the yard charged me $15 for the clock spring. It was now showtime at home.
After disconnecting the battery, this was facing me. I had previously pulled off the horn cover but still needed to remove the white center section. Two Phillips screws on the back of the steering wheel are all that is holding it in place. The screws were tight and wanted to strip at first.
Two wires and a connector needed to be removed. The connector has a plastic clip holding things in place; don’t forget plastic has a tendency to become brittle after thirty years. Nothing broke but one needs to keep this phenomena in mind.
Also note the location of the wires coming through the wheel itself. That is very important to remember upon reassembly.
Next up is removal of the nut holding the steering wheel. It is a 13/16″ nut and the only correctly sized socket I had was for my impact wrench. It is safer to use an impact socket on a hand wrench than the other way around.
The steering wheel is pressed onto the shaft so removal of the nut is only the first step in removal of the steering wheel.
This was the second time I had removed a steering wheel that day. It was also the second time in my life having done so.
There is an indentation in the center of the steering shaft with holes for the other two bolts. The two outside bolts only needed to be finger tight. A half-inch socket was required for removal and the steering wheel became free after a turn or two. Its release from the shaft is quite obvious.
Removing the wheel revealed a hot mess of copper wire erupting from the 9:00 position of the part. The potential of this wire getting wound around the steering shaft had not escaped me.
There was evidence of this deterioration having been around for a while. This was on the electrical connector on the bottom rear of the part and not seen in the other pictures. This particular connector emerges from the steering column.
Some physical differences exist between the two parts despite their being identically shaped and the wiring being the same. Whether this is a function of the tilt wheel or perhaps model year I do not know.
Given the stickers I was able to determine the part numbers deviated somewhat, but only in the last two or three digits. The flat spots on the rear of the steering wheel needed to align with the flat spots on the hub of the replacement clock spring. Simultaneously pressing the two buttons inside the hub allowed rotation to one of four detents, allowing for placement of the wheel.
I had to rotate the new hub to achieve the correct orientation of the steering wheel.
Remember the statement about taking note of where the wires were threaded through the wheel? I didn’t. This shows the wrong way to do it, evidenced by one wire not having enough slack to connect.
This is how it should be done. See the difference?
At this point it was all fine-tuning, but it was also some of the more visible things to fine-tune.
The horn cover needed to be reinstalled.
It needed to be threaded over the plastic, which was a surprisingly difficult thing to do. The cover is very stiff material and a screwdriver was ideal for wrapping the edge of the cover over the plastic. I only stabbed myself with the screwdriver once, so that’s not too bad I suppose.
Reinstallation of the cover gave a final product free of any evidence of a prior problem.
Removal of the piece at the salvage yard took less than thirty minutes. It was about the same when I did it a second time at home. Reinstallation took significantly longer, but part of that was my fault for threading the wire through the wrong location.
All is now good except the horn. I suspect the electrical connector fell off as the “new” one wasn’t as tight, so that should be about ten minutes for a fix.
With this problem I had seriously entertained the idea of selling my Dodge. A coworker was interested as he wants to put the body on a 3/4 ton diesel chassis he has. A sale to anyone else would have necessitated this fix anyway, so I figure I’ll just keep the old Dodge a while longer. With new pickups being stupid expensive, even for a basic one as I would want, I’m not pulling that trigger anytime soon. So, for now, the old Dodge will continue to live in my driveway.
Plus, she’s still fun to drive as seen here on my test run after this repair and an oil change.
Great old truck, one that you should be able to keep going as long as you want.
I can tell you why yours is different and why this one is a bit of an oddball. Dodge had the Cruise control controls on the stalk until 90 or 91, when they moved onto the steering wheel. With the cruise control on the stalk, the only item on the wheel that needed wires was the horn. And the horn only needed two wires so a couple of copper rings and contacts were used. This arrangement gets hard with more than two contacts so they changed to the clock spring when they moved the cruise control. Add to that falling sale of the pre 94 model full size trucks and you will see a somewhat limited market for these.
I had to do a clock spring once. My wife’s Durango I had to swap the steering shaft universal joint and while I was working under the hood one of my kids spun the wheel. That put the clock spring close to it’s limit and a couple of days later in a parking lot at full lock the spring broke. Fiddly but not an awful repair.
The cruise location prompting the clock spring makes complete sense. Thank you!
