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I removed the steering wheel assembly (at a friends house) and upon reinstall I broke the part below. I needed to drive the car home but noticed no difference. Untill I can source a new part, I'm wondering what is the function of this part. Anyone know what the part is called as it fits inside the steering assembly and It's not shown in the diagram below. The spring on #2 lower contact sits on this part in the #18 steering column assembly.
Thanks for the reply Easy Mike, jnb5101. I went to vendors like Ecklers and Wilcox and believe I found it under "Corvette Horn Contact Retainer".
Approximately 25% remained in the column and the horn does not sound so I'm lucky.
I'll add it to my parts order.
When that part gets old it gets brittle and will almost always break when taking the steering column apart . They cost around $13.00 so just best to have one on hand when starting to work on the column.
That plastic part is not shown in your blowups of the steering column. The big telescope spring that is part of #2 would be setting on this part in the steering column head.
This plastic insulator/retainer is a critical safety part. It serves two functions:
The first is that it prevents the c-clip from disengaging from the lower yoke steering shaft. If the c-clip is missing, the entire steering wheel, steering wheel hub, and upper steering shaft can be pulled completely out of the steering column (for instance as you are driving down the road!)
The other function is to provide a seat for the big telescope spring that is part of #2. Without this plastic insulator, the spring would ground against steering column metal parts and your horn would blow continuously.
Jim
Last edited by Jim Shea; Jun 18, 2016 at 09:45 AM.
What does this steering column part do?
