97 Tahoe Steering EVO Sensor

Has anyone ever changed the Steering EVO sensor on a 97 or 98 Tahoe? I am wondering what all needs to be taken apart. Do you have to disconnect anything with the airbag? How do you disable the airbag? Do you have to pull the steering wheel off? The steering sensor gives you artificial feel in the wheel at higher speeds. I was going to let the stealer change mine but when I went in there to have it done, the service manager told me my truck didn't have one. I went back to the parts counter and bought one and took it out to him and explained to him that, yes they do have one and this is what it looks like. He didn't like that too much. They want to charge you $120 to change this. The sensor itself cost $75 so I thought I would try and change it myself.

Any ideas would be very helpful.
Thanks

Thanks for all the replies.... Oh wait...
Anyway it actually turns out this sensor is easier to change than I thought. Take out the one bolt at the top of the intermediate shaft. Push the intermediate shaft down a little bit pop off the sensor, put the new one on put bolt back in. Steers like a new truck again. I was worried about the airbag for some reason. You can disconnect the battery on the 97 without upsetting your radio so I did. That disables the airbag I guess.

what did your tahoe feel like before you changed your sensor. i might have the same problem on my 99 tahoe. it feels like it wants to jerk you towards the ditch at about 35 mph.

My steering was doing that as well. Mainly when i was in a slight curve or maybe changing lanes. It would have a little jump in whatever direction I was turning the wheel. Not always though. Just sometimes. Little freaky sometimes. Anyway steering is back to normal now. No more problems with it doing that since i changed that sensor. The GM tech that told me how to change it actually asked me if that was one of the symtoms. When I told yes it was, he was like change the sensor and you'll be good.

I have a 99 suburban, old body style. I had to change the EVO. Thanks for your information it was HELPFUL! The Airbag was a problem though it does need to be disabled. I called a friend who works at GM dealership, but it is easy to disable. Disconnect battery and wait about 1 hour before starting, be smarter then ME I am short be sure to move seat back before disconnecting battery! You have to wait an hour because the computer in the car holds a charge anywhere from 30 minutes to 50 minutes to be safe wait 60 minutes. This disables the airbag. Apparently there is a sensor in the steering column close to the firewall and when changing the sensor there is a chance you may "bump" the sensor and cause the airbag to deploy. According to my pal there is something like only 1 in 7 chance but it isn't that hard to disconnect the battery and my luck isn't that good.

Where exactly is this sensor? I think this is my problem too !!! Do you get this sensor only from the dealer?

I just had mine changed at the dealership... Total bil $225.... They also told me that my Idler Arm and Pitman Arm is loose and needs to be taken care of... Have you heard of these things... To get these fixed is is going to be to the tune of $650....

I just had mine changed at the dealership... Total bil $225.... They also told me that my Idler Arm and Pitman Arm is loose and needs to be taken care of... Have you heard of these things... To get these fixed is is going to be to the tune of $650....

They are parts of the steering system. That sounds like a dealership qoute. Unless you prefer a dealeship, I would get some other estimates from reputable repair centers.

I just had mine changed at the dealership... Total bil $225.... They also told me that my Idler Arm and Pitman Arm is loose and needs to be taken care of... Have you heard of these things... To get these fixed is is going to be to the tune of $650....


change the idler and pitman arms yourself and save the dough, get urself a pitman arm puller and disconnect the steering box from the truck but be very careful not to move the box too much and you should be able to get the puller in there, the idler arm is cake to do.

change the idler and pitman arms yourself and save the dough, get urself a pitman arm puller and disconnect the steering box from the truck but be very careful not to move the box too much and you should be able to get the puller in there, the idler arm is cake to do.


i just bought a evo sensor, when i would turn to tha right about 1:00, it would pull a little and then go back to normal, i bought it from jupiter chevy for $60, it took about 30 mins to change. under the sterring colum, it's a bolt, u pull tha bolt and 4 bolts that holds tha steering wheel and it's a lil bracket, pull it off and the sensor's in there. oh, don't for get to disconnect tha battery, or tha air bag could deploy.

i just bought a evo sensor, when i would turn to tha right about 1:00, it would pull a little and then go back to normal, i bought it from jupiter chevy for $60, it took about 30 mins to change. under the sterring colum, it's a bolt, u pull tha bolt and 4 bolts that holds tha steering wheel and it's a lil bracket, pull it off and the sensor's in there. oh, don't for get to disconnect tha battery, or tha air bag could deploy.


hey guys, before i changed my sensor, i did all of this too, only i did it myself, its easier than u think. tha idler, pitman, and idler arm bracket assy, none of that fixed it, then i changed tha sensor, so far, great!!!!!!!!!!!! TAHOEMAN1999

what exactly does this sensor look like and is it definatley on a 97 tahoe?

The sensor is on your '97
http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/
GM PART # 26064468
PACK QTY: 1
GM LIST: $64.75
OUR PRICE: $36.91
DESCRIPTION: SENSOR

1. Remove the bolt and nut (15mm deep socket) that connects the bottom of the steering column to the intermediate shaft that passes through the firewall. (You may need to turn your wheel to lock to access the nut. Might be wise to make an alignment mark on the shaft)

2. Slide the intermediate shaft towards the firewall. It may feel fairly stiff but it will go.

3. Once the shaft is out of the way, pry out the 3 little plastic tabs that hold the sensor in place and slide the sensor out of the housing.

4. Unplug the wire harness on the old sensor and remove the sensor

5. Plug in the new sensor BEFORE you pop it into place. Trust me on this one!

6. Pop the new sensor into place with the wires at the top. One sidenote here: I found no reference marks, slots, or keys anywhere so I am not sure if it matters how it is aligned. The wires need to be on the top or they won't reach.