Hooray for the online resources these days that help with the parts search—though the bad info circulates as fast as the good, right? I’m happy the whole matter didn’t take too, too much time out of your day, Jason.
I haven’t harvested and used a wrecking yard part in decades, having been scared off by my rookie experiences: Too often I got a part that was wrong, broken, too worn, or (interior pieces) with an odd smell I hadn’t detected when removing from donor car. Nice to know you were rewarded for your effort!
I like this truck too. Can you even get a new truck with this low loading height? As a bonus it will pose a challenge for the noggin once in while. The satisfaction that comes from solving a problem like this is priceless.
Some two wheel drive trucks are still reasonable height but to go really low in a new truck is easiest in a Dodge Ram Promaster van.
I went outside and measured my 2002 F150 4×2 and it was 33″ on the current oversized tires. The lower profile stock tires would knock another inch or so off and I think it’s possible to lower them without losing payload.
A headache to track down a part that would work, then install it, to be sure, but with the stupid expensive price of a new truck, definitely worth the effort to keep the old girl going for a few more miles.
Back in the day, Dodge trucks had a reputation of being nearly bulletproof. The problem was the body integrity was so bad, they’d rust away long before the drivetrain gave out.
I see you cut the video before the bendy bit in the road 🙂
Glad you got this sorted, clock springs are a weird mystery. The best part seems to be that this is a job done mostly in the comfort of the best seat in the house for a change. I’d be perhaps heading back to those two Dodges and harvesting anything of potential further use for yours. They aren’t quite as easy to come by as equivalent age Fords or Chevys when you need something.
Well, I realized I was doing around 60 in a 40…my foot is oddly heavy for its size.
You’ve got me thinking about going back tomorrow to look those two over, especially since I won’t be so tunnel-visioned. There were some good finds parked nearby.
I noticed he said the two JY vehicles were power window and door lock equipped. I’m always tempted by finding more feature laden versions of vehicles I own in the JY, as I’ve done many upgrades, including two complete power window and lock retrofits.
I’d be tempted to do the same knowing they were there, and attainable.
The thought of a power window retrofit crossed my mind also…I’m still thinking about going back to snag a few more parts.
I did the same thing to my 83 LeBaron. Harvested two doors with PS and Locks, then transferred the parts. Every time I’m in the yard, I always look for potential donors for my fleet of old cars (83, 95, and 01).
The rule of antique pickers is that if you see it, you get it. Might be gone if don’t act immediately.
At the time, these trucks seemed “so old”, at 20-some years since introduction*. But, nowadays, the current GM full size vans have been on market longer. Also, the early 90’s Jeep Grand Wagoneer was older than the same year Dodge pickups.
* Supposedly in early 80’s, Lee I. pushed back new designs, so new one wasn’t until the ’94. True?
“Can you even get a new truck with this low loading height?”
Maybe the new Ford Maverick p/u? But try finding one at reasonable price, i.e. without dealer markups. Or a long wait for an order.
Paul’s sitch with the transmission in his truck may have been a bigger deal to fix, but it was more straightforward.
I had an analogous sitch ca. 1983 with my ’68 Saab 96 V4. It would run poorly in wet weather. I remember one night when I was driving on a freeway with the pedal to the metal and the car sputtering along at maybe 25 mph and me using language not fit for a family newspaper.
I honestly am not good at diagnosis, and a friend helped me pinpoint the problem. I had a slight radiator leak, not enough that I noticed having to top up coolant often. But the water was getting blown back over the ignition wires. My friend came around to this conclusion after trying a couple of other things. He was kind enough to braze the leak closed, and that solved it.
I’ve had to replace the plastic directional signal cam (which returns it after a turn) twice in my Ford. It looks to be even fiddlier than this, since the wires all need to be snaked down the column. But it’s not too bad. I found an NOS Ford unit for the second replacement, hoping it will last longer than the cheap one I had bought some years earlier.
Nice work! And good detective skills finding a replacement. That wrecking yard looks just like Missouri in the winter.
I’ve probably pulled a dozen steering wheels, starting in my teens. Wheel pulling business has slowed down some, just the VW needs it once in a while to deal with the signal light switch.
Another perhaps Missouri only thing in the junkyard was the fully marked shell of an ATM sitting in the middle of the yard. So it almost would make one think the ATM was still functional for parts hungry patrons.
I’ve always liked those old boxy Dodge trucks. Still today when I think of a truck, that’s the poster-child of what I see in my head. Kind of tough, yet soft around the edges, yet simple and clean.
