I didn't see a specific section for steering so I'm posting this here. · 69 Cutlass convertible, tilt steering column

· Tried starting the car, turned key.

· No resistance whatsoever, no feeling of accessory position

· Ignition lock rotated all the way to full stop



Reading net articles say 1of4 scenarios:

1. Rack and sector gear might be bad

2. Disconnected or broken actuator rod

3. Ignition switch

4. Worn or failed lock cylinder

Getting the cover off on a tilt steering wheel is not easy, for me.

· Lock bolt was seized inside cover channel. Used deep creep on lock pin and punch and hammer to loosen. Moved pin back inside channel but it did not come out.

· Used rubber mallet to pound on cover and on ignition lock channel and it came off.

· Cover off reveals a broken rack. Not sure how that happens. Don’t think it was from cover removal because the sector gear is in tact and Start behaviors exhibited symptoms of a disconnected operating rod. The Dorman rack seems 3/16 shorter.

Now I’m just staring at this mess and I’m wondering if I have to take the steering wheel out of the vehicle and totally disassemble it to rebuild or if I can do a replacement with it in the vehicle


Before I got the cover off

Before I took the cover off

Busted rack

manual

busted rack

Dorman 83211 replacement

 

Steering columns require a lot of experience to get them right. I have watched 3 mechanics I know that are good at them and I still won’t touch one. We just can into the same problems with friends 72 Hurst. One of my mechanic friends just finished his column and it took him hours to figure it out. A very small spring clip was missing and that was the problem. We were lucky I had one in my column parts box. Not in a million years would I have even known it was missing. While it was apart he replaced the rack and a few other parts we had NOS. My advice to anyone is don’t be afraid to find a seasoned column guy and let him handle it. I just watch them work in awe. Like a transmission I wouldn’t take one of those apart either. Good luck

 

Another big surprise. Unless things are just wildly out of scale, this does not look like the same tilt steering column I have. (As depicted on 9A-33 of the chassis service manual and this picture I took of the current work.) It’s similar, but it looks like the housing should have a long extension where the lock bolt goes. In my particular case there is no housing extension for the lock bolt to go into. Instead, the lock bolt sits in the cover I took off initially. Additionally, there is a hex friction nut on the steering shaft that I don’t have a socket to take off. I’m not sure which tool it is in the service manual on page 9A-70 of the chassis service manual unless it’s the lock nut socket. Again, the chassis service manual does not show a similar nut attached to the steering shaft. High adventure, this car.



Service manual tilt column

This is my steering column. Do I really have 1969 steering column in this thing? Who knows

There's the hex that is not depicted in any of the service manuals

Don't have the right tools so I had to use hammer and drift to lightly tap and slowly unthread. It's not held on with any significant torque as underneath it lies a nylon housing for the bearings.

Here's that nylon hex nut

Not sure if the lock nut socket is the tool that's supposed to get that hex nut off but I don't see depicted in the chassis service manual anywhere