so i was using the instruction posted on our site here and i got it all tightened up and then i can get it back together and a bunch of little bearings fell out of the piece im trying ot get back on im really lost and cant figure this out i really really need some help if theres anyone who lives in WA close to kent please let me know i really could use some help i shouldnt have gotten into this without help so now i screwed up i need help BAD!!

 

help please i cant get this

 

What exactly is the problem? Dont know where the ball bearings go?

Use some white or similar grease (doesnt need to be heavy duty) to hold them in place. They go, if I remember, into the collar that has the lock cylinder, etc. You should have enough of them to have a gap of where 1 or 2 more might fit, but thats about it.

 

I know what you are talking about, but I haven't actually had to fix that.

Here's what I would do. There's a bearing "seal" below the lock plate tensioning spring. On mine it's a little brass lookin ring with a lip that faces the shaft. Kinda like what's in the inside of a plumbing compression fitting.
_ _
/_____\ The side of it looks kinda like this.

If you haven't already, remove it.

Now you should see a little plastic bearing race. I think it should be red. The purpose of this is to hold the bearings in place against the shaft. There may be some bearings left in it. Carefully remove the race and try not to loose any bearing ***** down the column. A magnet may help prevent the loss of bearings.

Now try to find all of the bearing *****. If there are any that have fallen down the column, try one of those telescopic magnetic wands. The kind used to retrieve stuff from behind a work bench. If that doesn't work, I would leave them in there. I don't know the long term affects of leaving forign matter in a steering column, so you may want to find out before you just leave them in there.

Now, get some white grease. If you dont have any, I might try axle grease, but that may cause damage later on. I would try to find the right stuff.

Take the ball bearings and grease them up. You want to get enough grease on them so that they become sticky.

Now, begin to place the greased ***** into the race. This will take some time, finesse, and patience. Once you have them all in CAREFULLY place the race/bearings over the shaft. Try to seat it in the same position on the shaft as it was.

Replace the seal and apply some gentle pressure to make sure that everything in on right. Then you should be good to go. Put everything back the way you took it off.

You will probably need a tool the compress the lock plate so you can replace the snap ring. That part can be a royal PITA.

Hope this works for you. If not, you can just replace the entire column. You should be able to get one from a junk yard or Ebay. It isn't that hard so you might want to do that instead of trying to fix it.

If you have VATS and SIR and decide to replace the entire column. DO YOUR RESEARCH. You want to do it right the first time.

If you can't find enough of the bearing *****, let me know. I have some from an old column disaster that I will give you.

Best of luck,
TheCob