I need to swap out my steering column because before i bought the car it was stolen so the column is hacked. It has tilt steering and cruise control (not sure if it works). Iknow about the 2 or 4 bolts under the dash and the wire harness and the boot in the fire wall but how hard is it to undo the steering shaft and what ese is involved? Thanks
how hard to swap column?
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It's easy to remove and replace, but you will need to get another lock cylinder for it if you do not get the keys with it. There is only one bolt that holds it to the splines on the steering box. You will need to rotate the gray plastic piece off the hose and pull it back to see the bolt. Just be sure you replace the steering coupler when you are in there because they are almost always shot. If you do not need to do it, you can also disconnect the column from the U joint in the shaft within 10 inches of the firewall. Again, it's only one bolt but this one has a nut on the other end. You will also need to disconnect the shift linkage by removing a single clip and slipping the shaft out through the hole.
Do you have a pic of the steering coupler and how much it runs? Also how do i know if its bad? I want to get a little as possible because as you know Cophers u-wrench-it will charge you for every single nut and bolt thats attached to what ever your getting.I argued with a guy there when i pulled a dash for my grand prix because he was charging me for a part on the dash that was not a removable part.
Rockstar said:
Copher's unfortunately has gotten really anal lately about that stuff. As for the shaft, try and get it with the shaft attached and see if they forget to charge you for it, or include it. If they want to charge extra, it's just one bolt when you get to the counter and you can remove it there. For me, trying to get something included for free has become a little game I like to play. I always end up taking hard to find OE GM, AMC or Nissan nuts, bolts and screws I find on the ground and in cars when I bring my toolbox. At least I get something for the $2 entry fee that way! Plus, you really should take the bolts whenever you pull a part at a junkyard as you never know when you will need a spare.
The coupler is sold new at some Autozone stores in their Help! section. The part number is 31002 from Help! (http://www.DormanProducts.com) and it is important that you get that specific one. GM used a larger disc on earlier cars that is easier to find than the "metric" disc you will need and they do not interchange! I post this here so that others do not make my mistake and buy a whole new lower shaft like I did. It cost me $100+ shipping off E-Bay and I found the correct disc the day after I got the shaft for $10. This was after that Autozone had told me it was not available. Napa lists a disc, but it is the wrong one. I know because I bought one from them and found out the hard way.
I found a guy locally that comes to you and repairs steering columns. He said he would put a new sleeve on it, bushings, everything needed and even paint it for around $300. Is that a good price or would it be better to just swap out the column myself?
Im not sure how hard steering colum work is. If I were you I'd call around to a few local shops and tell them what you want done and see how much they quote, then go from there.
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