My entire suspension and steering has all been replaced already (rag joint, steering box, centerlink, idler arm, tie rods and adjusters), I just took my car in for a front end alignment and I got a call back from the alignment shop and he told me the whole tilt steering is loose and he can't do an alignment until its fixed. IMO the wheel is not as bad as how most people say theirs are on here that they can pull their steering wheel in all directions and its all wobbly..

The only issue I noticed is If I grip the wheel and pull down, the steering wheel would pull down without pulling back the tilt lever and just go back up to its position when you let go.. This never really bothered me that much.. Anyway he said he could fix it so I said fine, and he got in there and called back and said he was able to tighten 3 of the bolts but couldnt get to one bolt, and that the ball bearings were all worn out and I need a new column before he can do the alignment? Is this true or can these bearings be replaced? What's the tilt column have to do with an alignment?

The steering has this annoying looseness to it for a while now, and that's why I went through the trouble of replacing all the steering components even 2 steering boxes and it's still loose. When I say looseness I mean in the actual turning of the steering and not the wheel moving around.. Do these bearings effect the steering?

 

I'm thinking he tightened the first set of bolts...he'll have to go deeper to get the the next set of three to get the wobble out.

You can do it yourself, you'll need a lockplate depresser, and a another tool (or make your own) to knock/pull the side pins out.

I've not done a 3rdgen column, but am guessing it's like most GM tilt columns I've had apart.

 

There really isn't any "wobble" in my column. It's just the steering wheel can be pulled down if you tug down on it.. It never effected my daily driving or was even noticeable unless you pulled.. As far as doing it myself, I'd prefer not to mess with all those little parts myself, as well as messing with the airbag and stuff..

 

That's right, forgot you had the airbag...smart move.

 

Yeah I'm not sure how stable those things are especially being from '91

 

Slayer6669 here is the answer to your problem. Both my cars
have the tilt a wheel turned whobble a wheel. The car can be aligned regardless. Go to a good shop. If your're keeping the car even after your funeral get the lifetime alignment from
Firestone. Now you need to get your hands on the February 2005 issue of Camaro Peformers magazine and the complete how-to is there including what NOT to do.