Rubbing sound at Steering Wheel
 

just had an alignment done this morning (had recently replaced the alumin balljoints with the steel ones; car is a '78). There suddenly is a scraping noise everytime I turn the steering wheel, in either direction and thru the whole range of motion. It feels like it's rubbing and scraping up in the pod area, and it sounds like the wheel is rubbing on the plastic somewhere right there.

I immediately showed it to the alignment person that did the job (a well experienced mechanic - owner of the shop and specializes in alignments - not a chain shop). He was baffled by it, and put the car back up on the rack (no, it was not lifted for the alignment - it's a drive up rack). Everything is fine underneath, and he couldn't figure out why the rub sound would appear. He did not pull and re-align the steering wheel, but he did "lock" the wheel from below before starting the procedure. This occurs, evidently, by inserting a pin type device somewhere below at the rack to keep the wheel straight while the car is being aligned.
I'm stumped and annoyed at this new ugly sound.:grr: The car drives fine and tracks straight as it did prior to the balljoint swap, so I know the alignment job itself is ok.
Any thoughts?

Sounds like one or both of the steering shaft bearings have been damaged.

Replacement is relatively easy and inexpensive.

Mine does the exact same thing, but I'm pretty sure it has to do with the cam bolts used to attach the pod... I've just been too lazy to adjust. I don't know why that would appear after an alignment job.

Just curious, can you use the high beams and turn signal at the same time? Mine automatically flicks back to normal beams whenever the turn signal is engaged.

All my problems started after swapping out the pod with one of Paul’s finely crafted models… that’s why I think it related to the pod assemble.

Anyone else ever have the rubbing noise while rotating the wheel?

kurt, Make sure the hub of the steering wheel has space between the pod and the wheel.

I 2nd what randy says about the steering bearings.

Randy - how would they have been damaged by the procedure? I am looking at the WSM, are these bearings the same as the lower and upper steering shaft mounts? It's weird because the noise is clearly a plastic scraping sound, not metal, origianting just inside the pod somewhere.

Kurt, my turn signals and hi beams work ok. No issues there.

I'd guess ko-inkidink.

The plastic shroud around the combo switch can rub on the wheel hub. Also the contact strip for the horn may have coincidentally worn out at the same time:

http://members.rennlist.com/sharkski...ornContact.jpg

It's possible that the shroud has come loose, and/or that the tech bumped it with his knee at some point. It's relatively easy to get the lower part of the shroud off and look around in there... some details here.

To determine if the upper steering column bearing is going bad simply grasp the wheel and move it up and down side to side and then in and out do you feel any play???

If play is detected then you need a new upper bearing, use a vacuum cleaner to remove the parts/balls as they will otherwise drop down the column housing.
To remove the E clip pull on the steering colunm nut while a helper slides it off the shaft.
To install, first locate the new bearing paying attention to the flat edge on the new part once this is tapped into place then slide the tensioner bushing on, then fit the nut , with your helper pull the shaft up while you then slide on the E clip
If no play is detected then remove the lower cover of the steering column and then look up to see how much the horn contact is touching the steering wheel, then if if is smashing the horn contact the switch can be adjusted down away from the steering wheel.
Take a business card and slide it into the gap between the upper column cover and the steering wheel see if there is space as this could also be part of the rubbing

Both my 80 and 84 have this problem. I think it's pretty common.

Thanks guys for the info. No way is it a coincidence. Perfect feel and play in, rubbing out.
Also, the car has only 50K on the clock, so wear is very unlikely. I did check play, and there is none in any direction. Also, thanks for the pic Dave, but I have the early wheel (3 spoke) and my horn doesn't use the contact strip set up. I'm guessing the wheel lock inserted below at the rack (not sure exactly where it went in or how) somehow moved the shaft?
If I have to tear it all apart, rate the level of difficulty (assume reasonable wrenching skills on my part, altho I ussually wreck things when fixing other things)

to remove the lower cover on the column first remove the 2 phillips screws on the cover plat under the pod then 1 phillips on the cover then 2 10mm bolts that hold the pod onto the column

Yes Stan, I'm going to have to tear into it. (altho I've done the full pod R&R job on my 86.5, so I am familiar with the removal process). Also, I just got additional clarification from the shop - the steering lock was at the wheel inside of the car (sort of like a Club, but shaped like a "Y"). During the job, the tie rods were aligned and adjusted at the ends, but according to the shop, that would not have impacted the steering rack in any way or the shaft. The rack is bolted tight, so it would not have moved. Additional thoughts before I tear into it?

If you remove the plastic cover beneath the steering wheel, there's a 7 or 8 mm bolt used to tighten the clamp that holds the turn signal cluster to the steering column. If you loosen the bolt, you can adjust the turn signal cluster towards the steering wheel, which will free up more forward travel for the high beams and cruise control stalks. Some of the space that used to be there (assuming you put the cluster exactly where it was before) is probably now taken up by the thicker, high quality material that Paul uses.

Really? I have the three spoke wheel also, I'd be really surprised if our cars aren't exactly the same in this regard, even down to missing the "passing flash" wire from the harness/combo switch connector. :) Take a look at the link I posted. Have you had the wheel off and looked? How is it different? What are the last 4 of your VIN?

You are probably correct Dave - I only removed the horn pad/cover, and there is a large "Y" shaped metal piece in the steering wheel which when contact is made with the wire from the back of the horn pad, the horn souinds. So, I assumed no contact strip behind behind the wheel itself. When I pull the whole wheel this evening, I'll be able to verify, but it is probably as you say.