Steering Wheel Doesn't Lock
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,353
Likes: 44
From: Calgary Alberta
Steering Wheel Doesn't Lock
1970 4 speed, tilt tele. Horn wasn't working at column because of lack of continuity but I couldn't sort it out myself. Had Corvette shop in Calgary do the job. Horn now works perfectly, shop said it was a misalignment of the contacts in the column. After this repair though my steering wheel no longer locks like it is supposed to when shutting the car down and putting it in reverse. Sounds like it just misses the lock or something. If I put forward pressure on the wheel it will usually catch the lock (I don't do this as a matter of course, just to try to diagnose). I want to remedy this.
Can't go back to the shop because the car is on the east coast with me now.
Thoughts?
Can't go back to the shop because the car is on the east coast with me now.
Thoughts?
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 31,274
Likes: 4,366
From: Westminster Maryland
Hi B,
I'd disconnect the cable that runs from the steering column lever to the transmission and see if you can get the steering wheel to lock when you move the lever manually.
This should tell you if the problem is in the steering column or in the adjustment of the cable at the the transmissions reverse lever.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan
I'd disconnect the cable that runs from the steering column lever to the transmission and see if you can get the steering wheel to lock when you move the lever manually.
This should tell you if the problem is in the steering column or in the adjustment of the cable at the the transmissions reverse lever.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,294
Likes: 2,754
From: Charlotte NC
If your key comes out....the problem is not the cable/lever assembly Alan71 shows. The problem is internal in the column. It deals with the locking pin and lock plate. The plastic gear that is attached to the other side of your key switch can be damaged....or the locking plate is installed incorrectly and barely allowing the pin to catch....which is why it will catch when you push in on the column. Either way...I am sure it is an easy repair...but I would have to see it.
DUB
DUB
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,001
Likes: 113
From: Saginaw Michigan
If all they did was to adjust the horn contacts they really shouldn't have taken the column head apart to the point where they could cause the locking bolt not to engage.
But are you saying that you can press on the steering wheel and then the locking bolt will engage the toothed locking plate?
The bolt is spring loaded to lock the steering wheel. There is a complicated spring (called the grasshopper) spring that pushes the bolt to engage the locking plate. It is mechanically pulled back by the plastic sector to unlock the steering wheel. It could be possible that the locking bolt is corroded and does not smoothly extend to reach the locking plate or possibly the spring is broken.
Jim
But are you saying that you can press on the steering wheel and then the locking bolt will engage the toothed locking plate?
The bolt is spring loaded to lock the steering wheel. There is a complicated spring (called the grasshopper) spring that pushes the bolt to engage the locking plate. It is mechanically pulled back by the plastic sector to unlock the steering wheel. It could be possible that the locking bolt is corroded and does not smoothly extend to reach the locking plate or possibly the spring is broken.
Jim
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,353
Likes: 44
From: Calgary Alberta
Thanks guys.
Yes I can lean into the wheel with a little pressure straight forward and it will catch and hold fine. I've also yet to find any corrosion on the car anywhere, even the exhaust hanger nuts turned off with a wrench when I changed my system in the spring.
When I got the car back from the shop the wheel seemed a little looser overall on the column than before, though I didn't notice at first, if that helps.
Yes I can lean into the wheel with a little pressure straight forward and it will catch and hold fine. I've also yet to find any corrosion on the car anywhere, even the exhaust hanger nuts turned off with a wrench when I changed my system in the spring.
When I got the car back from the shop the wheel seemed a little looser overall on the column than before, though I didn't notice at first, if that helps.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,001
Likes: 113
From: Saginaw Michigan
If the steering wheel and/or steering shaft can be moved around after your shop worked on it, I think that they put it back together incorrectly. My first guess is that the locking plate is on the steering shaft upside down. Note the raised hub on the locking plate is facing toward the driver.
The following is a blowup of the steering wheel and horn system in a 1977-82 Corvette. The steering wheel may be a bit different but all the other hardware is the same. Upper horn contact #7 is the part that you are mentioning that was repaired/replaced. Nothing in this blowup should make the steering wheel loose.
