I have a 87 Camaro with a steering shaft with tilt steering.

I have the replacement parts but I have to wait till it warms up. First it looks like the spring is what holds the top bearing together. That surprises me, I would expect it to be more adequate then that . Does the bearing just come out or do you need something to pull it out.
Thank you
Jon

 

The spring goes under the wheel lock plate, and helps hold the lock ring on. Not really directly concerned with the bearing.

Why are you doing this? Depending on what you're trying to fix, you may be working on the wrong thing.

 

Those bearings dont go south very much. Unless yours is missing. Is not the loose tilt steering, is it?

 

That spring is rather stout. It is there not only to hold the lock plate against the snap ring, but to also retain the bearing. Without the spring pressure, the bearing will not stay in place and the shaft will wobble around.

I really only mention this because several times I've seen where people "fixed" their column and couldn't get the snap ring back on, so they just ignore it and put the steering wheel back on.

 

Thanks for the response, it is much appreciated. Correct unless you over tighten the steering wheel nut, crushing the part that goes right under the spring. ( the part that is bottom right in the picture) that's what happened. Again is there any problem pulling the top bearing out , do you need something to get it out or does it just pop out, The steering wheel was tight , I was going to replace the steering wheel.

 

Say what? You can't over tighten the sterring wheel nut and crush anything.

 

Steering wheel will only go down to where the splines end, can't push it down and crush or bind the bearing. Don't get me wrong I've seen people that could tear up an anvil with a rubber hammer but I'd say there is some human error involved in the equation.

 

The bearing in the first post looks different than the OE piece. Maybe its just a generic pic.

 

what gets bent is not the actual bearing but the part on the right, it has to fit perfectly in the taper in side the bearing housing(second picture), if it doesn't when you tighten it down it will bend the arms on this part. and then wont allow you to tighten it down to put it in the needed geometry. Can anyone answer my question on what is needed to take the whole bearing off of the steering shaft.The inner bearing comes out(part with the roller bearings in it that is house in the rubber. ) but the outer part is the part I'm concerned about getting out. Do you need a special tool or does it just pop out.


so it will work.

 

I assure you, "over-tightening" the steering wheel nut did not cause any damage. If anything is out of place, you've got to take up the spring compression before anything will bottom. You can tighten the steering wheel nut enough to strip the threads (people have done it) and the steering wheel will not go on any further. Some ham-fisted mechanic trying to reinstall the lock plate without a compresion tool, sure, that can tear stuff up.

At any rate, there's no reason to replace the outer bearing race... it ain't doing 2500 rpm down the interstate. Just replace the bearing, install the inner race, then install the collar, then the spring, then the lock plate. Then compress the lock plate and install the snap ring. Then remove the lock plate compressor.

 

If your asking about the bearing in your pic. It just comes out, maybe with some needle nose plies, but no special tool required. As for the "roller bearing housed in the rubber", not sure what you're talking about there.

 

I'm assuming the carrier for the ball bearings. Which is some form of nylon, not rubber.

 

Thanks for the response , I was checking in case I needed a special tool to put the top bearing on the steering shaft . Here is the bearing in the rubber housing

 

Don't think I've ever seen the nylon type. Only the steel carrier version.

 

*Sigh*

It's not rubber, lol