QuestionQUESTION: 2004 silverado 2wd 1500 87000 miles play in steering column, between steering wheel and upper steering shaft, around the tilt area. all front end components ok. whats up?
ANSWER: Hi Bret:
I'm not quite sure of your question. When you say there is play in the steering column and then you speak of front end components, it is a bit confusing to me. I need you to clarify if the column has looseness (without the truck even moving) or if the truck does not respond to turning when you turn the steering wheel while driving. Both are referred to as play in the steering & I need to know what you are experiencing.
If you have looseness in the upper end of the steering column just sitting in the driveway without trying to move or turn, then we can discuss the probability of the tilt mechanism beginning to come apart (this is very common).
If you are talking about wandering on the road while driving and the steering too looses to respond to slight corrections, then I need to defer this to a front end specialist (tie rods, gearbox, etc.)
I'll watch for your answer
Thanks
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: the play is in the shaft between the steering wheel and the frist u-joint at the botton of the column it seems to me. I can hold the bottom part of steering shaft inside the cab with my left hand and turn the steering wheel back and forth about 1 inch with my right hand. hope this clears things up for you, thanx
Answer
Upper shaft
Hi Bret:
Perfectly, thanks. I've only seen this once in my 20 years of servicing columns, but it can happen. The plastic ball joint connecting the upper and lower shaft has shattered. I'm enclosing a picture to help you understand the part you are after. It is replaceable, but you will need to disassemble the column to the point beneath the tilt housing. For this job you will need 3 special tools.
A steering wheel puller, a spring plate compressor and a pivot pin puller. Without these tools, it's far too difficult to replace and very easy to break something else. With these tools, here's what you do:
Disconnect the battery and wait 10 minutes for the airbag systems to lose power. Then remove:
the airbag, the steering wheel,(special puller needed), the clockspring (carefully slide it out of the way), the lock plate,(another special puller needed) the horn cancel cam, the turn signal switch, the lock cylinder, the upper lock cover, (with the wiper switch and cruise arm still mounted inside) the tilt housing spring (push and rotate the locking cap and release the spring gently), the tilt housing pins on each side (the third special puller needed), the tilt housing with bearings and the ignition rack gear...and then you can get to the upper shaft to rotate it 90 degrees and take it off. Make sure you take note of the notch on the tip so you can reinstall the shaft EXACTLY in the same position you took it off. Otherwise your steering wheel can end up upside down.
Then you have the monumental task of putting it all back together and aligning the gears for the ignition along with the dimmer actuator and rod (all at the same time).
It's a big job and if you've never been inside a column like this, I wouldn't start with this job. It's just about a full overhaul. Our company charges $175 to repair this and it takes out trained techs about 1-1.5 hours (it gets easier after you've done 200-300). If you decide you want us to do it for you, you can UPS the column to us & we will rebuild it for you. Contact us through our website listed in my profile if you decide you want to pursue that.
