Question i have a 88 Fleetwood on a caddy when i went to put the car in park and i had no gears so i went to get another column and put it in now my car wont start come to find out the ignition rod was broke now i cant get the column to go back together right could you give me pointers to make the rod go back in the spot so i can get the tilt to lock back on ?
AnswerHello Crystal,
The first thing that concerns me here is that you are asking how to get the bearing housing back on and locked in. Rebuilding a steering column like this is not for first timers.
I love volunteering my time on this site, but for all the pointers you need to know it would take me over two hours to write you down instructions and you will still probably run into problems.
I would recommend getting a column that you don't have to screw around with. I realize you won't probably be happy with my answer here and I admire people attempting to repair their cars themselves, but steering coulms have so many parts in them. Nothing like that feeling of seeing little ball bearings on the floor that fell out of the column---
As for putting the bearing housing in and locking it down, the sector and rack on the left side of the housing must be together. The rack is the piece that has what looks like a "D" and the other side has teeth. There is one big notch that will line up with the big tooth in the sector gear. Pull on the center of the spring and put it into the slot on the sector gear.
Gently place the "D" around the ignition actuator rod on the left side of the column. Install the tilt lever. Take your right hand below the housing and put the bearing housing in the full up tilt position. Line up the tilt shoes. Put downward pressure on the bearing housing at the same time you are pulling on the tilt lever with your left hand. Kind of wiggle the housing up and down while titling. The housing will go in place amd the holes for the pivot pins will line up. Insert the pins. If the sector spring fell out of the notch in the center of the sector, reinstall.
Take your lock cylinder or a needle nose on the little shaft on the right side. Put your foot on the brake and see if the engine starts. Make sure your steering wheel lock pin moves back and forth as well.
If you continue to have problems on putting the column back together, I have a video tape that I sell for $100.00. You can contact me if you are interested at robo14@aol.com.
Or you can go to http://www.autotheftexpert.com and click on security bypass and order through there.
Good luck!
Rob
