Loose steering wheel at the tilt point!

[RENO88]

My truck has had this problem since day one. I did the search and learned that there are 4 bolts below the blinker assembly. Also learned that it requires a u shaped tool, and a puller. I understand that this is a common problem on trucks. Damn people havent learned NOT to pull on the wheel to get in..
Is this going to be difficult? How long did it take for you to do it? Also, do I NEED this tool? Try to give a breif step by step on this as the search landed me some basic answers. Im thinking it would'nt be a good thing if it falls off while driving. Thanx in advance.

 

[Tabb]

My truck has had this problem since day one. I did the search and learned that there are 4 bolts below the blinker assembly. Also learned that it requires a u shaped tool, and a puller. I understand that this is a common problem on trucks. Damn people havent learned NOT to pull on the wheel to get in..
Is this going to be difficult? How long did it take for you to do it? Also, do I NEED this tool? Try to give a breif step by step on this as the search landed me some basic answers. Im thinking it would'nt be a good thing if it falls off while driving. Thanx in advance.

I tightend the 4 torx bolts in my column a few years back you need a puller and lock plate tool and I can't remember what else. This might help.
www.coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198595&highlight=loose+tilt+steering

 

[ryoken]

puller yes, lockplate tool, I strongly suggest.. It can be done without it, if you have 3 hands!

pretty simple, little time consuming.. just take your time and be sure of how it came apart.. be careful tightening the blinker arm back to the turn signal actuator, easy to strip that..

and do yourself a favor and locktite those torx screws...

 

[RENO88]

What amount of time are we talking here?

 

[ryoken]

for a noob, could be 2 to 4 hrs I'd guess... especially if ya dont have the lockplate tool.. Know what your doing with the right tools, an hr or less...

 

[RENO88]

Ok, thanks for the replies I'll have to buy that tool, and just do it to it.

 

[ryoken]

both tools can be had for cheap iirc..

 

[4X4HIGH]

What amount of time are we talking here?

I can tear the column apart and fix the loose torx screws and back together in just under 45 minutes.

To make life easier you'll need, steering wheel puller, lock plate tool, and a pivot pin puller.

 

[ccso503]

I had to replace mine a week ago and the pics of doing it looked harder than actually doing the job. I went to Autozone and got their loaner tools: Steering Wheel puller, lock plate remover, and I had to go to O reileys to buy a pivit pin removal tool and it was around $10.00.

Here are some links that I used to help me out the first time I did it.

http://www.chevyasylum.com/column/tiltcol.html
http://buickperformance.com/tiltsteeringcolumnwobble.htm

 

[Russell]

That was the very first repair I ever did on my truck, and I've had to do it on every tilt equipped vehicle I've had since, lol

Takes about 30 minutes to tear it apart, threadlock the torx bits, and re-assmble

 

[RENO88]

Well. a fried of mine helped me fix it today. I gotta say that I'm glad his help was there. We tore everything down, placed lock tite on the torx,(which were loose, not even threaded)! I would'a still been cursing and throwing tools all over. It made a huge difference in feel! Its like driving another truck almost! On to the next set of problems..

 

[rgrdad]

I just did this repair on my '86. Took me about 4 hours working VERY SLOW to make sure I didn't mess it up. Took a little while to get the bolts tightened up...it seemed like the threads were stripped then it finally grabbed. I also fixed my horn issue while I was in there, and readjusted the shift indicator so that it reads correctly in OD.