I am planning to install a walnut grip steering wheel, should look "period correct" with the Camaro dash. The existing steering wheel has some slop in it so I investigated. The PO had butchered up the upper steering column bonnet and the upper bearing was loose, with 2 screws holding it in place instead of the 3 it is designed to have retain it. What is the deal with PO's???
Ok, so I called Tony Smith (Tony Smith, 4-5-6 Chevy Trucks, 560 South 11th Street, Kansas City, KS 66105
913-207-7789
[email protected]) and after some discussion bought a replacement upper bonnet and a secondary bonnet to remove the old 3-speed shifter mounting boss. That way the steering column will look correct since the truck now has a 4-speed floor shifter.
So I gut the upper part of the column to replace all the new pieces I got from Tony. I then noticed the steering shaft was still very loose, which I had assumed all along was because of the upper bearing.
I pop the hood on the truck and grab the steering shaft where it exits the steering column. The bottom bearing is, well, no longer holding the shaft.
I again called Tony and he talked me through the sequence of events to pull out the entire column. He also said to look at the steering shaft, that sometimes the shaft becomes severely worn if the lower bearing fails.
Here is a synopsis of how I removed the column which was really pretty much straightforward deal.
-Remove the driver’s side front tire
-Via the front drivers side wheel well remove the sheet metal cover that shrouds the steering shaft (held on with sheet metal screws),
-Spray some penetrating oil on the steering box input shaft rag joint spline,
In Cab
-Remove the steering wheel (you will need a steering wheel puller)
-Unplug the steering column wiring harness (2 Plugs located under the dash),
-Remove the upper bearing / turn signal switch. [(3) retaining screws],
-Remove the sheet metal cover inside the cab where the column goes through the firewall (4 sheet metal screws)
Under-hood:
-Remove the transmission shift linkage from the column,
-Remove the (1) lag bolt holding the column to its bracket on the firewall,
-Remove the (3) bolts that hold the firewall bracket to the firewall,
-Unbolt the rag joint from the steering box [(1) bolt] (you may need a pickle fork ball joint separator or similar device for this, mine slid right off)
In-Cab
-Remove the (2) bolts that hold the column to its dash support bracket,
-Un-plug the brake light switch,
-Remove the 4 bolts that hold the dash support bracket to the dash.
Now remove the column, you will need to rotate it so the transmission shifting arms are in the correct orientation to make it through the tear drop shaped opening in the firewall.
I let the column slide up and off the steering shaft. Once the column was out then I removed the steering shaft from the front driver’s side wheel well.
Inspect the steering shaft for wear. It may need to be welded up and machined back down if it is worn, or get a replacement from somebody like Tony Smith.
Remove the lower bearing from the column by removing the (2) bolts that hold the retainer to the column.
Re-assemble by reversing the order.
Note that the lower bearing was originally a ball bearing. Some aftermarket bearings are a brass sleeve type bearing. I speculate this is because the original ball bearing design was weak? Also this lower bearing gets road grime and crud into it via the opening in the lower column for the shifter linkage. Probably why the lower bearings wear out and ultimately fail.
Following Tony's advice I had the column out in about half an hour. Sure enough all the rollers in the bearings were gone and the shaft was cut / worn due to rubbing on the bearing outer race (see picture below). The 3/4" thick shaft was now 1/2" diameter! Now that is a dramatic change 'cause from a strength factor the 1/2" shaft is only 20% as strong as the 3/4" shaft!
While I had the column out I used my die grinder and a cut-off wheel to remove the old 3-speed shifter linkage at the bottom of the column.
I consider myself quite lucky:
Lucky that we have people like Tony Smith to be there to give advice and lucky that I found this problem when the truck was sitting in my shop, instead of when I was buzzing up the highway in traffic.
I ordered a new bearing and took the shaft to work. I am also lucky to have worked at fab. shops over the years so if I need something like this fixed by "real" welders and machinists I have access to them. And these guys seem to get a real kick out of helping on my old projects. Great guys..... So we set up a welding positioner at the shop and George "the welder" did the welding using tig. Then "machinist" Mark chucked the shaft in his lathe and we used the cross slide to straighten the shaft, which was bent about 3/4". Once we got it straight he machined the weld down. Looked factory fresh after the repair...... now I am just waiting for the bearing to show up so I can begin re-assembly.
More on this later....
