89 xj. The steering column moves freely up and down, any suggestions, everything works as far as the steering goes.

 

Hi It could be the bearing in the tilt portion of the steering column...tj

 

There are three little screws that work themselves loose. You have to remove the steering wheel and turn signal switch to get at them, and they may be an inverted torx head screw. This is very common on the Saginaw tilt columns. You will need a lock plate depresser, a couple picks, steering wheel puller, and assorted screw drivers in order to complete the job. Good luck.

 

That makes sense cause the tilt still works fine

 

I just finished chasing this gremlin.....I have a tilt column also.
Turned out: it was not the loose torx fasteners. It was the small bearing race in the lower 2/3rds of the column (internal in the column).
I found a matching and tight tilt column on ebay for $125 shipped to me. Pretty good deal....I thought.
But I figured out during the swap what the real problem was....the small bearing race down low inside the column was broken and most of the ball bearings were gone.
And then I found out that this is a common problem and part houses that specialize in XJs will sell a replacement race for about $20.00.
All in all...I should have check the torx first (did that) and then removed the column, disassembled it and then replaced the race.
It would have been cheaper and exactly the same amount of work. The column feels and works like new now....apparently the original owner of my "new" column didn't use the it as an assist grip. I've installed a driver assist grip so I don't need to pull on the steering wheel anymore.