Cadillac Repair: Steering Column, auto recycler, disconnected line

Question
I have a 1989 Fleetwood FWD and the steering column has become very loose. I'm not sure that this car has an air bag. My question is can I fix this myself with the rental of the proper tools from autozone or do I really have to take it to be done. I am a single father raising three kids by myself and can't afford to pay labor. Is this a cheap enough affair or expensive.

My next question is that my auto air adjuster keeps running for ten minutes after I kill the car. What's happening with this?

Thank you
Steve

Answer
Hi Steve, Sorry it took me awhile to answer your questions. Let me start with the level ride question first.

  When your compressor continues to run it means that the height sensor that is attached to the LR lower control arm thinks the rear of the car is low. Reasons could be a leaking compressor joint, leaking air lines or fittings leaking shocks or a disconnected line. Spraying the componants with soapy water and watching for bubbles is a good test. To test the height sensor operation what they recommend is to measure the height of say the back bumper height from the road. Then add aprox. 300lbs of weight to the trunk and with-in 3 minuits the rear of the car should be back to the same height as you measured before. If it still stays low then also check the height sensor arm to make sure it is attached to the control arm. Sometimes they will come off or the arm will rust apart. If everything checks out ok to this point then you could have a faulty height sensor and getting a used one from a junk yard/auto recycler is alot cheaper than a new one.

   Now on to the steering column issue. To determine if you have the airbag in the steeringwheel the SIR light will flash on the dash when the engine is started. Also the horn pad on the steering wheel is a pretty big rectangular space that takes up half of the space inside the center of the wheel. If you do have the airbag then I would recommend not trying to repair the looseness yourself or you could make the bag inflate and you could get seriously hurt. If you have a standard steering column then it is possable for you to fix this yourself but you will need a steering wheel puller, lock place compressor, a puller to remove the 2 pivot bolts and a torx socket and torx bit screwdrivers. You will also need to grind the head of a 5/16" bolt...I think that is the size that locks the telescopeing steering wheel...and screw it into the column to lock it in place after removing the telescopeing lock plate. Depending on whether you have torx bit screwdrivers and torx bit sockets as well as the other hand tools will determine the cost. Then it is a matter of takeing things apart slowly to get down to the 4 torx head screws to tighten and then reassemble everything. I would say though that if you aren't comportable working on puzzles or can't get your hands on a GM shop manual then this might not be the project for you. When I was 14 years old and only useing a GM manual I did the same repair you want to do so a novice can definitely get the job done. Now that I think of it you might even be abe to tighten the torxhead bolts tight enough with a 6 or 12 point socket so having the special socket might not be necessary.
   
   My best advise would be to go to your library and read up on the procedure in a GM shop manual...alot of cars have simular style columns...and see if this is something you want to try. Let me know if I can be of anymore help and I will answer same day. Hope I have explained things ok. Bill