steering column major break found

Well, I took the column apart after studying the ElCamino site pics. It really wasn't that tough... If you're familiar with it, I used large washers instead of those little U pullers he made. Worked fine, but get hardened screws, they're only #8 thread and common machine screws stretch and break in the pulling.

Now the bad part - I can only guess that there's some plate at the top of the column tube that the base of the tilt mechanism bolts to with the 4 bolts that come loose. Mine has no place for the 4 bolts, which float free. There are parts of the top that look broken off, but a lot seems missing, and nothing for the 4 bolts to screw to.

I think I'm going to try screwing the base to the top of the column with 2 self tapping screws, perpendicular to the shaft, at 2 points where they overlap. That and some epoxy... That will secure it to the top of the column again, and its position seems to mate with the broken-like parts. It won't be 4 bolts, but it'll be OK, probably. After that, it can be reassembled.

Anyone see any problem with this, or another way, economically? All it really needs is for that tilt base to get firmly mounted.

Thanks in advance.
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Personally, I think STEERING is too critical to do anything but repair the way it was designed, or replace if repair like new isn't possible. If there is something broken inside your column badly enough that all four screws have nothing to screw into -- what do you think your self-tapping screws are going to tap into?

Just hit up the junkyards and buy a used steering column. Do you even use the tilt feature? My MJ has tilt -- the most comfortable position for me is straight (like no tilt), so it never gets touched and I would never miss it if it wasn't there. Replace with a non-tilt column and there's one less thing to worry about going wrong.

After looking for a replacement, and coming up with nothing, which was going to be overpriced anyway, I thought and repaired.

At the top of the column tube, which is a steel tube of great strength, must have been some cheesy bracket. It's this bracket that the 4 bolts screw into (without threadlocker originally...). Based on the bits and pieces, it must be plastic! That's what broke suddenly a while back and made it floppy.

Well, the tilt base, which is what's held to this bracket by the bolts, is also partly a cylinder which slides over the column tube. It's a nice fit, and has a wide overlap in two opposite locations, top and bottom.

I drilled a 1/2" hole in the plastic cover (to allow a socket driver through it), lined up the base on the column, then drilled a pilot hole through the cast tilt base (the side of it's overlapping cylinder) and then into the steel column tube. Let me tell you, that steel is tougher than the usual mild steel I use elsewhere! Anyway, a couple of #12 self tapping screws tightened very tight (1 top, 1 bottom) and it's very secure. These are the same screws that are used (4 per tank) to hold up RV trailer 40 gal water tanks, so it'll hold. The weak point will be the cast cylinder part of the tilt base. I could probably do pullups on it, but won't.

The screws aren't tied to the plastic shroud, and are only into metal inside, but should they work loose or need replacement, the access holes in the shroud are there and no disassembly is required to replace them. With everything re-lubed and the switch rods lined up, it feels brand new!!

And it cost 2 screws... :wow:

IF it breaks (the weak part being the overlap of the tilt base cylinder and not the tilt base itself which is a hefty casting), I will probably take the column out, disassemble it, and fabricate a steel top to the tube for the tilt base to bolt to and weld it on (and bolt it together as original, but in steel not plastic). I can see about a dozen ways to fab a steel mount if I take it out next time, but this should last a good long time.

None of the functional steering parts are broken, and if it does come loose, it will just flop a little like it has been, except those 4 bolts aren't there to bind the turning motion. I was actually pretty used to the floppiness - it was fine but could tilt up without the lever, just that the binding was getting me worried. Those bolts, when loose, can come up and rub on the u-joint and bind it - no worries now.

One other re-assembly bit of advice beyong the ElCamino article - I may have gotten paranoid, but using a hammer to reinsert the pivot pins seemed a bit rough, and they go in tight. I used a C-clamp across them and they went in easily without any impact force to the tilt mechanism.

Thanks for all the help (other thread too) as usual.

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