Has anyone ever had the steering wheel like pop out a half and inch and start to tilt a little in every direction? lol I was driving and as soon as I pulled out of my parking lot I realized the wheel was pivoting a little in every direction. Anyone know what I should do to fix it?

 

get the tilt pivot pin removal tool ,the locking plate removal tool, steering wheel puller. misc screw drivers and torx drivers, I think inverted torx sockets and have at it. there are 4 inverted torx bolts that come loose aver time (seems common with cars where people use the tilt often)

I am sure there is a write up around here if you really want the details


or replace the whole colum assembly with a salvage yard one

 

sounds like the tilt bolts inside the column are loose. common GM problem.

its a lil bit of a PITA to get to them, but not too bad.

 

think this might be a good time to just go ahead and install an aftermarket wheel? I was considering getting one, I was just putting it off.

 

May as well replace the wheel while its all apart if you want an aftermarket one.

 

ok, well, is it ok to be riding around with the wheel loose, because I would have to take it home in order to fix it, and I want to make sure this thing isn't going to come off in the middle of me driving down the road lol

 

That would be cool to have a nascar style disconnecting steering wheel, just wouldnt be fun to find that out at 80mph lol

 

occasionally (only occasionaly) when i get out of my car now, i use the steering wheel for support usually and sometimes it makes a horrible ratcheting noise and comes down

ive never been in there to see the parts everyone is always talking about, but would the loose bolts cause that also? cos otherwise its tight, maybe the lever is messed up..

 

dr1 - i would say the tilt mechanism that locks it has worn out causing it to skip down, but just like you havent had a thirdgen column apart yet so im not sure of all the componentry.

 

my steering wheel doesnt move up or to the sides, but if i push straight forward on the top half of it, it will tilt forward a bit, inch or two. the tilt works fine, can put the wheel whereever i want it, but then itll tilt up from that position. doesnt stay, goes back to normal, so i dont really worry about it, but it could get ugly if i ever had to corner while braking hard.

 

Mine did that, the fix is take the wheel, lockplate, ignition tumbler, etc. out and take a 3/16s socket on a 1/4 drive with a fairly long extension and tighten the tilt bowl screws up. You can only get to 3 of the 4! The 4th will eventually end up on the floor board.

 

I work at a pontiac dealer so Ive done one or two of these in my time I always tear the column down to get all four bolts, remove them one at a time and put loctite on them and run them back in tightly and then theres no more problems with them backing out.

 

Mine did that and I found out the pivot pin on the left side fell out onto the floor! I popped it back in and smacked it in with a 12" ratchet extension and a hammer, but it still falls out every few months. This is on a 1991 steering column, so I don't know if it would apply to you.

 

next time you put it back in, take a small punch and hit the aluminum just to the side of it. so you push a very small amout of aluminum over it. that is all it takes to keep it in there.