Steering Column Loose 1995

baron1701 · #1 12-19-2005, 10:19 AM

I HAVE HAD AN ISSUE SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO WITH AN EXCESIVE AMOUNT OF PLAY AT THE WHEEL. FOR A LONG TIME I THOUGHT IT WAS ONE OF THE COLUMN UNIVERSALS. I DID MY STRUTS (162,500 miles) AND WOULD LIKE TO FINISH THE CAR OFF BY FIXING THIS LAST PROBLEM. I LOOKED INTO OTHER THREADS AND FOUND POSSIBLE ANSWERS RELATING TO 'PINS' THAT ALIGNED THE COLUMN TO THE MOUNT.

I AM BY NO MEANS NEW TO MY AURORA AND I DO HAVE THE SHOP MANUALS. THE MANUAL DOESN'T SHOW CLEARLY ANY PINS THAT DO THIS. BEFORE I TEAR DOWN THE SHROUDS I WANTED TO KNOW IF ANYONE HAS PERFORMED THIS FIX. ALSO ANY IDEA WHAT TO LOOK FOR? THE MOST DETAILED DESCRIPTION WASN'T THAT GREAT. I THINK IT'LL PROBABLY BE OBVIOUS WHERE THEY ARE, BUT I DONT HAVE A LOT OF TIME WITH THE HOLIDAY AND ALL. IF ANYONE CAN THROW ME A DESCRIPTION OR EVEN A STEP BY STEP, I WOULD BE THANKFULL.

ALSO, THE BOTTOM COLUMN SHROUD HAS A SMALL HEX SCREW TOWARD THE BACK THAT IS TO DEEP FOR MY SMALL SOCKET. I COULDN'T FIND A NUT DRIVER THAT SMALL. I AM AT WORK RIGHT NOW AND NOT BY THE CAR, BUT IF ANYONE REMEMBERS HOW TO PULL THAT ONE OUT I COULD USE ADVISE. HOPEFULLY THIS ' PIN ' SITUATION IS THE CASE AND I DONT NEED TO R&R THE WHOLE COLUMN.

scuba dave · #2 12-19-2005, 09:06 PM

I had the same thing. One of my pins was out and was lucky enough to find it in the plastic covering under the steering wheeel and the other was almost out. You have to take the plastic cowling off the wheel and then move the wheel up and down until you see where it is pivioting and then push them back in. The hardest part is having the right tools to get the cowling off. They use some deep sockets that are very small and there is a few of them, took me about 2 hours but I look at things for awhile and then make a move, look some more, move some more ect...... My wheel is now like new. Hope this helps.

baron1701 · #3 12-20-2005, 07:52 AM

I hope I am so lucky. Thank you.

beachlover333 · #4 12-22-2005, 04:28 AM

You'll need a reverse torx socket for the cowl bolts. But even better is a deep , I think 5mm, socket. And getting the cowl off is not easy. More importantly when you get to those nasty pins, you can push them back in place easy enough, but there is nothing to really keep them from moving back out again. It appears the dealers just count on a bit of the aluminum pounded in a bit to hold it. So I took a long handle screwdriver and just tapped a bit of the aluminum in three places also....hope this helps....

parts68 · #5 01-28-2006, 09:10 AM

just had mine done a stealership
$853
lucky I had extended warranty which ended this week
I also found a pin under the dash
they removed entire colum and replaced the "housing"
which was a $400 part.
Next time I know where to look as I will be fixing it myself
unless its in the next year or so(GM parts warranty).

update its going back to them this week,new column only has 3 detent positions and
skips over the other 3.
Why dont they check this stuff out FIRST?

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachlover333

You'll need a reverse torx socket for the cowl bolts. But even better is a deep , I think 5mm, socket. And getting the cowl off is not easy. More importantly when you get to those nasty pins, you can push them back in place easy enough, but there is nothing to really keep them from moving back out again. It appears the dealers just count on a bit of the aluminum pounded in a bit to hold it. So I took a long handle screwdriver and just tapped a bit of the aluminum in three places also....hope this helps....

lynzoid · #6 09-10-2006, 11:15 PM

took cowling off my 95 with very loose wheel.
cannot see any 'pins'.
There's like 2 round shiny pieces of metal on both outer sides of pivot/play points, with holes in them.
no pins around.can anyone pm me pls for help.thanx

lynzoid · #7 09-11-2006, 07:53 PM

actually i see now, that them metal things ARE pivot pins. they are seated good, but i have loads of play in wheel in that point.
as i rereading this thread i now see point about pounding in bits of aluminium.
my mechanic told me i can use flattened copper wire with even better results.
so just fill the tiny gap around pins with it ?

baron1701 · #8 09-12-2006, 11:27 AM

I Wonder How Much The 'stealer' Would Charge For Replacing Just One Pin. I'd Bet They Would Charge A Half Hour And Tell You To Replace The Column.

lynzoid · #9 09-12-2006, 11:31 AM

im in moscow, russia, and 1 hour of work on rora cost only 25-30 bucks.
really, wonky wheel ruining rora as luxury sedane....
any advises more ?

baron1701 · #10 09-12-2006, 12:11 PM

Labor Rate In Massachusetts Is About $77-$98 An Hour At The Dealership.

lynzoid · #11 09-29-2006, 09:25 PM

Just wanter to say, today my loose right pin 'worked' itself out by half, resulting in not just loose, but 'alien' steering wheel right as i got to parking lot near home. Regardless of late night, i took both covers off in 2 mins (i got proper extension now to pop off top cover right away), felt pin half out, took it out, cleaned thoroughly with degreaser, put a 1 round of thin electric tape around pin, and first pushed it in (gone halfway back), then took long extender with small bit attached, which fit into pin's hole, and used small hammer to smack it back in.
Result - steering wheel is a rock solid now, pivot positions are fixed hard now.

I AM HAPPY !
Free fix.

baron1701 · #12 10-02-2006, 10:27 AM

With The Engineering That Went Into The Rest Of The Car I Would Have Thought The Gm Guys Could Have Thought Of A Better System
.

winrock · #13 10-04-2006, 04:47 PM

i dont know about great engineering,, the car seems to a study in contrast,, some good engineering and some disasters.. I sure dont think the battery in the backseat is good engineering,, kind of like a last minute "oh, we have no room for a battery"

ghutchin · #14 10-06-2006, 09:58 AM

BMW put's their batteries in the back seat. It is a much better place for the battery, besides helping to redistribute the weight of the car more evenly the battery undergoes much less wear due to changes in temperature. Batteries are extremely sensitive to temperature. Putting the battery inside the car extends its life. Its a good thing.

Sweet William · #15 10-15-2006, 12:09 PM

I had the pin on the right side come out. The wheel was loose when I bought the car and I didn't worry about it. A few months later my wipers started blowing the fuse when I turned them on, but not when the lever was pushed up for a single swipe. I was not looking forward to tracking that one down.
Decided to start in the column. Turns out that the pin was only halfway out and had worn a little whole in the covering for one wires for the wipers. Pushed it back in the hole and used a hammer and prick punch to stake around the outside of the hole. Everything all good.

Wish I could fix the blown head gasket on my '95 so easily!

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