Loose tilt steering

[Guest sintid58]

I have been driving my dads 73 Electra and the tilt wheel is loose. It moves up and down and side to side. How can we tighten this. Thanks in advance

[rocketraider]

It will involve some disassembly of the column. Remove steering wheel, lockplate and turn signal switch, and you will see four screws buried deep in the column that hold the upper and lower sections together. These screws often work loose and cause the condition you describe. They're about an inch long. Some years use a 1/4" socket, later ones use torx-head sockets to tighten them. You may have to use a wobble extension to get at some of them (one of the BEST tools ever invented and Sears has 'em, I strongly recommend owning them).

[Philippe Racicot]

The same thing once happened to me and I decided to replace the whole column wich is sometimes easier (if you can find one). Dont wait too long to fix that cause it could become dangerous. The steering might lock as it happened to someone I know. The ignition switch could also go on and off while driving.

[NTX5467]

What I call "The Thunderbird Syndrome" (remember the T-bird steering columns that move sideways to allow for easier entry and exit, but only in Park, from the early '60s?) is a somewhat common GM tilt steering wheel issue with time and age.

Tightening the bolts/screws mentioned is the fix, but you'll need to disassemble the column below the tilt portion of the column, very possibly. This isn't a simple operation and requires some special tools and/or someone that's been there before. In some cases, you might be able to get to the screws/bolts wtih a long extension, but my sources tell me that is somewhat rare and taking the tilt joint apart is usually the quickest way to do it.

You will most probably discover, upon disassembly, that the pot metal casting that the screws go through is cracked out on the upper edge--where it's pretty thin. When the tilt lever is activated and the upper column area pops up, it appears that this area of the casting takes that force. Ther is a pretty strong spring on the lower side of the column that pops the column upward when the tilt lever is activated too, which must be removed. Dealing with those deals down there is pretty simple, but does require some particular tools and expertise that requires "knowing what you're looking at" to deal with.

Getting the upper lock plate off is pretty easy. Don't forget about the spring wire retainer that seats against the lock plate! If you loose it, you can fabricate another one from a paper clip or buy a new one from GM as they fit pretty much every GM column of that type. There is also a strong spring under the lock plate that requires the special tool to compress and remove or coordinate your feet and hand activities--the tool is much easier and is available at most auto supplies.

Most large metro areas have specialized GM steering column repair shops. Of course, you could also take it to the dealer.

When you get the column apart, it would also be a good time to put some lube on the bearings in the upper steering column housing where the shaft comes through. Plus inspect the plastic gear that runs the ignition switch "rack" in the column for wear. Everytime you turn the ignition key, those things ignition cylinder related items move quite a bit and might need a new dab of grease.

On reassembly, make sure none of the little ball bearings in the upper housing bearings get dislodged or if you replace the bearings that you get all of the old races out of the column. ALSO, when you disassemble the tilt joint make absolutely sure you get the upper shaft in the previous orientation to the bottom shaft (note the location of the "master spline" on the upper shaft!) as of it is put in "out of sync" the turn signals will not cancel when they should.

Reassembly of the upper to lower shafts at the tilt joint, with them being 180 degrees out, will result in the steering wheel being installed upside down. The lock plate at the top of the steering wheel also determines the orientatin of the horn contact (which must index with the steering wheel exactly for the horn contact's intermediate parts to line up). On the back tube of the turn signal circular horn contact (under the lock plate) are the tabs that cancel the turn signals at the appropriate time. Therefore, if the upper shaft is not put on as it needs to be, not only will the steering wheel be upside down the turn signals will not cancel automatically as they previously did.

Dealing with the upper portion of the column where the turn signal switch is is pretty straight forward and only requires the lock plate tool and other common hand tools, but to me, getting past that point could be best left to those who've done it before.

Just some thoughts and reminders of side issues on that deal . . .

NTX5467