While I was tighten the bolts in the steering column the bearings started to fall out. Are these replaceable? Or do I have to go to a junk yards and get another steering column?

 

they are avalible through gm

 

unless chevy has changed it, you can't get just the bearings, they come in what is called a rack service kit.
the last one i got was around $45.00 a couple of years ago.

 

Yeah it does come in a rack kit, GM in my town is charging $60 but GM direct is charging $30. But they said the bearings have to be pressed in to the tilt assembly is this true?? Dose this mean I’m going to have to remove the tilt assembly? And if I have to how do I remove it with out cutting wires??

Oh yeah the part number for the rack kit is 7844651

 

yes, the tilt assembly does have to come out, the bearing are pressed in.
you will need to pull all of the wiring in the column out to get the tilt assembly out, turn signals, VATS, wiper switch & cruise control. its not too big of a deal to do, just go slow & watch where & how everything comes off. take some pics if you have a camera.
make sure you put the bearings in the right way, odds are if you put them in backwards they'll come apart when you remove them.

 

I know this was a while ago but i have been preoccupied with the engine rebuild until now.

I'm having trouble getting the wires through the black sleeve they all run through. I got a wire that goes to the turn signal switch out. Now I’m trying to get the 2 wires that go to the lock cylinder and the connector under the dash is stuck in the black sleeve. I know it’s because of the bracket that holds up the steering column. Even further up is a plastic shroud just under the tilt assembly and it looks like an even tighter fit and I don’t see how I can get this connector out with out breaking that shroud. This is one of the smallest connectors there are 2 big ones that look like they wont even fit in the black sleeve. What am I doing wrong? Am I going to have to lower the steering column? If I do that what about the plastic shroud?

 

you may have a different type of sleeve than this, if you do let me know.
if you have one like in this picture, the sleeve can be pulled down.

first unhook the wiring connectors from any brackets they may be hooked to, next squeeze the end together & then slid it down.
at this point you should be able to pull the connectors through with out too much trouble.

if you save this pic to your computer & open it with windows picture & fax viewer, you can zoom in for better detail.

 

This is what I have. The first picture shows the end of it, and the seconded shows how far the sleeve goes up.

 

its been quite a while sense the last time i seen that type of sleeve.

i believe you will need pull that bracket completely off, first loosen the 4 bolts holding it to the column. you need to hold the column up for this next part, its not heavy so you can do it with 1 hand while you remove the 2 nuts, once you get the nuts off you can let the column hang down, it won't hurt anything unless you have an in dash gear indicator. now pull the 4 bolts out, with the bracket off, the sleeve should for the most part be hanging free now, look closely at it & look for an opening. if there is not an opening, you will need to cut it open down one side. the connectors should come out of the column now, the big ones will need to be turned a certain way to come out & go back in.

if you have to cut the sleeve open, reuse it by putting the wires back in it & then wrap some electrical tape around the it, it doesn't need to be tight, the wires need to be able to move around in the sleeve.

 

Wow, once I took off that bracket the rest was easy. It had the opening all the way down it. However I have 2 more questions and I hope I wont have any more. The first question is about putting the bearings back in. One side of the metal has a lip, do I put them in so the lips are closest to each other? That’s how they were on mine.

When I went to the GM parts store they had a part explosion diagram of the steering column and I thought that would be a good thing to have for assembly. Does anyone have that diagram?

Now DENN_SHAH you have helped me so much with this. With out you I would have been very lost. THANK YOU!!!! For all the help!

 

the same way they came out, they go in with the lips closest to each other.
that way the side that has the ball bearings most exposed is facing out.

this is the best exploded view i have, its a column for a standard trans.


no problem, good luck