Loose steering wheel (1 Viewer)

[scrowley]

My 96 80 the steering wheel is loose. Not my steering/handling but the wheel itself. The column has very minimal play up and down but some. I've had the wheel off multiple times but never really saw anything. When I grab at 12 and 6 on the wheel you can see the nut and wheel move together when the airbag is off so no play there. Something inside the end of coulmn. Bearing? Anyone else with this issue?

 

[scrowley]

I guses I'm one of the lucky few with a loose wheel.....??

 

[Hornd]

Have someone hold steering wheel rod under dash with vice grips and find where it is loose.

 

[inkpot]

Do you use the steering wheel as a grab point to lift yourself into the rig? I have seen this cause play in the top of the column where it holds the top bearing, in older rigs. Have you inspected the joints in the mid section of the column that allow for the TILT feature?

 

[scrowley]

@inkpot .
The wheel was like this when I bought it 40k ago.
There is no play in the tilt gears. The shaft that holds the wheel is loose.
The column itself from hinge point has the slightest play when you push wheel up and down.

 

[half k cruiser]

@scrowley I have the same issue with mine. I actually fixed it a few years ago and its worked its way loose again. There is a writeup back in the old threads somewhere. I think I even tried to get it moved to FAQ because it was so hard to find. I can't remember what all was involved but it was fairly simple to fix. I know you pull the cover from around the column and you will see some gears in there that mesh together to make the tilt work. That's where your problem is.