oh and the spring inside the column should compress a bit. the idea of it is to pull the inner column onto the bearings of the outer part of the column. if you are in an accident the leftover spring is meant to absorb some of the shock before the collapse mechanism kicks in. to get the tension right you should be able to pull on the steering wheel from the drivers seat and the column shouldn't come forward.
how do i know all this you ask
the bearings in mine were fecked and the steering felt horrible. i got all the replacement bearings from bearingboys just by measuring up the old parts and finding their equivalent.
it could be possible that the bearings in your column are either misaligned or worn out. I would ditch the crap ford rubber bit first.
this is the one you want. they are £10 but when it comes to steering its not worth mucking about
http://www.bearingboys.co.uk/SLFL25_...Bearing-8155-p
basically the little grey bit of plastic that is on the triangular part of the shaft that pushes into the crap bush goes into the middle of this bearing and obs your uncle good steering feel