Steering Column Repair: 1988 Olds Custom Cruiser Tilt Column, steering colum, tilt column


Question
Okay it seems our steering colum is shot.  As you can see in the photos and video, the bottom of the column is practically on the side and there is a lot of movement in the column all together.  When I tried to straighten it the car shifted out of park.

Do you think this could be the tilt part of the wheel that is broken or will the entire column need to be replaced?  And what tools are needed for the job?  I'm pretty confident that I can do this myself and frankly even if I screw up it's not that big of a deal.  Thanks in advance.

http://www.brimstonetechnology.com/imagegallery/

Answer
Looking at the images, your column is in bad shape. My guess is that there is more than one part that is broken because the column is not only flopping, but the bowl is turned almost 90 degrees from center. Obviously the shaft tube is broken, and I also suspect the lower bowl seat is broken completely (and why the bowl turns). I would recommend replacing that column with a used unit from a salvage yard. I don't doubt you could probably disassemble the column, but the time you'll spend trying to find replacement parts is the biggest factor against rebuilding it. And probably, a salvage yard will offer you the whole column anyway as opposed to just the parts you need.

Hope I've helped.
Have a great day!
-Jay