s 10 steering column

[cj091184]

Hey yall, I got a 96 s 10 with a 2.2 5speed manual. the guy that i bought it from v'd the front end on a telephone pole. I replaced the front end with a 98-03 and it looks great. however the steering column moves around and I had to replace the hazzard switch anyway cause it got broken off. so I got it all apart and the column mount furthest from the firewall is about 2-3 inches away from the mounting clips, "like the column slid twards the fire wall". with the lock plate removed the shaft will slide into the inside of the steering column, not sure how far as I did'nt let it go inside. If i push the whole thing up towards were its suppossed to sit the hazzard switch hits the piece of the dash under the gauges. so it seems like the column needs to be pulled out towards the driver seat, But it will not move. I was reading somthing about collapsable steering columns but it was not very detailed, would this have anything to do with it, how could I fix this, or would I be looking at getting another column from the junk yard. Also its just a straight column, no tilt or telescope. thanks

[cj091184]

ok, figured it out, I removed the steering column and then striped it down and removed the head/aluminum piece.so the steel column is all that I had, this consist of three parts, the bottom steel piece and the top steel piece, their is also a plastic sleeve that goes inside inbetween the two steel pieces wich you can't really see untill you get them apart, "wich is not easy". the plastic sleeve has small ball bearings in it wich get pinched inbetween the two steel parts and allows the column to "collapse when your body impacts it in the event of an accedent, "this is also the reason that the top column mounts are v shaped, is to allow it to slide twards the firewall if it collapses. so once you get it all apart take the two steel pieces and set them back in place in the truck, mark them with a marker or whatever you got, then take them out and slide the plastic sleeve with the ball bearings into the bigger half of the column, it will fall into it and about a half inch will stick out cause the ball bearings will catchit, then slide the other half of the column into the sleeve, it will begin to become tight, poud it together with a hammer using somthing to avoid damge to the metal, pound it in untill it meets the marked line wich you previously made, remember you can always pound it in more, so set it in place once or twice to get it just right, once you have it fitting again reattach all the pieces to the column that you removed.


remeber you should only have to do this if the steering wheel is impacted, like in an accident or if you try to remove the steering wheel with a hammer, if this needs to be done THE WHOLE COLUMN WILL MOVE AROUND, AND THE TWO SETS OF COLUMN MOUNTS WILL NOT LINE UP. if your steering wheel is loose but the steel part of the column does not move you only need to tighten the four bolts wich attach the aluminum head to the steel pieces of the column "wich you will have to remove almost everyhing to gain access to.

[16th hippy]

in that situation, i would have replacd the column. glad you found a way to reassemble it, but once something like that collapses, i think it would be better to just replace it. maybe my mind is kinda wierd, but it's like re-packing an airbag and leaving it in the car...lol.

[cj091184]

your kind of right, a dealership would not reassemble the column, but i'm more "If it can break you can fix it" cause if you think about it, if you had the right tool and skill "or if your crazy" you probably could repack an air bag, but i would'nt even try that, lol.

[16th hippy]

on most things i am the same way, but a few things i am a bit picky about.