I have started to notice my steering wheel can be pulled down about 1/2" from it's locked position. This can happen while I'm driving, as well as sitting still. I have never noticed this before but am somewhat concerned since I will be driving at Sebring on the 19th. Does this have something to do with the tilt mechanism? If so, can it be fixed?

Thanks,

Mike

 

If it is the same as the previous years - the torx bolts that are down inside the steering column are loose. You need to remove the steering wheel - lock plate- blinker assembly - then if I remember right you have to undo the spring. The bolts should be visible.

 

not necessarily. When those torx bolts get loose, the column is physically loose and it has play. I think what he's describing is the same situation I'm facing with my steering column, which I think is because the white metal has stretched because the previous owner used the steering wheel as a monkey bar for getting in and out of the car. The column will stay put and doesn't have play, but if you apply some force, you can push it down a little bit.


[Modified by Jim85IROC, 4:59 PM 4/1/2003]

 

do you push on the wheel when you get in or out?

 

I do not push on the wheel when I get in or out of the car.

When I start the car, I can push down on the wheel, and both the wheel and the column move down (the wheel more so than the column). They do not move side to side, however...

Mike

Edit: I just spoke to my brother-in-law who owns a shop in Northern, Va. He says it is definitely the column-lock, and the 4 torx screws need to be tightened down. He says it is pretty tricky so I might take it in and have it done professionally.


[Modified by luvmy92, 5:21 PM 4/1/2003]

 

Use locktight on the bolts. :cheers:

 

I hope your brother in law is correct..if it turns out he is, let me know where you had it fixed and what it cost...mine has been that way since I bought the car and the estimate I got was to rebuild the column for $800.00... :eek: ..good luck

Dan

 

It can be the torx bolts - there are three in the mid-column, and four in the lower column. The mid-column ones are difficult to get to, the ones in the lower column are a serious pain in the tuckus to get to.

Also, the white metal yoke stretches and wallows out at the pivot pins. If that is case, then the lower column will have to be bushed or replaced.

I just finished rebuilding my column. The car was out of action for five weeks because I am slow, careful, lazy, and could only work on weekends.


[Modified by Matt Black, 8:05 PM 4/1/2003]

 

I had the torx bolts tightened right after I bought my 90 in June. In November I had the entire tilt replaced, both pieces, $1052. Good Luck :steering:

 

The bolts in my GTA's column loosened up and the behavior wasn't anything like how my vette's column is behaving. When the bolts loosen up, the column is loose and floppy. You can jiggle it in any direction. If it's tight side to side, and requires pressure to flex it up and down, it's not likely to be the bolts. It's much more likely to be that white metal fatiguing.

 

What Jim said - when the bolts are loose, the whole wheel moves around. When the yoke stretches, you get a definite down-and-left pull due to the way the lock notches and the spring work together.

I rebuilt my '93 automatic using a column out of a parted-out '96 manual.

If you go this route, there are some notes to remember -

The '92-'93 columns are shorter than the '94-'96 columns. This is because the '92-'93 cars used a bulkier airbag canister, and had a deeper steering wheel. The wheel+column overall length is the same, but mixing the two causes things to shift.

Putting a '92-'93 wheel on a '94-'96 column moves the wheel closer to the driver, like it telescoped. This was not a bad thing for me, but it also makes you reach for the turn signal lever.

Putting a '94-'96 wheel on a '92-'93 car makes the wheel further away from the driver.

The columns for the manual cars and the automatic cars are different. The automatic cars have a 'cable backdrive' mechanism that keeps you from pulling the key while the car is in gear.

You can put the column from a manual car into an automatic car, but the keylock feature will no longer work.

You cannot put the column from an automatic car into a manual car unless you completely dissassemble the automatic column down to the lower core and remove the cable backdrive mechanism.

The airbag coils are different part numbers for '92-'93 and '94-'96, and you can't use one in the other - the connectors are different. Whichever column you have, you'll have to use your old coil in the new column if you're mixing years.

The graphics on the '94-up cars are white. The graphics on the '92-'93 cars are orange. The (more sturdy, better-looking) turn signal lever on the '94-up cars will work on a '92-'93 car, but will look odd and lose you NCRS points. Same for the hazard light button.

Hmm...I'm going to submit these notes as a tech tip!

[EDIT]

Tech Tipped for C4's. I also about doubled what I wrote here. I remembered a lot more little detail. Check the C4 tech tips in a few days.

The salvage core cost me $300. Then I spent another $7 on the horn button I broke, and $13 for the pivot pin puller tool, and $7 for the lock plate compressor tool, and $10 for a set of snap ring pliers, and $6 for a steering wheel puller...but now I can do this. A new skill! :D


[Modified by Matt Black, 11:16 PM 4/1/2003]

 

Mine got fixed ... for $600 :banghead:

 

Mike,

You need to get the tilt rebuilt. If it gets bad enough, your turn signal and high beam switch stops working, not to mention the wheel tilting down when you are in the middle of a run! I just had mine done at Pohanka. If I were you, I would find a GM mechanic down there to do it.

Andrej

 

Its called tilt steering........ :p: :jester

I bet on the 4 column bolts are coming loose.....is the wheel usually in your lap and driven by your knee? I had this happen to me a while back on my "other" car.

Kitt

 

Andrej,

How much did it run you? BTW, thanks for all the good advice, guys...

Mike