rattling clicking in steering column

[evildragon]

When driving and on a road that is slightly "bumpy", or the engines vibration is frequent enough, there's this rattling clicking sound coming from the steering column.

You know that "click" you hear when in park and you hit the break, so it lets the shifter move? It sounds like that, but very fast from vibration. I assume it's possibly the same part? It's coming from that spot.

How do I fix this? It's rather annoying when driving with the radio off to hear my new GPS.

[silicon212]

Sounds like the bearings in the column have failed. These are ball bearings and if one ball falls out of the race, you get this 'click'.

[evildragon]

How hard is that to replace? Better yet, how much?

Just spent money on this car to finally fix it. It'll suck if now something else has failed..

[Sunbound85]

Originally Posted by evildragon

How hard is that to replace? Better yet, how much?

Just spent money on this car to finally fix it. It'll suck if now something else has failed..

If the problem is trully bothersome, you could try replacing your column with one from a scrapyard... Shouldn't cost too much I imagine; and it is not that difficult to do. I did it on my box when some hex bolts deep in the mechanism came loose and caused the whole thing to wobble about. You loosen 2 large bolts that mount the column to the dash, then some sheetmetal screws on the floor (under the carpet) and a through bolt where the steering shaft attaches to the steering gear box. Disconnect the gear shift linkage and unplug the wiring harness clip (midway between floor and the steering wheel), then it should slide out without too much effort. I am not sure of some of the differences between the 80's Caprice and the 90's model - concerning Airbags and other miscellaneous connections, but it was straight forward for me and fixed the problem. Oh, remember to adjust the shift linkage when you're done so that P = Park, etc.

[PeteA216]

If it's that easy, I might hop over to a junkyard and get myself a column with tilt steering :-)

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by PeteA216

If it's that easy, I might hop over to a junkyard and get myself a column with tilt steering :-)

It is that easy, but make sure your junkyard column doesn't have the same problem!

[PeteA216]

Now I thought I remember a thread here saying the wobbly column was something repairable.

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by PeteA216

Now I thought I remember a thread here saying the wobbly column was something repairable.

It is. I know that I've posted on here at least twice how to fix that. 4 bolts come loose at the extreme rear of the 'visible' portion of the steering column, requiring complete disassembly.

Loctite is the cure!

[PeteA216]

What made you decide to replace the whole column if the existing column could be repaired?

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by PeteA216

What made you decide to replace the whole column if the existing column could be repaired?

I didn't replace a column in my car because the tilt was loose. When I replaced a column in my old Grand Am, it's because the bearings were toast and it was just as cheap to get another column. This was also back before I knew how to disassemble a column.

[Blue Bowtie]

You may also have a problem with the lower bearing on the column:



They're not that difficult to remove.