Our coach is a 1992. Steering wheel is "wobbly" like something is loose in the steering column. Does anyone have an exploded drawing of the column? Newell said it is a Chevy column but they don't have any drawings.
cc,
There is a guy in Fort Wayne , Indiana who rebuilt my column. It's not hard to remove. If you are interested I'll look his contact info up. He's very reasonable. I think it cost less than $150 to rebuild my column.
I have a friend that said he would give me a hand here. But thanks for the reply!
a friend of mine went through the one in the 90 (yea bill, dont think i told ya that). whatever he did made it stop squeeking and seemed firmer.
it does take some special tools. it is a gm steering column that was used in a ton of different vehicles.
tom
CC, I had a problem years ago on a Country Coach with over steering. After many attempts to fix it, a mechanic tweeked the "Pittman Arm" and the problem went away. I have the same over steer issue with my Newell and am anxious to find a qualified mechanic to adjust something, the arm or tow-in. With the engine turned off, how much play is there in your steering wheel?
Chester, my problem is not free play in turning the wheel. It is that the whole assembly from the tilt mechanism is loose. I have have found a bunch of DIY videos on Youtube! Great resource. Also was able to find a source for exploded drawings. $9 for the download but you can view for free. If interested just search chevy steering column on Youtube.
Chester,
Did your mechanic give you any idea what he did to 'tweek' the pittman arm?
Marc, this was a mechanic at a truck repair facility in central Texas, and he only told me he had made a minor adjustment. It made a BIG difference.
Sorry I do not have more information.
From what I remember (it's been 30yrs since I wrenched one), the tilt mechanism bolts to the column. Those bolts (torx, iirc) can work loose. Tighten them and the wiggle goes away. The only special tool you might need is a fairly stout "U" shaped deal with a female threaded end center bolt. The female end threads down over the steering wheel nut threads and then you tighten the nut on the tool to compress the spring that pushes up against round plate. Once compresses, you remove the circlip, the round plate comes up and you should have access to everything. Reverse to reinstall. Any of the tool loaning parts houses will have the GM column tool.
With enough as$
, you can also use like a 1 1/2" open ended wrench to push the plate down and remove the circlip. It's much easier going back together to do this.
Hope that helps.
On the pitman arm adjustment, I think what you are talking about is adjusting the free play in the steering gear box. The pitman is attached to the steering gear box.
The is an adjustment screw and locknut on the steering gear box. Proceed with caution, tightening the screw until it is snug will result in a tight setup which is evil steering. The wheel does not recenter when you turn. Ask me at the rally how I know this. Bring beer.
The best way to adjust is to remove the pitman arm. Then move the pitman back and fro. Loosen the adjustment screw until you feel lash. Tighten carefully until the last disappears, and stop. More is not better. Tighten lock nut and reinstall pitman.
If I didn't say it before making the adjustment too tight is EVIL.