Steering column bearing

[Jon Woolf]

Aaargh! Went to replace the wiper switch on my '88 Blazer, tilt column.... came apart OK, but wait! What is this! The unhappy sight/sound of loose ball bearings down inside the damn thing. I have had to hand the job off to a mechanic- NOT a Chevy mechanic. None of them here in New Zealand. SO- we cannot see how to pull that bearing and replace it. He is concerned that if he pulls the whole shroud and column, it will mess with the gearshift selection stuff. There are also a collection of little springy things down in there just waiting to ping off around the garage, never to be seen again. HELP! Is it possible to R & R that bearing without pulling the column? If you do pull the column, is it a big drama to reattach? How is the bearing fitted into the column??


Do I really need a car this bad?????

An email would be appreciated, [email protected]

 

[readymix]

I have had a few come apart on me before. Never found a part number for new ones though.
One time I was able to re-assemble the bearing in the stupid nylon race and it worked fine. The other column I ended up using some parts from the plumbing section at the hardware store to get it back together. It worked fine too, but I am sure it would not last as long.

The easiest way would be to pull the whole column out of the truck and r/r the whole thing.