I have a strange question if someone can answer. In the 7th picture (I believe one of the trucks at the salvage yard), I see what seems to be a shifter on the column (auto?) and yet a long stick shift coming up from the floor. It seems to be more from the passenger side. Is that long stick for the 4×4? I’ve never seen one like that as the ones I ever saw were short and lower mounted on the center of the tunnel. Thanks.
That picture would be of my pickup. That is indeed the stick for the 4×4. It being more on the passenger side is a little unique, but it is a Dodge, so in that regard it makes complete sense. 🙂
Thanks Jason. I don’t recall ever seeing one like that, but then again my family owned Chevy/GMC and a few Fords. Maybe I’m just forgetting it, but the ones I recall were centered and the shifter was much shorter.
These are the kinds of surprises I hate. You own something that is supposed to be stupid-simple, then you get surprised by some oddball part or system that was used late in the model run. Ugh. I have been fortunate to never mess with a clock spring, and hope that my luck holds.
My son John hit a self-serve yard last week after some lowlife stole a tire/wheel from the Buick when it was parked outside of his apartment. This one yard had 7 Lacrosses of that generation, so its good to have a car like that in the midwest.
I actually own a steering wheel puller but have not used it in quite awhile. During my school days, a roommate wanted a steering wheel for an unusually tasteless (even for him) Halloween costume (Princess Grace Kelly after the car accident – yeah, I know.) He called a couple of junkyards and couldn’t believe how much a junk steering wheel would cost. I cut him a deal – if he would buy me the steering wheel puller, I would lend him the wheel from my Plymouth Scamp for the one evening he wanted it. I think I got the better end of that trade.
Stole ONE wheel/tire from John’s car? A desperate low-life…with the emphasis on desperate. If I’d met this person trying to steal from my car, I’d probably have wound up giving him the tire…and probably 10 bucks for a meal. Ugh. 🙁
Yeah, I have a steering wheel puller too. Used it once. Thank goodness for Harbor Freight as it makes those one-time tool purchases pretty painless. I hope to never have to deal with the clock spring thing either.
Love the tutorial and backstory! So glad you’re keeping your Dodge for a while, Jason. I don’t know if I could handle another Galaxie-sized heartbreak.
I appreciate the level of detail in the article, and I always like to see simple automotive repairs de-mystified. However, you missed one important detail regarding clock springs-
All new clock springs are shipped in the dead center position. From this position, the spring can be “wound” an equal amount the right (clockwise) and to the left (counterclockwise). If a clock spring is installed out of the dead center position, the wires may pull apart at full lock in one direction or the other (see Mopar4wd’s comment above). For this reason, most new clock springs are shipped with a lock pin to keep them in the dead center position until installed in the column.
At the junkyard, you can place the clock spring at dead center by centering the wheels. During installation, it’s equally important to place the steering wheel in the dead center position prior to clock spring installation. With both halves of the system in alignment, you’re good to go.
BTW, If you’re not sure if a clock spring is in the dead center position, you can wind it until the cables are tight, and then count the number of turns until it is fully unwound. Wind it half way back and you’re at dead center.
Thank you for mentioning the dead center position. The donor was parked as seen; I had my wheels straight ahead when replacing the part. Having to rotate the clock spring at least one detent, you now have me wondering if I’m in a compromised state of affairs…
There’s some play in the system, so I wouldn’t worry too much. You can always pop the wheel and make a check, but doing so may make things worse. Personally, I’d leave well enough alone.
You’ve convinced me to not fuss with it.
Aren’t there some 1998-1999 Dodge Rams in the family? Although in my parts they are especially rust prone.
This might be of interest:
https://jalopnik.com/the-original-design-for-the-second-gen-dodge-ram-was-a-1825251176
There is a ’98 and a ’99.
My father-in-law has a ’99 extended cab 2wd with a 318. It has about 55,000 miles but is starting to rust.
My father has a ’98 he bought new; it’s a 2wd regular cab with a 360 and 135,000 miles. I drove it a little over a week ago. Apart from its utter filth and some recent garage scrapes, it’s in very good condition.
Both are in SLT trim.
