FAQ: Steering Column Slop, Problems & Replacement

Good choice Dave, the replacement column would undoubtedly have had the same slop.

Ok, now the full story...

Got to the shop and found the steering wheel now had slop in the opposite direction, and the tilt wouldn't lock at all, just moves fully up and down vertically. WTF? Not even drivable like that.

Ended up in the service manager's office, who is already aware of the F/U with the paint job on our new Acadia, and they will be sourcing/inspecting a replacement column and do the work for $300 total charge. I can accept that since I was expecting to pay $200. At first search they found one that would take 3-4 days to get here, then another for... $900 !!! Anyway, they will get it arranged then call to schedule the work. In the meantime, they got my tilt locked in place, so I can drive it, just can't mess with the tilt lever. The reason for the opposite direction wobble was that one pin with broken chunk of bracket attached, fell out during disassembly, they finally did show me that piece w/pin. So the bracket IS broken. The other pin was very loose. They drove it back in place and staked it in, so it will hold for now, resulting in the opposite wobble, since the broken piece and pin are no longer in place.

I wonder how long everything would have held together if I hadn't decided to let them do this repair in the first place? Maybe I'm coming out ahead in the long run, since they basically have agreed to eat the labor charges for the column swap.

Good used column now installed, feels like new to me. They were also happy to install my new multi-function switch at no extra charge. Nice to see the lettering for a change.

Wow, that's got to be really nice. I need to fix mine soon. I've been coping with it for a while now - too long really. Glad it worked out for you. Hope mine goes as well.

I would have been in the hurt bag if I had tried to do the repair in my garage, and found the bracket all busted up when I opened things up. Considering it's my work transportation.

The mechanic halfways admitted he might have contributed to the damage while taking things apart, which certainly helped my case for a big break on the price of the swap. Heck, now the lane change function actually works!

I've got all the extra/removed parts in a box, will probably have some to post for sale soon. (please, don't anyone inquire here, I'll post when ready)

I'm a FNG here, just having purchased a 95 Riv two days ago. Damned if I didn't notice a little slop in my column today that eluded me on the test drive. The slop is not bad but from what I gather here it is only going to get worse. I can live with it for now as long as it isn't a safety issue.

I have read all 13 pages of this thread and looked at all the diagrams and photos, you guys have done a great job of documenting this problem and what you have been doing to deal with it. I was thinking along these lines.....once the pins are reinserted, would it work to just "cap" the ends using a steel washer larger than the opening attached to the housing/bracket or "ear" with a bead of JB Weld or other suitable adhesive?

Steve

PS my car history is well known, was bought new locally and I got it from original owner with paper trail. 89k miles as of today. Little lady driver so doubt the column was abused by using it as a exit grab handle, but she may have been a tilt wheel flipper.

Steve

Okay, enough is enough. I have a track day coming up next week, and damned if I'm going to take this car through a twisty road course with the steering wheel bobbing from 8-2 o'clock. Autocross, okay, high-speed racing, not a chance. I read through this thread (thanks to all who contributed) and considered a few approaches.

Yesterday I began by carefully removing the dash panel (also good opportunity to replace a burned out dash cluster lamp). With the dash out, I got the steering column panels off, and now the all-to-familiar adjustable column brackets, sans right side pin:



Here's a closer look, with the pin reinstalled. It's been out of commission for a few years:



Bracket looks to be in good shape:



Here's the left side, with control stalk still attached:



And with the stalk removed (this pin did not fall out, as it was blocked by the stalk):



First thing I did was reinsert the right pin and test the steering wheel for slop. The right pin fit snug, and immediately I noticed the situation had improved, but the wheel was still wobbling, this time with movement on the left side. What had happened was the left pin, which had been permitted to slop around for tens of thousands of miles, had worn the inner bracket hole to a larger diameter. So even with both pins installed, the situation would not be fixed.

I considered taking the wheel off and removing the brackets. NO. FNG. WAY. I'm sorry, this is not an option for me on Sunday afternoon. I'm handy, and I have some tools, but I needed my car for work the next morning. I stared at the holes for a minute, then at the pins, and noticed the pins have a groove separating the parts that fit the inside and outside bracket holes. I measured both pins with calipers, and found a consistent measurement:



I also noticed the inside metal bracket contained a hardened steel sleeve to accept the pin, while the outside bracket had no sleeve. What this means, I think, is the engineer(s) thought they would press the pins into the sleeves of the inside bracket with a force fit, letting the pin pivot in the outside bracket hole. This explains why there are no splines or knurling on the outer part of the pins. In theory, the pins would be held in by the force fit, but for whatever reason, the interference was not sufficient to keep it there, or the seal was not as hard as they thought.

