Thread: S10 steering column question

Tweet

so my boss buys me this S10 and im stoked it needs some work (fenders doors bed then a drop) but right now i have a steering column issue. when i got it the part where the wheel tilts was loose (flopped up and down) and it had to stay up to run. well when i turn on my road the ignition turned with the wheel and hit the shifter and locked up. now its a pain in the arse to turn but it wil turn. can i repair just where it tilts or do i need a whole new steering column? and if i need a new one does it HAVE to be tilt? and how much of a pain is it?
thanks guys
steve

Some GM tilt columns seem to have this inherent problem of getting sloppy loose. I must have repaired dozens of them when I worked in a body shop years ago... Anyway, if you pull the steering wheel off, remove the "daisy wheel", and remove the turnsignal switch assembly, you will see the retainer piece that holds it all together. There will be 3 very long bolts that have worked loose and allowed the retainer and all the parts its supposed to hold to become loose. Unfortunately, you can only tighten 2 of the 3 bolts (you can't get a wrench on the 3rd one) and they will eventually work loose again and again. Loctite may help, but it sounds like yours may have been in this condition for quite a while and has worn some important parts beyond help. My advice would be to change the column. This is not a difficult job. There are either 3 or 4 bolts at the floor, two under the dashboard, the one holding the u-joint to the end of the shaft, and a couple of electrical plugs. No, it does not have to be a tilt. Get one out of the same type truck and it will bolt up / hook up the same way whether it is tilt or not. It should take you about an hour to switch them if you take your time.

Changing the entire column is a piece of cake. I just changed mine last week. All there is holding it are 2 dash nuts(15mm),4 firewall bolts(10mm) and 1 thru-bolt(15mm) (don't know tech.name) under the hood that connects the column to shaft. I went from non-tilt to tilt.I got lucky and found a good one at the wrecking yard with the key in it for $30.00. Easier than replacing the key cylinder. Just be careful to get one for the exact year of your truck.My truck is an 85 and the one I got I took out of an 88,not a exact replacement. The part that bolts to the firewall is made at a different angle and 2 of the bolt holes there are spaced different. But I can cut and weld great so no problem. Column angle,depth,is same.

ok thanks guys!