These are very interesting pics. That’s an Acustar steering column; Chrysler gradually went to this column starting in ’89 as they phased out earlier designs bought andor more-or-less copied from GM (Saginaw), such as the one in my ’89 D100 . I did a photo-illustrated writeup on ignition switch R&R and antitheft upgrades for the Acustar column. What’s catching my eye here is the old-type steering wheel rather than the wheel designed for use with the Acustar column. They could’ve put on the Acustar-type steering wheel with the no-airbag pad they had in the house for it, but they also probably had a pile of old-type steering wheels to use up, and there’d’ve been no functional reason not to do, since there wasn’t going to be an airbag in these trucks.
So how come there’s a clockspring despite no airbag? Because the Acustar steering column was designed around the use of a clockspring to cater for the horn and cruise control switches in the steering wheel—with or without an airbag.
The clocksprings in the Acustar column are generally not troublesome, though after several decades any car part can fail. Something I notice about the clockspring that came apart for you: it doesn’t appear to be a Chrysler part; note no Pentastar logo and other casting differences.
Nice writeup and pics!
That is interesting about the steering column change along with the steering wheel.
The donor pickup had the exact same steering wheel as mine. Years ago I drove another ’91 in the Illinois DOT fleet when I was a summer intern; it, too, had the same wheel.
Good catch about the bad clock spring. I, too, noticed the lack of Chrysler emblems and wondered if there had been a replacement along the way. What you say is likely the best proof of such having happened.
…also, where went your headlight switch?
Last year I replaced the turn signal / high beam / hazard light / wiper control module after the wipers decided to work despite being turned off. This piece is one step closer to the bottom of the column than is the clock spring. Digging into the column from the top, I never had to touch this module.
That said, I did remove its cover on the steering column, not knowing. Ultimately this module was untouched and there had been no need to take off the cover, thus its exclusion in my summary. Here’s a picture that shows where it’s at in relation to everything else.
Jason, my take-away here is about how good it feels to have accomplished a job well done, and in particular a job well done that doesn’t turn into a multi-step horror show (which about 50% of my DIY tasks like this on one car or another seem to turn into).
May the Dodge pickup keep on truckin’ for some time to come.
Good job of troubleshooting and repair. One I’ve yet to have to deal with myself.
I liked your line of, “As one of the persons wanting to sell an entire steering column had told me “the interchange guide says a spring from a tilt wheel equipped unit won’t work and I can give you 500 times where that guide is right but another 50 where it is wrong”.”
That guy is smart. Maybe even wise, but definitely a professional.
But the need for a steering wheel puller due to a taper fit. My gawd, are they still doing that? And why, I’ve pulled a bunch of steering wheels off cars not made in my country and after you pull that nut, they just pull right off! What a concept!
Great success story. Congrats on having the perseverance and a bit of luck in locating the elusive clock spring. Thanks for the fine photos. May your W150 days be many.
I’ve had a couple of these so-called first gen Rams and have my current ’82 D150 for some years. I prefer the tag gen 3.1 and 3.2 D/W truck for the ’81 through ’93 trucks, but I’m greatly outnumbered.
Your all-out search for the correct part reminded me of some of the fun I’ve experienced with my ’82 slant six D150. Among the fun was a non power assist master cylinder push rod. Also, upper control arms, last non pre cat slant exhaust head pipe, old stock 22 in. core slant radiator, last correct smog pump on the shelf, last Bosch rebuilt 60 amp alternator, etc., etc. I have found that in general, the ’88 to ’93 trucks have far better parts availability on many items.
I’ve pulled hundreds of steering wheels using a puller, and used similar tools to remove other items mounted to a splined shaft and kept in place with a hex nut. One piece of advice I can offer is not to remove the center shaft nut before using the puller. Instead, back the nut off until it’s top surface is equal to the top of the shaft, then back off about a half turn. Then install the puller and begin tightning the puller’s center shaft. Once the puller does it’s job and the wheel is loose on the shaft, remove the puller and the center nut, then pull the wheel.
The reason you should do this is because sometimes a puller can partially fail or bend just a little bit off to one side. That puller’s center shaft, even with the center raised point set in the matching divot in the column’s shaft, can slip sideways and screw up the threads on the shaft. Acting like a protective collar, the loose nut prevents this, and can be quickly removed and the steering wheel [now loose on the shaft] removed.
Mr. McCoskey is the voice of experience (guess how I know).
Even the paint on your truck still looks nice .
I think it was my 2001 For Ranger that taught me about clock springs the hard way, before the internet I wonder how the average Mechanic managed those things .
-Nate