1997 Riviera Steering Column

[Pat Curran]

I need a steering column for a 1997 Riv. The unit is no longer offered by GM and the local junk yard did a national search with no results. Are all steering columns for the 1995-1999 interchangeable or is the unit specific to a 1997? Also, would a unit from a first generation Olds Aurora fit? Any help or leads would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[RivNut]

If you need a column because yours has some lateral movement in it, that can be fixed. I had to have the same thing done to my '95. Before I bought it, that was one of the things I'd been advised to look at. I don't know what was done to fix it, but the shop that does the work on those kinds of things was able to do it for me.

Ed

[Pat Curran]

If you need a column because yours has some lateral movement in it, that can be fixed. I had to have the same thing done to my '95. Before I bought it, that was one of the things I'd been advised to look at. I don't know what was done to fix it, but the shop that does the work on those kinds of things was able to do it for me.

Ed

Thanks Ed! Lateral movement indeed.................this thing reminds me of the swing away steering wheels in the old Thunderbird's!!! I took it to the Buick dealer and the part that is needed to fix the issue is unavailable. I was willing to buy a whole column just to get the part. The dealer has the thing all apart. The car has 193,000 miles on it but runs like a top, still looks good and I don't wan't to junk it. It got to the point where there was so much play in the column that it was no longer safe to drive. Can you send me information on the shop that did the work? I would like to contact them to see if they have any spare parts. Thanks again!

Pat

[Pat Curran]

Thanks Ed! Lateral movement indeed.................this thing reminds me of the swing away steering wheels in the old Thunderbird's!!! I took it to the Buick dealer and the part that is needed to fix the issue is unavailable. I was willing to buy a whole column just to get the part. The dealer has the thing all apart. The car has 193,000 miles on it but runs like a top, still looks good and I don't wan't to junk it. It got to the point where there was so much play in the column that it was no longer safe to drive. Can you send me information on the shop that did the work? I would like to contact them to see if they have any spare parts. Thanks again!

Pat

Update..............just found out that the upper column is what I need and the part is interchangeable between 97-99 Riv's and Aurora's.

[DAVES89]

Go to www.car-part.com and look for the column you need. There are a bunch listed there.

[Pat Curran]

Go to www.car-part.com and look for the column you need. There are a bunch listed there.

Thank you!!

[RivNut]

When I get back into town on Monday, I'll ask Tim what he did to fix the column in my '95. I think he did it without any replacement parts.

Ed

[Pat Curran]

When I get back into town on Monday, I'll ask Tim what he did to fix the column in my '95. I think he did it without any replacement parts.

Ed

Thanks Ed!

[Rivman]

I have had a few of these apart, anywhere from a small amount of play to wobbling a good 4"-6" side to side. A small amount seems to be kind of normal, very small, if it moves around 1" side to side it means the "pin" has come out, and if it moves a great deal the column support has broken. The support is pot metal and the pin is steel so obviously the pot metal will be the first thing to let go. In the parts manual I have it is part number 26039534, but as Pat states it is no longer available. From what I have found out it is very labor intensive to change the support itself.

I have re-installed the pin before and "staked" it into the support as it says in the service manual, the staking is the only thing that holds it in from the factory, which has worked most of the time. One of them that I did that way came out again and I tried the stake AND added some JB weld on it to keep it in place. That seemed to fix that one so far. On the RivPerformance forum there was someone that “made” a slightly larger pin, so it was a tighter fit, and fixed theirs that way. To do that you would have to have access to a machine shop to make the larger pin.

I had a local man contact me about one with lots of play and I found the support broken. He had taken it someplace that was afraid of it when there was smoke coming from the column. What I found was someone had done a shady repair previously, screwed a piece of sheet metal onto the side of the lower support, put a hole in it for the pin, and let it go! What happened was the sheet metal was cutting through the wires and causing it to short out inside the column, and the sheet metal was no longer holding the pin in place either. His was a '95 and he got a column from a '97 and it fit fine. The column is the same for all of them but some of the electronics are not, the multi-function switch fits '95-'96 and '97-'99. You have to be careful to “clock” the SIR coil properly, not that big a deal just something to keep in mind. I was able to repair the wires on his switch and use it, installed the column, and it was good to go when he left with it. I think he sold it shortly after so I don’t know for certain how that one worked out.

I’ll attach a few pictures of what NOT to do to repair your steering column, and what the broken part looks like.

[Pat Curran]

I have had a few of these apart, anywhere from a small amount of play to wobbling a good 4"-6" side to side. A small amount seems to be kind of normal, very small, if it moves around 1" side to side it means the "pin" has come out, and if it moves a great deal the column support has broken. The support is pot metal and the pin is steel so obviously the pot metal will be the first thing to let go. In the parts manual I have it is part number 26039534, but as Pat states it is no longer available. From what I have found out it is very labor intensive to change the support itself.

I have re-installed the pin before and "staked" it into the support as it says in the service manual, the staking is the only thing that holds it in from the factory, which has worked most of the time. One of them that I did that way came out again and I tried the stake AND added some JB weld on it to keep it in place. That seemed to fix that one so far. On the RivPerformance forum there was someone that “made” a slightly larger pin, so it was a tighter fit, and fixed theirs that way. To do that you would have to have access to a machine shop to make the larger pin.

I had a local man contact me about one with lots of play and I found the support broken. He had taken it someplace that was afraid of it when there was smoke coming from the column. What I found was someone had done a shady repair previously, screwed a piece of sheet metal onto the side of the lower support, put a hole in it for the pin, and let it go! What happened was the sheet metal was cutting through the wires and causing it to short out inside the column, and the sheet metal was no longer holding the pin in place either. His was a '95 and he got a column from a '97 and it fit fine. The column is the same for all of them but some of the electronics are not, the multi-function switch fits '95-'96 and '97-'99. You have to be careful to “clock” the SIR coil properly, not that big a deal just something to keep in mind. I was able to repair the wires on his switch and use it, installed the column, and it was good to go when he left with it. I think he sold it shortly after so I don’t know for certain how that one worked out.

I’ll attach a few pictures of what NOT to do to repair your steering column, and what the broken part looks like.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]295411[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]295412[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]295413[/ATTACH]

Thanks Randall. The support is broken on mine. I located a 97 Aurora in a yard in Durham and I am going to see if the column is still good. I have been told that the Aurora column is the same as the Rivs of the same years.

Pat Curran

[1965rivgs]

http://oemcats.com/oem-parts/26039534.html