hi,.i might pick up a clean 90 conv.the only thing that concerns me is the steering column.there is a lot of play in the column.the actual steering is ok.the owner says that many c4's have this problem because people pull on the steering wheel to get out of vehicle and over time they develope this sideway looseness.anybody know if this is true.thanks

 

Yes, this is true!
I have an 89 and there is a little play in the wheel. The C-4 is not easy to get out of for alot of people. Probably most c-4's have this play unless they have been fixed. There are bearing kits avail. for these cars and I don't believe they are expensive. I hear there is some work involved however. I don't have enough play in mine to bother with yet.
Others can inform you what is involved!

 

My bro's '87 had a slight up/down play in the column, and after he's had it for a few years, it became a bigger problem. He yanks on the steering wheel to get in and out, . Anyway, the four bolts that holds it all together deep down in the steering column were either worn or broken off. Took about $200 for our mechanic to fix. Mostly labor charge.

 

This repair can be done by anyone competent with hand tools. If there is an airbag then disabling it before removing the wheel is necessary. As mentioned, the usual cause is the four bolts that hold the lower hub to the column tube. When these loosen there is considerable wobble in the wheel. Another cause is the plastic universal type joint that allows the column to tilt, if this breaks there is similar wheel looseness. Here's a couple of links that go into the column looseness repair. I didn't thoroughly read the first link since the link I had to another site isn't available anymore. As mentioned in the links the airbag will have to be dealt with. I'm sure you can find the info if you did a search either on this forum or if you search the web. If you go to the top of this forum and click the "other" drop down menu and then click "tech tips" then click on C4, you'll find an article on fixing the loose column including disabling the airbag. As with anything, thoroughly research this step including searching the web for additional info is really necessary. This is one of the most important steps in getting started. The second link is from an El Camino website. It's probably similar to the first link but everyone does things a little different. From both sites you should be able to determine if this is something you want to do. Good Luck.

Art

http://www.geocities.com/luckyducky_...ing_column.pdf

http://elcaminocentral.com/article95.html