I contacted a friend of mine, who's a wizard on the lathe, and we talked about options to fix this WITHOUT removing the brackets. He produced a set of pin gauges, in steps of .001", which we used to capture an understanding of the bracket hole sizes, as they are now. Inserting them one at a time into the holes, we deduced the following:



The above is looking down on the column, sitting forward in driver seat. The left side holes were worn much more than the right side. My friend suggested we make new pins that would create a new force fit with the existing brackets - by matching the new numbers nearly exactly. He had keys to a machine shop, so I knew he meant business.

We started with a common piece of .5" dia bar stock steel. Taking a few length measurements from the OEM pins, my friend knocked out both pieces in less than an hour. He even drilled and tapped the backs in case we ever need to remove them:









Voila. You can see the slight differences near the steps:



Next we fitted the pins. They went in super tight, a perfect fit. I tapped them with a hammer to start, then used a C-clamp to press in. It took a bit of effort, so I don't think they'll be coming out any time soon:



Here's a shot of the left side pin pressed in:



In total, I probably spent 4 hours taking the dash out and reassembling, and one hour of my friend's machine time. The best part is material cost was next to nothing, and when I finally took the wheel in my hand, oh man, it's tight! It's tighter than I can ever remember it being, even 8 years ago. Once I get the new brake pads on, this car will be ready for the track!

Was there ever any concern of the bracket splitting or cracking using the C-clamp to press the pins in?

A little bit, but there's a good amount of material around the outside holes, and hardened sleeves in the inside holes. We crossed our fingers and hoped for the best, but we knew the new pins should work. The key was using the gauge pins to get an accurate measurement down to .001", and making sure they were very straight. We checked and double checked the pins before installing. Most of the resistance was probably dirt, corrosion, or grease inside the holes. My friend mentioned that pressing them in slowly is better for the metal than hammering them in. I have no reason to doubt him on this.

Ah the joys of a machine shop. It makes anything possible. I will probably be doing the exact same thing next summer for my wheel.

I'm beginning to think everyone has this problem with their Riviera, but if you're me, you don't like talking about it very much. I had gotten used to the slop, but whenever anyone else gets in the driver seat, they're puzzled at how I would drive a car in otherwise great condition, with this major issue. I admit I let it go far too long. It's not convenient for most to do this job, and expensive to have someone else do it.

AA wrote:

I'm beginning to think everyone has this problem with their Riviera, but if you're me, you don't like talking about it very much. I had gotten used to the slop, but whenever anyone else gets in the driver seat, they're puzzled at how I would drive a car in otherwise great condition, with this major issue. I admit I let it go far too long. It's not convenient for most to do this job, and expensive to have someone else do it.

I've noticed it in every Riviera I have gotten into. I can't believe GM was allowed to get away with this. IMO, the entire steering column is a piece of garbage. It mars an otherwise stellar automobile. Between the slop, no lane change feature, and horn problems I'm having (loss of ground in the column), I wish I could just swap the entire column for something else. I had a friend of mine tighten it up for me, but it still isn't what it should be. Next time I go in there, I will look for a way to fuse that entire knuckle, I never use the tilt anyway.

LARRY70GS wrote:

AA wrote:

I'm beginning to think everyone has this problem with their Riviera, but if you're me, you don't like talking about it very much. I had gotten used to the slop, but whenever anyone else gets in the driver seat, they're puzzled at how I would drive a car in otherwise great condition, with this major issue. I admit I let it go far too long. It's not convenient for most to do this job, and expensive to have someone else do it.

I've noticed it in every Riviera I have gotten into. I can't believe GM was allowed to get away with this. IMO, the entire steering column is a piece of garbage. It mars an otherwise stellar automobile. Between the slop, no lane change feature, and horn problems I'm having (loss of ground in the column), I wish I could just swap the entire column for something else. I had a friend of mine tighten it up for me, but it still isn't what it should be. Next time I go in there, I will look for a way to fuse that entire knuckle, I never use the tilt anyway.

Fuse knuckle - JB Weld and 24 hours stil oughta do it. Recommend repair instead of fusing.

Albertj

It's funny you mention it, I am now having horn problems after this repair. One thing I did wrong: worked on the column without disconnecting the battery. I went in thinking it would be only replacing the right pin, then when I needed to take the stalk off for the left pin, the horn came on all by itself. I remember very clearly: once I loosened the screws to the stalk, the horn came on constantly until I removed the stalk from contacting the wheel's grounding ring. When I reinstalled the stalk, the horn came on once again, until I tightened everything down, then shut off. I thought this was a good sign, but then the horn wouldn't work. Checked fuses, so assumed the horn may have burned out. But then yesterday while I was driving the horn worked fine! Never had a horn issue before I did this work on the column - very frustrating.

