Hello all,

An update, I removed and rebuilt that distributor that was giving me issues. The leaky water pump was just a loose upper hose.

My new question for all you mavens is now the steering column. I have movement, when hitting a road puck it transfers to the steering wheel. Is there a bearing within the mounting plate that holds it in place? And what's involved in repairing it?

Thanks guys

What is a road puck?
Your steering linkage is connected to the column thru the gearbox. Sure it's in the column or something else in the front end that could be loose and being felt thru the steering wheel/column?
Yeah there are bearings in the column, but it's rare that they cause problems.
Is this a tilt column? There are 3 bolts down within the column that tend to work loose below the ignition switch level within
The 1st time I pulled one apart to fix this it took me about 2 hours. I got down to about 45 minutes as I did more of them back when these trucks were newer, and I worked at the dealership. You don't need to replace any parts, just add some loctite to those screws. There are 2 special tools to do it, neither is that expensive. IF this is what it is definitely not worth replacing the column over.

What condition is the rag joint in?

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Road puck= Pot Hole

The rag joint is fine, have no intention in replace the steering column and it's not atilt.
And I'm sure it's the column, holding the steering wheel at 12 & 6 I can move it about a .125.
I'm going to ck over the mounting bolts, thanks for direction.

There’s a coupler at the end of the steering shaft and just before the steering box. Rebuild kits are available. Refreshing the coupler can make a big difference in tightening up the steering response.

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Doo Ron Ron and the Duke of Earl are friends of mine.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX8Nj8ABEI8

Ok, the non tilt columns are different inside (simpler)
Dodge did use alot of the saginaw (GM) columns over the years, especially the tilt version.
I have worked on alot of those trucks (besides the ones I have owned) over the years. Ive had to go into them to replace the switches (ignition and turn signal) but can't remember ever having to actually work on the column itself very often if ever for something being worn out. besides taking apart what I had to dismantle to get at those switches.
But, back in late 80s/early 90s when I worked at the dealership, I did alot of column work. The dealership owner had a back lot that he leased to chrysler credit, and if people fell behind on payments chrysler credit would repo them and they would basically "steal" the car, often peeling the column like a car thief would /and if either you were able to get caught up and get the car back, or your time limit elapsed to do so, they'd send the car to auction. In either case, I would have to repair the damages done to the column, before the car left the lot. I had to replace alot of what they called the column jacket, basically that outer housing that you see. They are just pot metal, and break easier than you might think.