Steering colum tear down and repairs
 

There is always alot of questions about the steering colum and how to repair it. It is also one of those items that there cannot be enough info on how to repair it.
This is a detailed write-up on all the parts and how to repair them if needed.
The first thing I will say before we get started,if you do not have the tools listed below or just do not feel this is for you I would suggest you go to your local jy and find a good replacement,they cost me about $45 and is alot easier to replace the entire colum than tear it apart.
As with other write-ups if you have questions you can contact me anytime you want and I will assist in anyway I can.
Procedure.
1. First thing to do is disconnect the negative cable from your battery,not the positive. The reason for this is so you do not arc a wrench or tool on metal if you remove the positive first,if you are working on a colum with an airbag you would also want to remove the positive second and touch the positive and negative together to discharge any residual power from capacitors and relays so you do not set of the airbag by accident in your face,this will also prevent arcing the pcm.(before touching them together make sure both are disconnected from battery)
One more note of importance,have a small can or magnetic tray to put all your screws and small parts in,saves time.
Take pictures of every step so you can refer back to them if needed.

2. These are the tools you will need to repair the colum.
A. Regular screwdriver
B. Phillips head screwdriver
C. Set of torx,or male torx sockets for either 3/8,1/4 drive ratchet
D. Cresent wrench,medium size
E. 1/2" drive ratchet and either 13/16" or 21mm socket
F. Wheel puller
G. Lockplate removal tool,has red handle.
H. 3/8" ratchet 13mm and 15mm sockets
I. 1/4 " drive ratchet,extension and 1/4" socket
Attachment 389185

3. Remove horn cover,just gently pull off on side by hand.

Attachment 389186

4. Remove horn button,held in place by 3 phillips head screws. The horn button is made up of the button,3 screws,green plastic insulator,and flat metal spring so button can retract.

Attachment 389187
5. Metal spring for horn,concave side goes away from you.
Attachment 389188
6. Remove steering wheel nut,either use 13/16 or 21mm socket and 1/2" drive ratchet,I use a cresent,if it has not been removed before the socket works best.
Attachment 389189
7. Install wheel puller on steering wheel,use a cresent to remove steering wheel,if wheel has not been off before it maybe hard to remove,if it is just take your time and gently tap on the wheel this will loosen it up.
Attachment 389190
8. After wheel is removed install lockplate removal tool and remove the lockplate,this lockplate is what locks your wheel when you turn the key off,once you have pushed the plate down remove the little oval lockplate retainer clip,I do not have a pick of it,just forgot to take one sorry. It is clear to see,be careful removing it not to bend it or spread it apart to much,if you do you can use some pliars to squeeze it back together.
Attachment 389191
9. This is the blinkler cancellation switch,it also has a copper ring on the back for the horn button,when use push on the horn it actually are pushing down on the button shown on the right.
Attachment 389192
10. This just shows the back side and the copper ring.
Attachment 389193
11. Remove the screw shown here,it connects the blinkler switch handle to the blinkler switch assembly.
Attachment 389194
12. This is the blinkler and hazard light lights switch,remove the 3 phillips head screws,do not try to removeit at this point,you need to loosen the bolts on the lower colum that holds the colum in place,the wires run between the colum and the bracket that holds the colum to the body,once those are loose it will make pulling the wires up through the colum alot easier.
I was replacing the entire blinler housing so I had to remvoe all the wiring harness for the wipers and blinklers,all is covered in next pics.
Attachment 389195
13. Remove hazard lights switch.
Attachment 389196
14. Disconnect blinkler and hazard harnes connector located on right side of colum under ignition switch.
Attachment 389197
15. Disconnect wiper control module.
Attachment 389198
16. This is one of the 4 13 mm bolts you need to loosen along with the 15 mm nuts shown just to the right here to get the wires to slide through the colum easily. Removing left side of lower dash makes it much easier to get to these bolts. Removing lower dash is covered in dash removal in the write-up section.
Attachment 389199
17. Remove the tilt wheel adjusting handle
Attachment 389200

18. Remove these 3 torx head screws,they hold the blinkler housing to the colum.
Attachment 389201

19. Remove the screw shown,it holds the ignition tumbler in place.
Attachment 389202

20. Remove tumbler.
Attachment 389203

21. Remove blinkler housing,like I said before this was my main reason for taking apart my colum,if all you want to do is tighten your tilt because the bolts are loose,you would not have to remove it all the way,just far enough to get to the tilt.

Attachment 389204

Steering colum teardown and repairs 2
 

22. One of the main problems with the colum is the tilt steering comes loose,once you have the blinkler assembly out of the way you can get to the bolts that hold the knuckle tight.
A couple of things to note is,1 there is 4 bolts not 3,you can get to 3 of them but not the fourth,in order to get to the fourth one on the top right the entire knuckle has to come apart and in my opinion it is not worth the trouble,3 will hold it just fine.

Attachment 389205

23. This is one of the bolts,this one is the bottom right. I use a 1/4" socket to tighten them.

Attachment 389206
24. This is the plate that holds the tilt steering tight and where the bolts screw into,it can only fit in the lower colum one way.
Attachment 389207
25. To get to the bolt on the top left I find it easier to remove the cam for the lockplate pin,it is possible to get to it with universal but not the best in my opinion,so to remove the cam first remove the little bolt that holds the spring in place.
The hole to the right is how you get to the lower left bolt also.
Attachment 389208
26. Remove spring from lock pin.
Attachment 389209
27. gently remove cam with regular screwdriver.
Attachment 389210
28. Remove ignition actuator rod.

Attachment 389211

29. Remove lockplate pin.
Attachment 389212

30. All that so you can get to this bolt.
Attachment 389213
31. These following pictures are just for info.
32. This is the buzzer actuator and is located on the right side of the colum,see next pic. When you install it the key has to be in the on position or it will not go in the slot.
Attachment 389214
33. This is where the actuator goes,(circled in black) not where my finger is pointing.
Attachment 389215
34. This is the housing that holds the actuator for the high beems,it is located on the left side of the colum where the tilt steering handle is,the best way I have found to reinstall it is to use some heavy grease like bearing grease to hold it in place,then install it just before you put the blinkler housing back in place,as it is part of the housing, There is a little knob on the housing that the actuator uses as a guide.
Attachment 389216

35. This is the actuator rod it sets against. before installing the actuator make sure the rod is on the dimmer switch on the lower colum.
Attachment 389217

36. This is the plastic sheath that the wires for the blinklers and wipers go through on the colum,it sets between the colum and the bracket that holds the colum,the 2 square holes go over the bosses on the colum that the bracket attaches to.
Attachment 389218

37. This just shows the horn button.
Attachment 389219

I hope this helps those wanting to do this repair.