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horizontal movement in steering column

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 11:23 pm
by sirhck777
So i purchased a 2013 caprice recently and I've noticed i can move the steering to the left and right about a 1/4 inch each way.
after removing the lower trim pieces, I found what looks to be where the shift is occurring. there is a bolt holding in these triangular shaped slotted pieces of metal with a spring/bushing type ordeal over top of it.
after removing the bolt and bushing, they slid out and small chunks broken plastic fell out of it.
i thought it may have been a sloppy fix from a previous owner so i pulled off the other one but it had the same broken plastic pieces fall out.
i cant seem to find information on what these metal wedges are, that the broken plastic was or why my steering column wiggles.

any help is appreciated.

Re: horizontal movement in steering column

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 12:55 am
by smwalker
This G8 user posted a vid of maybe something similar to yours. Did not post any into on the fix though. Yours move up and down as well? or Just side to side?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmYayQZiKCc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bet it is part of the break away mounting system. Know if your car was in a wreck?

From the service manual: Energy-Absorbing Steering Column: The energy-absorbing steering column compresses in the event of a front-end collision, which reduces the chance of injury to the driver. The energy-absorbing feature, collapsible steering shaft, and break away mounting features help reduce the injury in the event of an accident.

The trouble shooting guide says if the mounting tabs are broken replace the column. SO no help there. 92240064 $800 bones.

Image

Re: horizontal movement in steering column

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 2:48 pm
by sirhck777
i do believe it had a minor front end collision as im missing a few of the bumper mounting parts and my steering is only to the left and right and moves about half the distance of the g8 in the video.

Re: horizontal movement in steering column

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 2:59 pm
by smwalker
Well the only thing I can think of short of a new column is make a spacer that takes up the space between the triangle piece and the column slot. Then a large strong washer cinching everything down. Looked at my 14 and they have no such system in place causing the column to break away. UNless they are using some soft bolts of something.

Let us know what you come up with. If anyone has thiers apart and yours are in tact take a pic so we can see what they should look like.

Re: horizontal movement in steering column

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 8:26 pm
by sirhck777
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCmDLN7TZHo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
ended up with a pretty simple fix, just ran some hot glue in the grooves of the spacer before re-installing them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74VvDqueEnY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: horizontal movement in steering column

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2018 12:31 pm
by sirhck777
Update: Hot glue gets soft in a hot car. Going to try again with a different filler

Re: horizontal movement in steering column

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2018 1:30 pm
by smwalker
sirhck777 wrote:Update: Hot glue gets soft in a hot car. Going to try again with a different filler

THink Maybe JB weld would be in order?

Re: horizontal movement in steering column

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:11 pm
by sirhck777
In the off chance I’ll ever need to take it back apart I’m going to avoid jb weld lol. I’m thinking maybe silicon or some construction adhesive. something soft that won’t crack over time with all the road vibrations.

Re: horizontal movement in steering column

Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 1:42 pm
by Wavehogger
Thanks for this post pointing me to why mine was a little wiggly left to right. My right triangle piece had broken free from the white molded plastic it sits in inside the groove. I used my hot glue stick gun too put some inside the groove of the triangle piece and you have to be super fast to slide it back in place before it hardens, took me two attempts but it’s no longer moving. Not sure how this will hold up over time but fingers crossed.

Re: horizontal movement in steering column

Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 1:47 pm
by sirhck777
Glad it helped. I’m just noticed after all this time I never posted my solution. What you wanna use is jb weld water weld. It’s a 2 part putty epoxy. Mix it together and roll it out like a play dough snake and set it in the triangle groove and bolt it in. Let dry overnight and it’s been solid for years