ANDY B07

I’m wondering if anyone out there can help me with my column shift lever problem. I bought a new lever and was going to switch it out with the old. Once I pulled out the old one I realized it didn’t have the correct end so I tried to reinstall the original. Issue is now it has no spring back pressure to keep it from popping into different gears? I didn’t see any springs or anything like that and I’ve had it out before with no issues. Is there something I’m missing? Is there a specific order to putting it back in? Can the column be disassembled and properly fixed? Any help would be greatly appreciated! And please don’t tell me to switch to a console setup as that’s not an option. Thanks again!

joe_padavano

There is a detent spring inside the column. You need to use a feeler gauge to hold the spring in place as you insert the lever. This is shown in Chapter 9 of the Chassis Service Manual.

ANDY B07

Thanks Joe! Will I need to disassemble the column in order to fix the issue. When I look in the hole where the lever goes I don’t see any spring. Thanks again Joe!

ANDY B07

Hey Joe I’m wondering if you have any suggestions where I could get that spring? Not sure where mine went but it’s definitely not there now. Fusicks doesn’t carry it in their catalog and would be pretty certain local parts stores won’t carry it. Thanks again for your help!

PatL

Joe may have a better idea, but you may want to call these guys:

Steering Column Parts - GM Tilt Columns

ANDY B07

Thanks Pat I’ll give them a call Monday! So far I haven’t been able to find one. Heck if I just knew the size I could make my own.

joe_padavano

The spring is likely floating around inside the column somewhere. The actual spring stiffness isn't really critical; you could probably get by with a hardware store spring, but one needs to disassemble a column to get the dimensions. I'll see what I have laying around.

ANDY B07

Thanks alot Joe! So far cannot find a spring or size of spring in order to try something else. Really don’t want to tear the entire column apart if I don’t absolutely have to.

joe_padavano

I'm afraid the upper end of the column will need to come apart to install the new spring anyway.