My steering column has been wobbling lately, and I hear according to Four Wheeler magazine that its a pretty common problem.

Apparently GM didnt use any loctite on 4 bolts that have to do with the tilt steering, and eventually they become loose and the steering wheel wobbles. They claim its a do it yourself fix.

I can't figure out how to get apart the steering column so I can re-tighten the bolts with loctite. Its an 89 GMC sierra, I take off the cap for the horn, take off a small pin on a bolt, and remove a fairly large nut, but it doesnt seem to do anything, the steering wheel is still firmly planted, and as far as i can see theres nothing else to go for.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I just started at this site but ive looked around and its awesome!

You better be carfull if you have a airbag when doing that. Pull the fuse first!!!!

You're going to need a pressure plate compressor tool and a steering wheel puller to get the steering wheel off. You then need a special tool to disassemble the pins to get the column to come apart so you can get to all the bolts. Otherwise I think you can only get two of them.

It's not a very easy job. I suggest searching the internet for a while.

Do you think I would be better off having this done by the dealer? seeing as theyve probably done this before a hundred times, and have all of the correct tools?

I googled it to all hell, I found a few places that stated that it was a problem, but nowhere that had any other info.

It'd probably be cheaper for you to go buy a tight junkyard column and put the column in than have the dealership tighten it up. In the end, you'd have a spare column that you can tear apart and see how it works.

It's a time consuming job. If this is your only vehicle I suggest either finding a junkyard column or have a repair shop do it. Just about anyone will have the $45-50 worth of tools to get the job done. Get estimates everywhere.

whats involved with changing the whole column itself? Isnt it even more work?

I'm gonna call around tomorrow. Thanks.

one quick bump

Changing the column is a piece of cake. There's a couple of bolts holding it to the dash, then a plate at the firewall you have to take off. And four bolts holding it to the shaft in the engine compartment. There's a couple of plugs near the base of the column you have to undo.
I had to replace my column, and ended up getting a new-rebuilt one from columnsgalore.com
It was expensive ($200), but I really didn't want to mess around with something from the junkyard. When it comes to safety, it's easier for me to pay a little extra cash.