Thank you all for your input. Something i could have mentioned previosusly and did not is this: I purchased the truck from my next door neighbor 2 years ago, and he bought it new in 1999. It has never had any damage of any kind. In fact any work over the years that it has needed, brakes, oil changes etc, I have done on this vehicle, so other than driving it for the first 10 years it was maintained as though it was mine. What i have determined after further investigation and the only thing i can think of that makes snese is, that since the joint came off of the steering box shaft, and the pinch bolt was tight, it is my thinking, that the steering shaft was never properly put on to the steering gear box so the pinch bolt was actually located in the grove as it should have been. I'm not placing blame or anything on anyone, but the steering gear box shaft and the universal joint on the shaft and the pinch bolt are designed to prevent the joint from coming off of the gear box. And as easly as it slid off the steering box shaft, and the bolt being tight, thats the only thing that makes any sense to me. In all of my years of auto repairs and driving i have never experienced anything like this. It is definately one for the books! I have test the sterring by parking with the front wheel against the curb and turning the steering wheel aginst the curb gently, but putting some pressure on the joint, and it seems to be tight like it should be. I drove it today back and forth to work, a bit nervously i will admit, but it functioned and handled just fine. Seems all is well. Well except that the airbag light is now on in the instrument cluster and the cruise does not work. My guess from what i have read is that the wheel was turned too many rotations one direction while the shaft was disconnected and things came unplugged underneath the airbag. Pulling an airbag off of a steering wheel is something i have never tackled before but from what i have read, if i disconnect the battery and let the vehicle sit for at least 5 minutes the airbag can be remove without worry of setting it off and i can take a look at things inside the wheel. Still not sure if i will tackle that or not. Thanks again for your feedback. I am glad i found this site and will monitor it in the future. I may be able to help someone sometime.
