70 C10 Auto Non-Tilt Column Shift Spring Missing

[Gromit]

Searched the archives and factory manuals and parts catalogs and I didn't find anything about this or anyone with this issue on a non-tilt A/T column, so here goes:

This 1970 Chevy C10 with TH350 and non-tilt column shift has a severe case of sloppy shift lever syndrome - and it is mostly coming from the shifter bowl area rather than being down in the trans case linkage or on the end of the column that is on the engine side of the firewall. The manual shifter on the trans with the linkage disconnected feels right with no unusual slop there. And even the linkage bushings are reasonable.

Attached are photos - I know I am missing the small nylon bushing that snaps on adjacent to the ball end of the shift lever; but most importantly I also believe I am missing some kind of spring or wave washer that must go between the bottom of the shifter lever bowl and the shifter lever.

I am attaching member JimK's photo of a shifter bowl from a 1972 tilt column; but since mine is non-tilt you can see it is different between tilt and non-tilt because there is no hole in a non-tilt. As he mentions the Tilt lever takes a 5/16 OD x 1" long spring with a wire size of 0.063"

So my question is does anyone know the specification for the compression spring or wave washer I would look for with this non-tilt column?

Some of the shifter lever slop (maybe 15%) is coming from the previous owner installing a regular roll pin instead of the factory lever pin in the column shift lever to shift bowl - any play at the pin gets greatly magnified at the end of the lever. A 7/32" drill bit will fit through the existing holes but is a little loose; but a 15/64" drill bit is too big and won't go - so just a 1/64 difference - the factory pin must be sized somewhere between & I plan to get one..

Also a smaller issue is I am not sure whether or not the nylon bushing and rubber straight cut O-ring combination shown in the photos is installed correctly so any help there would be appreciated.

[gabej]

Hey Gromit. Did you ever solve this mystery? I've got a '72 GMC with the exact same problem. Can't seem to find a solution either. Hopefully you found a solution.

[Gromit]

Thanks for asking but sadly no, I didn't find a solution.

You might notice yours is the only reply in over two months but because people are so good to one another on this site I took that to be more the group's polite way of telling me a was asking a silly question..

And so I looked more closely at the various photos I could locate in the parts diagrams; there does NOT appear to be a spring or other type of tensioning device installed in the Non-Tilt Shift Bowl (as there obviously is in the Tilt Column Shift Bowl.)

I was able to remove a little more of the slop in the lever by very carefully re-assembling the parts of the upper column and making certain that each part was fully seated and correctly oriented (for example clocked correctly in the slots of the column tube). Also by installing a modified roll pin in the shift lever.

By modified I mean that I installed a machine screw in the top of the roll pin after installing it in the shift lever... this acts to tighten the fit of (or expand slightly) the roll pin in the hole of the shift lever; and also prevents the roll pin from slipping all the way through and eventually falling out.

Most people probably use the factory pin but I have not tried it yet - I believe it is the same diameter as a 7/32 roll pin and the roll pin is 10 cents.

One other observation is that the parts to rebuild an upper steering column seem quite expensive compared to how simple they are; but that is another topic..

[gabej]

Well, that's strange but I guess it makes sense. I've got my column apart and will put it back together with a bit more thought. Thanks for the reply.

[Dagr8npwrfloz]

I don't know the particulars of the auto column but I posted pics in another thread of disassembly of my column... Shouldn't be hard to find with my limited posts... It's 3 on the tree though so I don't know if it would help you

I did however have issues with the shift lever pin and they were the same as yours...either a 64th too big, or to small... I ended up using the too big bit and drilling through the (bowl) and the lever at the same time. Hogging out the hole so to speak. Then I cut the shank off that same drill bit for my pin... Rounded the ends, and cut grooves for a spring clip on both ends. Fits tight tight... The aluminum on the column was worn out from a previous "roll pin fix" so this was my only recourse, other than buying new...