Jeb
Well-known member
Ok. My 87's tilt steering column wobbles up and down like a beer drinker at a Budweiser giveaway if it's in any position except straight out.
So, I do the due diligence route and scrounge up all the tech articles I can find to supplement my shop manual and think that I'm all set to carefully take it apart and tighten up at least 2 of the 4 bolts on the knuckle. I've even purchased a couple of tools to make the job easier and went all out and bought a fresh tube of threadlocker to apply to the threads on those pesky bolts.
All set, right?
Nope. Not even close.
I get the wheel off fairly easily (using the handy dandy wheel puller I had laying around from my racing days) and all is going fine.
Then disaster struck. Under the wheel, there are several washers, a rubber bushing, and a plastic plate which is listed as a "Retainer, Snap Ring Horn Cnct Carr" in my shop manual. I'm lifting this "Retainer, Snap Ring Horn Cnct Carr" off the shaft when it just disintegrates. The plastic has turned to powder and I'm left with several thousand minute parts of what used to be the "Retainer, Snap Ring Horn Cnct Carr".
OK, no big deal, right?
So I go on, deeper and deeper into the maze of crap calling itself a steering column assembly. All goes well until I reach the promised land and start looking for those 2 easily assessible (the other 2 aren't easy to get at) bolts which are supposed to have reverse Torx heads.
They aren't there! Instead, there are two standard head bolts, the presence of which tells me that I am not the first person to be doing what I'm doing. Anyway, I remove them, apply the Locktite and reinstall them.
I start putting the whole shebang back together and am breathing easier until I see that I have a small spring looking thing, about 1 inch long, left over. I have absolutely no idea where it came from. I didn't remove it when disassembling and I didn't see it fall out of a larger part.
No matter. Putting it aside, I complete the reassembly, which is a real bear with a telescoping wheel since the Lockplate Compressing tool won't work if there is already a bolt on the shaft to lock the shaft in place. Nevertheless, I summon the Old Lady and brief her on where the "Retainer" goes so that I can use both hands to compress the lockplate spring far enough to get the "Retainer" in place. Now, those of you who are married or otherwise hooked up with Ms Klutz's will understand why it took 10 minutes to point to a slot on the shaft and another 10 minutes to describe the action required to insert the "Retainer, Shaft Lk" into that slot but nevertheless, after bending my thumbs backward several times by pressing against the lockplate, my True Love. finally gets the "Retainer" into the slot and I think I'm good to go. I reinstall the steering wheel (which really looks good now that I've been able to refinish it with leather die and buff it out while it was off the car) and I'm now ready to re-attach the positive battery cable and see how things came out.
Has anyone ever been locked in a garage-sized room with a horn (Notes A and C) blaring?
OK, So maybe that's what that "Retainer, Snap Ring Horn Cnct Carr" was good for.
That little spring I mentioned eariler? I think it went to the High/Lo beam switch.
Anyway, I'm now resigned to finding a good used tilt/telescope intermediate steering shaft assembly (black in color) which will fit a '97 Vert. I really don't want to take mine apart again except to exchange the ignition key lock. If anyone has a line on one, I will be forever in your debt and, if pressed, I might even include the loan of my now-knowedgeable Old Lady if you ever need someone to insert the "Retainer, Shaft Lk" in your steering column while you press in on the lock plate.
Oh! Did I mention that the damned shaft still wobbles as badly as it did before I "repaired" it?
IOW, I'm looking for some big time help here.:cry
So, I do the due diligence route and scrounge up all the tech articles I can find to supplement my shop manual and think that I'm all set to carefully take it apart and tighten up at least 2 of the 4 bolts on the knuckle. I've even purchased a couple of tools to make the job easier and went all out and bought a fresh tube of threadlocker to apply to the threads on those pesky bolts.
All set, right?
Nope. Not even close.
I get the wheel off fairly easily (using the handy dandy wheel puller I had laying around from my racing days) and all is going fine.
Then disaster struck. Under the wheel, there are several washers, a rubber bushing, and a plastic plate which is listed as a "Retainer, Snap Ring Horn Cnct Carr" in my shop manual. I'm lifting this "Retainer, Snap Ring Horn Cnct Carr" off the shaft when it just disintegrates. The plastic has turned to powder and I'm left with several thousand minute parts of what used to be the "Retainer, Snap Ring Horn Cnct Carr".
OK, no big deal, right?
So I go on, deeper and deeper into the maze of crap calling itself a steering column assembly. All goes well until I reach the promised land and start looking for those 2 easily assessible (the other 2 aren't easy to get at) bolts which are supposed to have reverse Torx heads.
They aren't there! Instead, there are two standard head bolts, the presence of which tells me that I am not the first person to be doing what I'm doing. Anyway, I remove them, apply the Locktite and reinstall them.
I start putting the whole shebang back together and am breathing easier until I see that I have a small spring looking thing, about 1 inch long, left over. I have absolutely no idea where it came from. I didn't remove it when disassembling and I didn't see it fall out of a larger part.
No matter. Putting it aside, I complete the reassembly, which is a real bear with a telescoping wheel since the Lockplate Compressing tool won't work if there is already a bolt on the shaft to lock the shaft in place. Nevertheless, I summon the Old Lady and brief her on where the "Retainer" goes so that I can use both hands to compress the lockplate spring far enough to get the "Retainer" in place. Now, those of you who are married or otherwise hooked up with Ms Klutz's will understand why it took 10 minutes to point to a slot on the shaft and another 10 minutes to describe the action required to insert the "Retainer, Shaft Lk" into that slot but nevertheless, after bending my thumbs backward several times by pressing against the lockplate, my True Love. finally gets the "Retainer" into the slot and I think I'm good to go. I reinstall the steering wheel (which really looks good now that I've been able to refinish it with leather die and buff it out while it was off the car) and I'm now ready to re-attach the positive battery cable and see how things came out.
Has anyone ever been locked in a garage-sized room with a horn (Notes A and C) blaring?
OK, So maybe that's what that "Retainer, Snap Ring Horn Cnct Carr" was good for.
That little spring I mentioned eariler? I think it went to the High/Lo beam switch.
Anyway, I'm now resigned to finding a good used tilt/telescope intermediate steering shaft assembly (black in color) which will fit a '97 Vert. I really don't want to take mine apart again except to exchange the ignition key lock. If anyone has a line on one, I will be forever in your debt and, if pressed, I might even include the loan of my now-knowedgeable Old Lady if you ever need someone to insert the "Retainer, Shaft Lk" in your steering column while you press in on the lock plate.
Oh! Did I mention that the damned shaft still wobbles as badly as it did before I "repaired" it?
IOW, I'm looking for some big time help here.:cry
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