However, I would trade the now super tight wheel for the lack of horn function any day of the week. The only annoying part is when I use the key fob to lock the doors, no "toot" report.

AA wrote:

. The only annoying part is when I use the key fob to lock the doors, no "toot" report.

Ever since I went in to fix the slop, my horn has a mind of it's own. It works when it wants. It works some days, others it doesn't. I still get the horn when locking it with the Key Fob though.

Problem i see with welding the column to the steering wheel would when you go to put everything back together , having a tilting wheel making putting the dash back together much easier. (i actually dont know if you can put the dash back together if the steering wheel was permanently mounted in a full up direction.

Mr.Riviera wrote:

Problem i see with welding the column to the steering wheel would when you go to put everything back together , having a tilting wheel making putting the dash back together much easier. (i actually dont know if you can put the dash back together if the steering wheel was permanently mounted in a full up direction.

Good point, I didn't think about that. Do the Auroras have the same column, same problems? How about the Park Avenues, and LeSabres. Can we swap in a different column?

AA wrote:

It's funny you mention it, I am now having horn problems after this repair. One thing I did wrong: worked on the column without disconnecting the battery. I went in thinking it would be only replacing the right pin, then when I needed to take the stalk off for the left pin, the horn came on all by itself. I remember very clearly: once I loosened the screws to the stalk, the horn came on constantly until I removed the stalk from contacting the wheel's grounding ring. When I reinstalled the stalk, the horn came on once again, until I tightened everything down, then shut off. I thought this was a good sign, but then the horn wouldn't work. Checked fuses, so assumed the horn may have burned out. But then yesterday while I was driving the horn worked fine! Never had a horn issue before I did this work on the column - very frustrating.

However, I would trade the now super tight wheel for the lack of horn function any day of the week. The only annoying part is when I use the key fob to lock the doors, no "toot" report.

..did you check fuses/breakers yet?

Not all of them. I would expect a blown fuse would not allow the horn to work sometimes, but who knows?

LARRY70GS wrote:

.... no lane change feature, .....

I thought there was supposed to be... but mine didn't work at all, just clicked all the way engaged. BUT, with the 96 column I have swapped in, with my new M/F switch, I now have perfect lane change functions!

Just wanted to post an update. I've had my '95 for about 4 months, one owner car with less than 90k miles and well cared for.

I didn't notice the steering wheel "slop" until shortly after I bought it. Then I did a lot of helpful research on this forum to learn more about this common problem and got worried. I decided to live with it and while it didn't get any worse over time it became a major annoyance. I went to the local GM service department and was told it was most likely the bolts at the base of the column had worked loose and $300 should fix it. I decided to wait awhile, and check around other shops. This week I asked my diesel mechanic about it and he assured me he could fix it for less and guaranteed all my steering wheel button controls would still work so I decided to take a chance. I took it in and sweated bullets the entire day waiting for his call telling me my tilt housing was broken and I was screwed. When the call came he said come get it its fixed. It turned out the pins had worked loose, looked like someone had been in there before and didn't do the repairs right. He said that he "peened" the housing and drove the pins back in and it feels solid as a rock now what a difference and the bill including an oil change was just under $200. All the steering wheel controls and the tilt lever work! I feel like I got an early Christmas present!

Thanks for the update! Getting this annoying problem fixed for me was one of the most satisfying repairs I've done, and I'm sure you agree. Driving the car now - it feels almost LIKE NEW. FYI, there was probably no real danger of compromising the steering controls. It's just wiring. The pins are actually quite simple to replace, after you disassemble the dash and column to get in there.

AA wrote:

Thanks for the update! Getting this annoying problem fixed for me was one of the most satisfying repairs I've done, and I'm sure you agree. Driving the car now - it feels almost LIKE NEW. FYI, there was probably no real danger of compromising the steering controls. It's just wiring. The pins are actually quite simple to replace, after you disassemble the dash and column to get in there.

Simple for someone more talented than me. I would have screwed that up for sure. And yes its like driving a new car!

Steve

so is it the pins or the bracket i need ? and ive looked around at junk yards and found cars with solid colums i figured i would just swap one out of an aurora since i see alot more of those in the bone yard.. planning on trying this on Sat.

If you just want to swap out, you'd need a new bracket and the pins. That's a lot of work though.

What we did was make a new set of pins to fit the worn bracket. A good machinist can do this for you. Check my posts in this thread.