QuestionQUESTION: My 1992 corvette has a lot of slop in the tilt mechanism--it seems to lock but then there is play up and down--could this bee loose bolts or a bad tilt system, Is this hard to fix or what would the repair costs run.
Thanks in advance,
Steve In PA.
tilt housing
ANSWER: Hi Steve:
This is a very common problem with Corvettes approaching and exceeding 12 yrs old. The tilt housing is made of a cast metal; the housing it mounts on is aluminum; the pins that hold it together are steel. After time and continued pulling to get in and out of the vehicle, the housing and mounting stand begin to wear and create free space for the pins to move. This makes the tilt and everything above it loose and the only way to tighten it is to replace all the pieces.
Some of these parts are no longer available from GM, so the problem is finding a good used column (without the wear) or locating the parts to replace it with. The most recent one we did ran @ $600 for all the parts and labor. It is a complete overhaul and requires the column center shaft be removed during disassembly. That means someone has to get to the bolt under the hood that holds the steering shaft to the steering gearbox, and disassemble it without damaging it so it cam be reassembled. Most times on cars that old, the rust is a VERY big factor and makes it twice as hard to accomplish.
I am enclosing a picture of one of the parts (the tilt housing). It's the one on the left for your vehicle
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QUESTION: Can you tell me if all the gm tilt columns use the same parts or do I need one for the model of my car.
Thanks again for your help,
Steve
ANSWER: Hi Steve:
many of the Gm columns use the same tilt housings and bases, but there are 2 designs. some have dual dos for holding the stilt in position and some have only a single. If you get the wrong one, you will only end up with 2 tilt positions, because the parts will not line up properly except in 2 positions (rather than 4-5 positions).
If you decide to overhaul the assembly, my company does stock all of the parts, and would be glad to sell them to you (as well as match them to your old ones) to avoid any problem.
If you want to attempt to acquire them yourself, I would recommend using a near year GM vehicle(92-94, earlier cars did not have an airbag and are different) and use both pieces and both pins from the same replacement column to avoid the mix and match problem. My guess is that you can find a good one somewhere and it wouldn't cost you more than $100 (along with dis-assembling both columns)
The short answer, You can use many of the parts from other GM tilt column cars to fit your vette.
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QUESTION: I have a line on a brand new 1992 Impala column for 175.00 that was my basis for the last question. If that doesn't pan out how can I contact you for the needed parts as I will try and do this myself.
Thanks again,
Steve
AnswerGood price for a good part, but you will need to disassemble it for the parts needed. They will certainly not interchange as an assembly, but the housing and base will work for you. Understand it's a complete overhaul!
My company websites are listed in my profile. I'm not sure what your screen looks like (from the questions point of view), but if you can't find it, it's www.stolenandrecovered.com
Good luck
