I need a little help with this...
The steering column on my 88 Trans Am is broken in one form or another and I have no idea what's wrong with it. It's "loose". Everything still works on it, but it is able to be moved up and down, and side to side. It has sagged down slightly. I would like to know if this is an easy fix or if I should just replace the whole column. If it's an easy fix, please let me know where I can find the parts for it and how expensive it will be.

Thanx to everyone who can help.

 

this is a pita....you basicly have to tear it down past the turn signal cam.....there are three bolts..they are loose

 

He's right. Basically, you need a steering wheel puller, and a lock plate compressor, your screw driver's to move the turn signal cancel-cam out of the way and then down deep underneath there are four bolts that need tightened. You'll only be able to see and tighten three of them, they are a torx head bolt but a six point nutdriver will work to tighten them, and will probably fit better than anything to get to them also. The thing is, you'd either better have a good memory do tear it down enough to do all this,or have someone there who's done it before and has the tools such as the nutdrivers/lock plate compressor. Now here's the deal Devil Dog, if you go to the auto-hobby shop on base they might have the tools and the know-how to talk you through it or help you out if you hit a snag, otherwise if you're not confident in yourself or if you don't have someone there who's done it before then your best bet would be to take it to a gm shop or something and have them do it. I don't know how much it would cost but for someone who has the tools and knows what he's doing it shouldn't take very long. Take care now,
Sgt. Vink, Innactive Reserve

 

Its not THAT difficult. There are two things that it could be, the 4 bolts deep inside the column are loose, or the two pivot pins on the sides are backing out.
If its the bolts, they may be inverted torx, or they may be 7mm hex. On all my 91's they've been 7mm hex. I had loose columns on two of my 91's, one was the bolts, the other was the pins. If you have a GM shop manual or one of the better chiltons you should have an exploded view of the steering column. Study it for about 5 minutes. The images are so bad it won't really make sense till you get the column open. Basically the only specialized tools you'll need are a steering wheel puller, a lock plate compressor, a T20 wrench, and maybe a pivot pin puller. You want to remove the steering wheel, remove the lock plate cover, the lock plate, the turn signal cancel cam, the turn signal lever, the turn signal switch itself, the lock cylinder, and the tilt adjustment ****, then the upper column cover should come off and you should be able to see the pivot pins on each side. If they're sticking out at all they're loose. If you want to stop here and see if thats your problem, use a hammer and a punch to tap the pins in till they're seated, they'll be in a bit farther than flush. If that doesn't do it you need to go a couple steps further. You'll have to remove the tilt tensioning spring, and the pivot pins, etc etc etc till you can get at the four bolts, then tighten them till they're tight. Be carefull cause they strip easily. Then its just a matter of reassembly. This is where the manual comes in, look at each piece carefully and reassemble. I'm sure I've left some parts out, but you'll be able to fumble your way thru it. I wouldn't suggest having the dealer do this for you unless you want to spend $150. An experianced mechanic might do it on the side for you for less than $50.


Also if you like your interior, lay down a large towel (beach towel) on the passengers seat and floor so you have a place to lay greasy parts. Its also not something you want to do wearing your sunday best.

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Drew
predatorman@hotmail.com
83 Camaro 5.0L *1995-98*
87 Iroc 5.7L
91 Formula 5.7L 14.3@98mph
91 RS Convertible 5.0L
91 Firebird 3.1L 17.00@82mph *Gtech*
92 S10 2.8L
98 Grand Am GT 3100
Parts for sale

[This message has been edited by Drew (edited December 10, 2001).]

 

Drew is right..itisnt THAT hard. The first time, it can be confusing, but after a couple of times...I can tighten the whole column in one hour.

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1989 IROC-Z 5.7L
NOS 5151 150HP kit
ProBuilt 700R4, PI Vigilante 2800 stall lockup
Baer Brakes 12" Sport System