[Kamel]

I have a '94 chevy astro (I think stats are in my sig, if not I'll update it). The other day, it was acting weird -- the wife was driving it, so I have a very vague description of what happened. Basically, the steering wheel is adjustable up/down, and the left side seems to have a component that broke off. The left turn signal was not working properly, and the van would not shut off.

Upon investigation, a part came out of the steering column through the back of the turn signal. It managed to push its way out, so i grabbed the broken part and a rather large solid metal nut of some sort that came out.

Now, the steering wheel is higher than it's adjusted for, but if you press on it moderately, it will return to the position it's supposed to be in. If you try to turn the key off while in the relaxed position, it will not work and you can remove the key while keeping the engine started. Actually, you can't even turn the car off even by putting the key all the way in the accessory position. On the other hand, if you push the steering wheel down to its correct position (the position that i presume this part would hold the steering wheel in), turning the key off and all other operation works as intended.

I have no idea how to fix this, but i really do not have any funds to get it repaired. I'd really like to fix it if i can on my own, but I am very afraid I will get myself in too deep and end up with a steering wheel that doesn't work at all, as opposed to one that works with the proper persuasion.

Has anyone heard of this problem before? Is it common? I suspect that the reason for it is the van is high up and shorter people such as my wife use the steering wheel to pull themselves into the seat. I've ask her to not do that anymore, but who knows if she will really be able to not do that =\.

 

[Matrixx]

Double post, disregard.

 

[Matrixx]

Hi Kamel

I haven't worked on the particular column personally, but I can post a diagram of it to see if you can locate where that part came from. Just right click on each image and select open image in new window and then click on the image itself to get the largest picture before saving it to your computer, then you can view it from their in full image size. Hope this helps.

 

[gtkane]

From my experience, I will make the following assumption...

The "nut" that fell out is probably #39, which is a tilt pin. It is about 1/4" in dia., and has a small threaded hole in the center.
When this falls out, the tilt won't lock in place, and the front of the col. goes off center. This in turn, pulls on the ignition rack rod, and can stay in the "on" position with the key out.
Usually, these pins are press fit in place, and a bugger to remove. If it fell out, the housing is probably worn out, and all parts are available from GM.
The bad part-unless you are REALLY good at chinese puzzles, and you have the tools, don't bother repairing it.
It will be MUCH cheaper and faster to pick up a used coloumn from a wrecker. Trust me.

And, yeah, don't use the steering wheel as a holy hell handle.

 

[Kamel]

Sorry for the delayed response, and thanks a ton for your responses.

I actually have been sick, and am now nearly recovered. Some sort of head cold or something.

At any rate, I believe you may be right about the nut. I also believe it's #39. I also believe the other part which came out along with it was number 44 (or 45, i can't tell, the larger one above the other of the 2). It's a bit difficult to tell for sure. I have been able to use it with great care. I believe #44 came out, and ended up pushing its way out of the column.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't replacing the whole column be a very difficult task as well? I am not that great of a mechanic yet, maybe there is nothing I can do

Thanks for any help or suggestions you can give, and thanks for what you've given already

 

[tommckay]

You might be surprised at how easy a column swap is, it may sound hard, but it's really not. I had to do one on my '86 Grand Am after some jerk stole it, I was please at how easy it was (Except for trying to fit myself under the dash!).

 

[Kamel]

May be a dumb question, but would this require getting different keys and/or using the keys that belong to the car you're getting the steering wheel column from?

This really has no bearing on my decision to do this, I'm just curious

 

[tommckay]

May be a dumb question, but would this require getting different keys and/or using the keys that belong to the car you're getting the steering wheel column from?

This really has no bearing on my decision to do this, I'm just curious

That's what I did. Since GMs have a separate key for the door, trunk, & glove box it makes no difference. You can have the ignition lock swapped, but that's just added expense. Cheaper to go have extra keys made.