i'm not sure which board to put this under so i'm trying the general board, sorry if it's wrong.

Over the years my steering wheel has been getting more and more loose around the tilt mechanism...i searched the archives and found a post about a few simple bolts vibrating loose and a little lock-tight will fix 'em, so i borrowed a wheel puller, bought a lock plate puller and started pulling the wheel/column apart.

now the board archives dont mention my problem though, i've almost got down to the culprit, the 4 loose bolts, i can see them now, except i cant get the steering column housing off! it's attached via 2 "pivot pins", they're little circular plugs, on the right and left sides of the housing, with a thread hole in the middle. How do they come off? just pull out or screw out? my manual mentions needing a GM specialty tool, but napa has never heard of it and claims it dosent exist, a chevy dealer told me i'm looking at 400-500$+, and that the part is designed to release some sort of pressure (he might have been full of it), and the pontiac dealer told me they couldnt even fix it themselves.

All that's holding me back is these two 'pivot pins', i got a guy that has a tool that he made himself for them, he can fix it for 40$ 2 weekends from now....i know it's cheap but i'm so close to being done. Anyone know how these pins work and how i can get them off the column? It's on an '89 trans am with automatic transmission, tilt steering column. Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

 

IIRC the threads in the pins are 8-32... all you need is a screw that size to use as a handle, screw it in and push in on the column to take the spring tension off of the pins, and they pull right out.

 

Close, the screw as a handle idea will work just fine. But, you need to but a fat screwdriver in the round silver feller that the spring seats against, push in and release spring tension. Then pull the pins straight out. This will drop the top half of the column so you can get to the bolts you need. (just move the steering shaft around so you can get to the bolts) I beleive the bolts are inverted torx though.......

 

Hmm, i see what you guys are saying, sort off... that spring down at the bottom, i tried pushing it in and pulling the plugs out but no go, eventually from pushing it i must have turned it sideways cuz i released it, took the spring right out and set it on a table in the garage and still with 2 guys pulling the plugs are in there tight. Could it be cuz the cars 13 years old and it's probably never been taken off before? i just dont know what to do with this thing anymore, and i've loosened up by accident so many parts behind the housing that i cant get to with it on, the car wont be drivable till i get that thing off, even if i just gave up and put it all back together.

 

Yeah, the bolts will need a torx socket i.e. the bolts like like your normal torx driver. Sears hardware had the whole set of torx sockets for something like $15. I piked that up as a good future use tool set I honestly don't remember seperating the whole thing, but I don't really remember what I did lol, it was like 2 years ago...If vader happens to see this post, he has a really nice exploded diagram of the steering column, I have it too, and will see about posting it tomorrow for ya (I don't have it on this computer)

 

That could help alot man, anything i can get my hands on as far as whats going on with this dang thing, it's not the torx bolts i'm having the problem with though, cant get to those yet, it's these 2 dang immovable pivot pins that hold the housing on......*sigh*
Thanks though

 

RB is correct..it is a 8-32 thread. Some people have used a dent puller..the kind that has a threaded end.

Mac tools sells the proper tool for this:

PPR1000, Pivot Pin Remover $20.

After you see it once, you will know how to fab one up, and laugh.

 

Try this:

Get a long screw that will thread into the pin. get a nut and washer that will go on the screw. Thread the nut most of the way up the screw, and put the washer under the nut (it should end up between the nut and socket) Put the screw thru a socket that is larger than the pin. Use the nut to "tighten" it down against the socket, and then keep going, it will pull the pin. Works a lot like a gear puller. Get the Idea?

Hope this helps.

 

What ploegi said will work great, if you can find a long screw, I couldn't. I used a short screw and the claw end of a hammer to yank them out. I just when though this two week ago. Good luck.