I was attempting the famous steering column fix and pushed a little bit down on the column shaft and it seems to have gotten worse. The bearings seem to not be tight as they were. Will the thing all snug up when I put it back on ? I havent taken any turn signals off or anything yet as I am now bummed that it is even worse than before. Here is where I am at. I got a few more pics at the firewall as well. The column shaft seems to be clean at the firewall. Did it slip( I moved it this much?) Now what? Help! Thanx in advance.

 

That shaft is held in place by that tight spring you've already taken off. The spring preloads its bearings.

Keep going, you've got a ways to go before you get to the infamous loose screws.

 

Thank You I'm feeling better. But still freakin out searching ebay! LOL ! I'm afraid of taking out the rest of the stuff, wipers, hazzards, turn signals etc. But You think I'm doing good so far huh? Lotsa stuff in there. A big fix. Almost would rather have replaced it. Any tips? Also I didn't think and put the lock plate depresser on the sir senor coil when I first got the wheel off and depressed it a little. Heard a little snap but I dont think I broke anything. Kinda scared to put it back on and worried after all this if the airbag will deploy when I put it all back. Thanx again

 

I been afraid to go any farther on this fix! The hazzards, turn signals and lock cylinder whatevere else in there has me intimadated ! I don't wanna mess it up. I have a spare column from a my 86 Z that I just swapped out a few weeks ago for the same reason. It seemed easier to just change it. The bad news is I took it all apart to practice the fix and screwed it all and now have lotsa pieces! LOL. I see the famous loose bolts though ! One was even missing on this spare column. Here are a few pics. These are the bolts We're all looking for!