As you can see from the photos, these are lubricated and stuck in place to hold the steering wheel on. There is one on each side. Unfortunately, both of these have slid their way out of the holes and the steering wheel is currently kind of hanging there. I will check in the morning if I will have to take the whole steering column apart to line it up again. I can't seem to get it back into place, lined up to slide these both back in... and putting them back in the hole has only been a temporary solution anyway because they slide back on out again... which is what I've been doing until tonight when they both slid out on my drive home, leaving my steering wheel limp in the vertical axis, then I was pushing it around to try to line up the holes and it came out of some sort of connection with the steering mechanism.... not good.

What is supposed to keep them in the holes? I have tilt-steering, meaning that I can't simply loc-tite them in place or else my tilt-wheel won't tilt. Any experience that anyone has had or knowledge in what's supposed to hold these in place would be greatly appreciated. I have attached photos below:

Thank you

They are just press in tight if they come out by them self then the hole they go in is to large you can try some loc-tite but just on the outer half of the pin . but if it was me I would replace the whole steering column .

I found this thread and Old Wolf has it 100% correct! THANK YOU!

Tilt steering hinge pins are worn...

Quote:

My 2000 Cavalier had the pins "walk out" too. I had side to side play and decided to investigate. The pins are inserted at the factory and then the housing is crimped to hold them in. I took a small screwdriver and tapped the pins back in. I then took a large screwdriver and hammer and re-crimped the housing (take it easy on the crimping Arnold!)

Haven't had a problem since, knock on wood.

FIXED!

To anyone with a wobbly steering wheel, or steering wheel wobble left and right, it is because of these pivot pins. Eventually the left one will come out completely, then the right one, and the steering wheel will fall loose with an insane amount of up and down movement... not safe. If your steering wheel has play in it left and right, it is most likely that one of the pivot pins has walked out. Following Old Wolf's instructions, in accordance with the GM Service Manual for the Sunfire, you simply replace the pivot pin and then using a punch or screw driver and hammer, you are able to deform the edge of the soft metal of the housing in three locations to hold the pivot pin in place. They will sink about 1mm lower than flush to allow this. Done correctly, the pivot pins should not creep out again.

To gain access to the left pivot pin, so you may "stake" it (as the GM Service Manual calls it), you will have to remove the turn signal lever. There are two bolts, 6mm I believe, one on top and one facing forward. The steering wheel is in the way so it is tricky to get access to that one. I used a needle nose pliers while being careful not to strip it... it is not torqued down much, not necessary, so it works. It is not necessary to remove the steering wheel. Also, the tilt steering adjustment may be tricky to figure out at first look. There are two "tracks" side-by-side at the bottom of the steering assembly, with gear-like "teeth" that point downward. These catch on to a bar, holding the steering wheel at your desired adjustment. When pulling the adjustment lever forward, it releases and allows the steering wheel to be moved up or down. If for some reason something gets stuck or isn't working right, you may stick a screw driver in from the bottom or the side to lift up on these tracks while pushing the steering wheel up or down to your desired height.

Thanks to the org for being such a great resource. I hope this contribution helps someone!

I better recheck mine. How bad was your wobble before it let loose?

Duck tape! haha... naw i will look into this, this may be my issue!


Fireboy153
Brady Fire Co. - Station 150
Long Live The Sunflower! (yea its not so "cool")

My wobble was about an inch of play to the left after that first pivot pin walked out. Now that it's fixed, the steering wheel is firmly in place where it should be

If this happens repeatedly, consider the following:

The GM Service Manual suggests replacement of the "Steering Column Support Assembly":
"Important: Once the steering column support and the pivot pins have been staked 3 times, replace the steering column support."

Just to be clear... the one inch of wobble wasn't enough to greatly concern me with the first pivot pin missing. I was going to "Get around to fixing it."... But when the second pivot pin came out, without warning, while making a turn, it was a sudden failure in which the steering wheel gained a feeling as if it was almost floating free. Like if you hold the tilt adjustment lever forward, then add another dimension of unnatural left and right movement to that... It would have been a moment of panic for an inexperienced casual driver.

It went loose on me as i parked by my shop. so it kept me up until1:30am but its fixed and good again. Thanks James for you help with explaining this and i hope others may check it every so often before it causes a real mess.


Fireboy153
Brady Fire Co. - Station 150
Long Live The Sunflower! (yea its not so "cool")