79-83 manual tilt column rebuild

[78customdeluxe]

So my '84 I'm going to build like my '82 high school truck was for the most part, but there will be some changes. For instance, I'm going nv4500 instead of sm465, and tilt instead of a straight column, because as most of you know, they didn't put as much room between the steering wheel and seat in 84 compared to 82 or maybe 20 years later I'm not as small as I used to be :/ . Well you know how hard it is to find a squarebody tilt manual, let alone a 79-83, well I'll show you some differences in the auto to manual. 84-91 would be much easier than the older ones to build, but you can do it either way. I didn't take as many pictures going together, because I ran into some issues and got fed up with some things. I also didn't go all in on actual disassembly and reassembly pictures, because there are many places out there that have that.

Anyways, the disassembly is straightforward. Remove the lock plate, remove the turn signal switch assembly after removing the arm and the hazard button. remove the lock cylinder, the tilt lever, and the three screws holding the upper bowl onto the upper pivot bracket. Then remove the tilt spring with a phillips screwdriver, pushing in and turning counter clockwise a little bit and it comes out. Then remove the pivot pins and thread the tilt lever back in because you need to disengage the tilt locks. I didn't take any pictures of the lower part disassembly though. I'll have more in the next post on some differences and parts I used.

[78customdeluxe]

Ok, differences in auto to manual. I actually needed three columns to do this. One automatic tilt that I sourced from an 82 blazer for $100, one s10 manual tilt column from a 92 s10 for $50, and one straight manual column from a 90 R30 wrecker. Differences now. Obviously the lower bowl is different, because you don't have a shifter, and you need a key lock(or should have the key lock to prevent you from turning the ignition all the way off and locking the steering column while you are moving), the ignition rod is different because it's taller to hit the key lock on the rack end, and the steering column tube itself is different On the lower pivot, the pivot itself is the same, but the piece that's screwed on it is different as shown in the pictures. Now something that I didn't take any pictures of, which I should have, is the tube itself... The tube is designed to be collapsable, which makes it two pieces. The upper part is different on auto to manual because of where the bowl goes, you need a manual tube. The lower is different because of where the shifter and neutral/reverse switch is. Now the s10 column is shorter, and the lower part has a big piece welded on it. Here is the thing, you can drive them apart fairly easily. When the tubes are bare, you can use a big socket and go from the top end, and drive the bottoms out. Now ONLY do this on the s10 tube, and the straight manual tube. The s10 top tube has the exact same dimensions on the top of the tube to where the dash mount plate is, and the diameter is the same. Now where the ignition switch bolts on, for some goofy reason they made it about a quarter inch closer to the top, so the ignition rod is shorter... Ok, now that you have both tubes apart, you line up the two v marks on both tubes, and somehow get lucky that the plastic housing/ball bearing sleeve thing goes in at the same time that you either press or drive the lower tube in the upper tube. You do this so it's the same length as the original auto tilt tube. Confused yet? I wish I had pictures of this... Ok, another difference that really doesn't matter which one you use if you are building an older column with the dimmer on the floor, but if you are building one with the dimmer on the column you have to pay attention to which you use The lower pivot bracket has a guide hole for the dimmer switch rod to go in. You can use the newer one to build an older column, but not an older one to build a newer column.

[78customdeluxe]

Reassembly. I didn't take too many pictures here, mainly because I ran into several issues. The first was the ignition rod. I didn't pay attention that it was different at first, and started putting it together and the key lock did nothing, so I started tearing it back apart to figure out what was wrong, and that was when I realized that the distance was different too for where the ignition switch went. So anyways, the screws that come loose and let you wheel wobble most of the time are the 4 e torx screws holding the lower pivot on. Gm must have realized by 92 that they needed loctite, because the unmolested s10 column had loctite on the screws, but EVERY column that I've rebuild or disassembled before, never had any loctite on them, and i've had about 20 apart for square body, s10, and g body's. Now like I said, if you are building a newer or older column, it'll make a difference on which lower pivot you use. Now pretty much everything is the exact reverse of disassembly. I used the newer turn signal switch and added the key in ignition switch for the buzzer that started in '84, because I like it myself, but that's your call. Oh, you'll see when I install the pivot pins, instead of just driving them in with a hammer and punch, I thread a screw in, I think it's an 8-32 screw, so you don't mess up the start of the threads. Now here is where I had a hard time that I had to take the whole upper apart about 4 times... I went to put the lock plate on, and couldn't get the snap ring in... Took things apart, measured(because I had to use a different upper pivot because I dropped it coming from the wash tank and cracked where the bearing sits), and everything seemed to be the same. Well I thought I was doing the right thing, but the new bearings were different. They were about 0.040" thicker than the old ones... So times 2, it just didn't work... I cleaned the old ones, repacked them, and put them in. Oh speaking of bearings, I used the bearing kit for the lower column bearing instead of just the plastic "bearing" that was original.

[78customdeluxe]

Last part. So like I said, you know how hard it is to find a manual tilt. I did use all new electronics, lock cylinder, and tried new bearings. So depending on where you see a rebuilt column, you are looking at $700-$1700 dollars. The cheaper ones I saw, they wanted a core, which obviously you don't have if you are wanting to put one in. I did this for about $350, plus I have TONS of extra parts left over. If you wanted to, you could just take the lower bowl off of your old column, and buy a new lower bowl and slide on there, but you won't have the key lock, but you also won't have the huge bulge from the automatic shifter. If you are looking for a manual column to use parts from. The upper tube on up is the same for pretty much anything manual GM, s10, camaro, or full size truck. Now I don't know about things such as the jeeps and other chrysler products that used the saginaw columns like the dodge pickups, if they had the same upper tube length and mounting bolt dimensions as gm's to get one from there, but MOST all the other parts are the same. Now I will add in some other information to the auto only guys who might be converting from a turbo 350 or 400, to a 700r4 or 4l60e/4l80e. You see that plate on the lower pivot that has the notches in it? there is an extra notch in the 4 speed compared to the 3 speed, so that's why you can't get into 1st gear correctly. You should be able to get that from at least any gm car with the saginaw column, so it includes even front wheel drive cars. You can use all the information I gave to build a late, 84-91 column too, you'll just have to add the extra steps for the wiper and dimmer switch parts. Well here is pictures of the lower bearing, and the completed column(minus the correct tilt lever that I bought and couldn't find, so I had to throw the black one from the s10 column on it...) Oh, paint I used SEM Trim Black on it to dye the plastic, and actually the metal parts below the dash I used John Deere Blitz Black because it didn't seem like the Sem liked the metal parts that well, but honestly its pretty much a perfect match. Any question or comments, just let me know, and thanks for your patience and thanks for reading everything, just trying to help people find things that are hard to come by anymore.