Steering column has slight amount of movement only in side to side movement. No movement in the up or down movement. I've been told there are 3 bolts that can be re torqued to hopefully fix this. I have the factory shop manual but cant seem to locate anything about fixing this problem. Also if I do have to take the column apart any danger in the airbag going off. I 've heard bad things about messing with the column. I appreciate any help on this...vehicle 1996 Lt4 6 sp.....thanx....G

 

you will have to take the column down to reach the three screws. Depending on mileage, the tilt pins may need to be replaced.

Also, the airbag isn't all that bad. Just remove the fuse, disconnect the battery and remove it.

 

Dunno about the 96s but are they all the same from 84-96? My steering wheel kinda moves side to side too and makes a cracking noise sometimes when done.

 

I, too, have the "down-and-to-the-left" thing going on. Frankly, that column is the only thing that's intimidating me. (The airbag was nothin', as all the guys here on the Forum told me.)

I wonder if we couldn't get a few guys together at someplace like Contemporary Corvette and pay Gordon Killebrew to come give us a hands-on class in making that repair. I'm sure somebody would be willing to host the thing for a nominal fee and, perhaps, the agreement to sell us the necessary parts for that particular repair.

It would cost a few bucks BUT, I think doing it that way would accomplish two things: 1) teach enough of us the right way to do it and pass the information along and, 2) assure us the freedom from worry over how that shop-monkey is treating our cars.

(Last time I had a shop work on my Vette, the guy was using my bare windshield for a tool tray.)

Ya'll think we could drum up the interest? If so, I'd be happy to birddog it.

 

I'm in the midst of my year long quest to complete this repair but have recently been spurred on by the fact that my new truck (king ranch f-250) won't fit in the garage until I move some stuff around and I can't move the stuff around until I can move the Corvette and the Corvette's column is torn apart right now.

Pulling the column apart to get to the tilt knuckle isn't difficult. There are a number of how to articles out there. Just take your time and all will be good. The second time I took it apart I had it down to the knuckle in less than 1.5 hours. The airbag is simpe, to deal with, just follow the instructions in the manual. Disconnect everything and walk away for an hour if it really makes you that nervous but it's really not that big a deal. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll be happy to answer them.

The problem is if the upper and lower housings are worn from the pivot pins. That was my problem and caused a long delay while I hemmed and hawed about ordering parts. Then you have top pull the steering shaft to get out the lower housting. Here is where I have run into a problem since the steering shaft bearing spring retainer is impossible to remove without destroying it and is no longer available from GM. It's a slip on style retainer that looks like an internal star lock washer. Does anyone have any ideas for an alternate source?

Sauce

 

How much were the upper and lower housings?
I just posted this in the forum.
http://domesticmisfits.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=124

 

I've got the loose steering column problem on my 93 also. It pulls down and to the left as described in an earlier post. I'm sure its the tilt pins and or housing. I just bought a column from a 94 on E-bay. According to the description it is tight. I'm tryng to figure out whether I should just swap the columns or use the parts from the new column to fix the existing column. Stripping the new column for parts would let me learn how to take the column apart before I start on the existing column in the car. The 90 to 93 columns are the same. The 94 has a different part number. Any body know what the difference is? Any advice would be appreciated.

Larry

 

Steve40th that has got to be one of the best detailed fixes I have seen. Anyone looking to do this repair check it out....thanx....G

 

YES!! Very well done.

 

I want to say I paid around $200 for both parts. Call Chris May at Superior Chevrolet and you'll get a good price and only pay actual shipping charges. You can reach superior at 1-800-509-2881.

I'd say that tech tip leaves out a couple of tricks. Like if you're going to put the same turn signal switch back in the car you can disconnect the little black wire that helms tells you to pull from the connector. It's just a ground that screws into the top left side of the steering column. You can see it if you drop the column down a little. That way you can mess with the connector out of the car. Also, the only real tough part is snaking the turn signal connector in and out of the column. Also, be careful when reinstalling the tilt spring because if you score the bore, then the cap can hang up and cause a huge amount of grief while you mash on it with a screwdriver, tearing up the cap and wearing yourself out.

I'll put up a website with complete repair info and pics when I'm done.

Sauce

 

The length of the column changed. I belive in '94 they went to a thinner airbag design so the column was lengthened to put the wheel at the same location.

Sauce