yes to some degree, along with at least three other things. Tie rods, ball joints, worm worm gear in box
only thing that will cause smoke in steering column,is an electrical short in the wiring inside the steering column
There are 4 bolts at the bottom of the steering column that tend to get loose after entering and exiting your vehicle. Pulling your self up on the steering wheel puts stress the steering column and causes it to become loose. If you do not correct the problem fast by tightening the bolts you will have to replace the entire steering column.. -Henry's locksmith and steering column repair
You can adjust the steering box some. Or possible ball joint problems. If the problem is lurches and surges in the steering (can feel like loose idler arm, loose ball joints, etc.), one common cause is a faulty steering position sensor. This $60 sensor at the base of the steering column (inside the vehicle) tells the variable assist power steering how fast you are turning the steering wheel.
A pretty common cause of this is that the u-joints in the steering column need to be replaced.
Check out the bearings in the steering column and the knuckles in the steering shaft
Smoke from the steering column indicates a short in the electrical system. Have it towed to a mechanic so they can find the short. Disconnect the battery so you do not cause a fire.
Could be steering rack is worn and needs replacement
The steering column can be a Chanel for engine compartment heat to come up. It can also have wiring and electrical trouble inside that will eventually cause a fire.
there could be a few reasons for this . the steering wheel splines could be striped , try turning he wheel and see if the steering rod turns where it goes into the the lower part near the steering box if not take the steering wheel off and check the splines on the column.. if it does spin there maybe the possability that the box is bad inside the gears may have split. - many of these trucks also used a system with a coupler on the gearbox that looks like a stamped steel socket, inside that socket are pieces that resemble "dog bones" often either the coupler itself is severely worn or the pin and etc associated with the dog bones are busted or worn, i would check this before attempting removal of the steering wheel itself. follow the steering rod from the firewall down to the gearbox and then attempt to manually turn this rod with your hand....parts for the set-coupler and the "guts" are under $50
Overload or short to ground
The wire in the steering column has to much strain on it and it snaped. Easy fix if you extra wire laying around. Just rip the steering column apart
The steering column is energy absorbing and is designed to compress in a front-end collision to minimize the possibility of an injury to the driver of the car. Once the steering column is removed from the car, the column is extremely susceptible to damage. Dropping the column on its end could collapse the steering shaft or loosen the plastic injections which maintain column rigidty. Leaning on the column assembly could cause the jacket to bend or deform. Any of the above could impair the column's collapsible design. Use a standard wheel puller and never hammer on the end of the shaft. # Disconnect the battery # Remove pinch bolt at universal coupling of intermediate shaft # Remove lower steering column attaching bolt on the dash & toe panel support # Remove 2 capsule bolts on instrument panel reinforcement assembly # Disconnect all electrical connectors from steering column # Remove steering column assembly