The following is a blowup of a 1969-76 Corvette T&T steering column. All parts are below the steering wheel and inside the column head. Parts (#1 through #11) are in the order that they assemble into the actual T&T steering column.
Hope that this helps,
Jim
The following is a blowup of the steering wheel and horn system in a 1977-82 Corvette. The steering wheel may be a bit different but all the other hardware is the same. Upper horn contact #7 is the part that you are mentioning that was repaired/replaced. Nothing in this blowup should make the steering wheel loose.
The following is a blowup of a 1969-76 Corvette T&T steering column. All parts are below the steering wheel and inside the column head. Parts (#1 through #11) are in the order that they assemble into the actual T&T steering column.
Hope that this helps,
Jim
Last edited by Jim Shea; Oct 19, 2013 at 09:50 PM.
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Race Director
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,294
Likes: 2,754
From: Charlotte NC
No need to be nervous...."WE" here at the forum can and will guide you through it. BUT...you will NEED to get or rent or borrow a "steering wheel hub remove" and a "lock plate suppressor".. AND high chances are you will need to replace the plastic insulator that clips over the C-clip that the illustration is showing. They shatter many times due to being brittle due to age.
DUB
DUB
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,123
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From: Gladstone MO
C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods) 2019
Sorry DUB- not picking on you at all. Correctly, it's a Lock Plate Compressor. If you look a the pictures Mr. Shea posted above, there is a U shaped tool with a threaded rod thru the middle. That's it. Under the lock plate, there is a short, but very stout spring. The compressor pushes it down so you can remove the C-clip on a tilt & telescopic column or the snap ring on a non telescopic column.
Really, steering columns are not that difficult. They take some patience, some time, and an orderly thought process to both tear down and reassemble. Go slow, lay the parts out in the order they were removed, and follow Mr. Shea's papers. Can't miss.
I would suggest not doing them like I do and tossing everything into a cup and digging out the part you want to put it back together. But I've been doing them since the late 1960's too.
Really, steering columns are not that difficult. They take some patience, some time, and an orderly thought process to both tear down and reassemble. Go slow, lay the parts out in the order they were removed, and follow Mr. Shea's papers. Can't miss.
I would suggest not doing them like I do and tossing everything into a cup and digging out the part you want to put it back together. But I've been doing them since the late 1960's too.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 251
Likes: 33
I made my own lock plate compressor tool, very easy to do. I used 1/4" (thick) X 1 1/4" (Wide) X 3 1/2" (long) bar stock, drilled a 3/4" hole in the middle of the bar, then drilled two 5/16" holes 2 1/4" apart centered on the 3/4" hole. I then used (2) 1/4" X 20 bolts 1 3/8" long with nuts to form my pressure posts (you can use any 1/4" X 20 length bolt 1 3/8" or longer, just need 4 nuts to adjust the lenght). Take this fixture and place it so the steering column sticks through the center hole, the bolt posts face the lock plate, then use the steering wheel hub nut to tighten the fixture down against the lock plate to compress the lock plate spring. Use a small screw driver to pry the circ-clip ring up out of the grove. Slowly unscrew the steering wheel hub nut to release the pressure of the lock plate spring. Remove the fixture, lock clip, lock plate and spring and go from there. Reverse the sequence to compress the lock plate spring and clip the lock plate back into position. When reassembling don't forget to first place the circ-clip onto the steering column before placing the spring compressor tool. Hope this is a help to someone. Lots of luck, Russ.
6th Gear
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 6
Likes: 5
If your key comes out....the problem is not the cable/lever assembly Alan71 shows. The problem is internal in the column. It deals with the locking pin and lock plate. The plastic gear that is attached to the other side of your key switch can be damaged....or the locking plate is installed incorrectly and barely allowing the pin to catch....which is why it will catch when you push in on the column. Either way...I am sure it is an easy repair...but I would have to see it.
DUB
DUB
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