7. Reconnect the steering shaft.

The sensor is on your '97
http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/
GM PART # 26064468
PACK QTY: 1
GM LIST: $64.75
OUR PRICE: $36.91
DESCRIPTION: SENSOR
thank
1. Remove the bolt and nut (15mm deep socket) that connects the bottom of the steering column to the intermediate shaft that passes through the firewall. (You may need to turn your wheel to lock to access the nut. Might be wise to make an alignment mark on the shaft)

2. Slide the intermediate shaft towards the firewall. It may feel fairly stiff but it will go.

3. Once the shaft is out of the way, pry out the 3 little plastic tabs that hold the sensor in place and slide the sensor out of the housing.

4. Unplug the wire harness on the old sensor and remove the sensor

5. Plug in the new sensor BEFORE you pop it into place. Trust me on this one!

6. Pop the new sensor into place with the wires at the top. One sidenote here: I found no reference marks, slots, or keys anywhere so I am not sure if it matters how it is aligned. The wires need to be on the top or they won't reach.

7. Reconnect the steering shaft.
thank you very much for this info i have the same problem with my 1998 chevy z71 pete

thank you very much for this info i have the same problem with my 1998 chevy z71 pete

well i changed mine about 1 hr. ago it was a piece of cake i undone the battery let sit for about 1 hr. rmoved the bolt 15 mil wrench and slid the bottom shaft down and there it was let you know f\how it drives in a few days ..........................................pete

What's the correct name for the EVO? What's the part number? Does anyone other than the dealer carry it?

1999 Tahoe

RockAuto.com has the EVO sensor for about $34 including shipping, that's about 50% reduction from the dealers. I have a 97 Tahoe and I've had the steering problem since new, just not very bad and not all the time, but lately, when cold or bad weather, it seems to act up more often and more sever. This site has been very helpful in figuring out what the heck could cause this, Thanks for posting your issues and solutions, I'll let you know how mine turns out.

Has anyone ever changed the Steering EVO sensor on a 97 or 98 Tahoe? I am wondering what all needs to be taken apart. Do you have to disconnect anything with the airbag? How do you disable the airbag? Do you have to pull the steering wheel off? The steering sensor gives you artificial feel in the wheel at higher speeds. I was going to let the stealer change mine but when I went in there to have it done, the service manager told me my truck didn't have one. I went back to the parts counter and bought one and took it out to him and explained to him that, yes they do have one and this is what it looks like. He didn't like that too much. They want to charge you $120 to change this. The sensor itself cost $75 so I thought I would try and change it myself.

Any ideas would be very helpful.
ThanksI also had same problem on 98 siveraldo, I purchased one at NAPA auto parts for about 40 bucks. Truck drove alot better.

From what I understand via my internet search this sensor causes your power steering to work differently under differing driving conditions (speed, turning, braking). When the sensor goes bad you get the symptoms we have been experiencing.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj317/IRCutman/103_1924.jpg
Someone suggested unplugging the sensor and driving. If the slip goes away it is the sensor, slip remains = loose front end parts. I unplugged mine and, in fact, the slipping did go away.
I just replaced mine after finding it was a common problem. $88 from the dealer.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj317/IRCutman/103_1926.jpg
There is a total of 8 nuts/bolts to be removed to free up the column. I would try to remove the nut/bolt from the couple and see if it slides off before worrying about the dropping the column. Some say they were able to remove it without messing with the column.

I was about 3/4 short on being able to just slide the coupler off the shaft. Took me about 45 min to find all the nuts and bolts to loosen the column. Once the column was loose I was able to slide everything apart easily.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj317/IRCutman/103_1927.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj317/IRCutman/103_1929.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj317/IRCutman/103_1930.jpg

Once all this was loose the coupler slid off the shaft. The actual sensor sits inside the grey housing. The clip you can see in the above (with housing) picture needs released and there is a second on the upper side. Slide the sensor off the shaft and replace with the new one.
This job took me about an hour and a half. To do it again I would guess an hour. This fix took care of all my steering problems. I also didn't realize the loose feeling driving straight at higher speeds was a problem. I just thought that was how the rig drove. After replacing the sensor the "slip steer" is gone and the steering is much tighter over all.
Hope this helps.
Rob

Nice pictures Cutman. I still have my 97 Tahoe and will be replacing this sensor for the second time. The first time back in 04, my truck had 60k miles. Now it has 140k miles on it and it needs to be replaced again. My wife drives it occasionally and I she is complaining that the steering is feeling flaky again. I still remember the first time I changed it arguing with a service manager at a dealership. He kept telling me there wasn't one on this truck. This is an easy fix though for anyone willing to crawl under the dash.

Tried this once before....no post..? So....here goes.... I saw a post talking about disconnecting the sensor to determine whether it was the culprit or it was the front end components.....what if you just disconnect the EVO and don't replace it? Would you have issues with that or would it just revert to a standard power steering feel?
Bob

Tried this once before....no post..? So....here goes.... I saw a post talking about disconnecting the sensor to determine whether it was the culprit or it was the front end components.....what if you just disconnect the EVO and don't replace it? Would you have issues with that or would it just revert to a standard power steering feel?
Bob


when you disconnect the sensor to insure it is the problem see if the steering effort is to your liking. If not replace.

Thanks....I'll check that out and see if replacing is needed.

I disconnected mine and the problem went away. That was how I felt confident that it was my problem. A much easier fix than costly, time consuming suspension/steering issues that I originally suspected. Changed the sensor and no more issues. Actually, improved the handling.