I have the classic wobble in the upper steering column and have disassembled the column down to the second pivot pin. But I can not seem to get the second pin to start coming out. I used a M4-20 or 25 screw with nut and large washer along with a 1/2 inch open end wrench against the column to extract the first pin on the cruise control side. Worked great. But the I can not seem to get the pin on the ignition key side. (The axial spring is out.) Should I have left the first pin partially in to start removal of the second pin?

That might help to maintain alignment till the second pin comes out.

Get a slide hammer with a j-hook on the tool end. Weld one of those screws that fits the pin's thread...to a stout washer. This will allow you to screw into the pin and bash away with the slide hammer. Doesn't take much.

The welded screw & washer should look about like this -0

Do search of the technical archives. Someone has a good article on this with pictures, but I lost the link. I have done this procedure once. It is similar to performing brain surgery. Really, it is time consuming and tedious, but can be done by an amateur. Also, someone on the forum repairs loose columns for fee.

An easier option is to replace your entire column with a tight one.

Try putting the other pin back in at least part way. If the housing is crooked it could bind the pin.

Whatever you do, be careful. You don't want to crack the housing.

These pins usually don't take much to pull out. It could be that this column has been worked on before and they did something they shouldn't have. Like using an adhesive on a loose pin.

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Screamin' Yellow Zonkers... If it's Screaming and Yellow, I aint eatin it.

quote Originally posted by PontiacFiero: Do search of the technical archives. Someone has a good article on this with pictures, but I lost the link.

Is this the one you're thinking of? http://home.t-online.de/home/O_Scholz/steering.html

Larry

It's not a metric screw thread in the pin, it's an 8-32 IIRC. Get a socket-head 8-32 screw and some washers from the hardware store. Use socket head because they're Grade 8 hardened, you don't want to break off a cheaper screw. Get a screw that's about an inch or so long. Put a couple of washers on, and thread the screw into the pin. Get a crescent wrench and close it on the shaft of the screw, then using a screwdriver or wrench as a fulcrum, pry the screw out with the crescent wrench. The washers are to help distribute the load of the crescent wrench against the underside of the screw head.

JazzMan

[This message has been edited by JazzMan (edited 06-23-2003).]

Sometimes the pivot pins corode in place and are very stuck. The best choice by far is to go and buy the tool, it is not all that much. Whatever you do do not break the screw off in the hole, the pin is extermely hard and almost impossible to get out if there is no puller hole.

I have got them out without the tool with a machine screw in the pin with a stack of washers over it. Grab the screw with a set of wire cutters and wiggle them side to side. Make sure the hole in the washer is big enough for the pin to go through.

If you were closer I would do it for you, they were my favorite job in the dealership. My record was 18 minutes start to finish, but that was full speed racing myself, every tool in my lap.

Thanks for responses. I made a tool to pull the second pin out. Worked great. Brass cap with hole through end to allow 8-32 screw through plus nut to pull pin. Pin appears clean. Knotched end of cap to allow for step in column. Also glad someone questioned/corrected thread; 4mm will thread in as mentioned in Space Coaster article but 8-32 appears correct and threads better. Appears I have to still remove tilt lever, cruise/turn signal lever, and high beam rod to get housing out of the way to get at screws. My job appears may be closer to 18 days than 18 minutes.
Tyrone

Yep, 8-32 thread. I'm correcting my post. Don't feel bad about the time. The first time I did this, I wasn't even aware of the pivot pins. It took me 2 hours to figure out how I could remove them (screw, washer, crescent wrench, breaker bara) and 2 minutes to remove them once I figured it out.

Now I can do the repair at a nice relaxed 45 minutes to one hour.

JazzMan

After you pull the pivot pins pull on the tilt lever to release the latch and pull the top of the collum up and off. The screws are a special inverted spline, but a 1/4 inch 6 point socket works fine to tighten them.

You do not need to take the turn signal switch or the wiper switch off to do this, just tip them to the side.

When you reasemble it just make sure everything is in place before put the pins back in place. The gears and linkage is sort of like assembling a puzzle.

Aaron