91 XJ Steering Column Replacement
 

Hey,

Someone broke into my truck the other night and tried to steal it. They couldn't figure out how to get it started, so they weren't successful. Luckily, they didn't know that on a Jeep ignition you have to pull the contact lever towards you, instead of away from you like on any other car.

The column is screwed though, everything on the lever doesn't work (wipers, signals, high beams) as they busted the assembly of the entire left side of the column.

I've purchased an entire new column, complete with all the levers off of eBay.

Does anyone have any insight or write ups available on how to remove a Cherokee steering column? I've looked tirelessly on the internet, with no success. Does Haynes have anything perhaps?

Any help would be appreciated, living in an Alberta winter with no wipers, signals and lights is not fun. I would explain how frustrated I really am, but I'm sure this forum would like that...

Thanks,

Will.

It is very easy,there is 2 15mm bolts just under the dash to remove,2 13mm bolts against the firewall inside that need to be removed,and one 11mm bolt that holds the shaft to the steering box,Once the colum lowers down from the dash just unplug the ign,blinkler harness,and wiper harness,also the lockring cable from the colum. I have some pics if you need them,takes about and hour to replace.
I hope you got keys with the new colum?most of the time they do not and you have to install a new tumbler.
You will need to remove the bottom of the dash to get to the 2 15mm nuts.

Brilliant, thank you.

Yeah, it does come with keys, which I was glad to hear as I didn't want to switch out the tumblers.

If you have pics that would be awesome, the less time I have to spend out in this frickin weather replacing this the better. You can e-mail them if easier, will@7sgroup.com

Thanks again.

thanks for that it'll make my life easier I have to switch mine out and heading to pick and pull (the remove it yourself wreckers) today to grab a decent column and a few odds and ends this will help tremendously. :thumbup:

your welcome

and back from pick and pull the only thing I would add to this is the nuts on the outside of the firewall may spin when disconnecting them but all in all pretty easy to remove and I even found one with an ignition key sweet deal no swapping or replacing cylinders

Could you upgrade to the 95 style since your replacing anyway?

hell if I know but mine is an 88 w/o airbags and the 95 has airbags I don't like to screw with that sort of thing.

these older columns are also in the chevy s-10's around the same year models if somebody in the future finds this and is looking for a JY replacement... make sure the tilt is tight before you pull it... that theres no play... i did a write up on this tilt issue and theres abunch of them out there...

Thanks for all the info - in any case, I'm going to take pictures while I do it and post a write-up after. Even if it's not hard, I couldn't find any information prior to this thread on removing a column.

that would explain the key :icon_biggrin:

GM key? yep!

I have a similar problem. Mine is a 92 4.0l 4wd AT. Some kids borrowed it for a day. When the police recovered it the ignition key was.punched and the left side was complety torn apart. So I'm going to get a complete column. All i'll need to do is remove the 2 mounting brackets and the 4 on the column under the dash and they pull it off? Or is there something else? I already pulled all the wires and connectors off already. Thanks in Advanced.

Answer to a few questions
 

The only steering column that compatible with 91-93 Jeep is the 91-93 W/O air bags, after 94 airbags were standard. I had a problem with a busted steering column in my 91 Jeep XJ and discovered that the only steering columns that were compatible was the Jeep XJ and the Jeep Comanche from 91-93. It's very easy to replace, but finding them is very hard since the GM steering they put in those years was defective and busted easily. As far replacing the key tumblers, was very easy after I found a steering wheel puller.

89 Cherokee
 

Is this the same for an ‘89?