So I made a left turn, and there is resistance turning the wheel back to center position. I push a little harder and hear this loud crack/snap sound.

Now I need to hold the lever up to signal a right turn, it will not stay in place. Left signaling is fine.

Here is the real kicker. When I move and hold the lever to make a right signal my horn blares on and off with no paticular pattern.

I am a loser.

What is required to fix this?

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...480&highlight=

This should be the same problem as mine. I havent fixed it because I dont feel comforable removing the steering wheel. But there is a link in there that tells you how to fix it step by step. -Nick

Well I just got the air bag coil off and I'm stuck. There is this piece right under the coil that is the last thing in my way from fixing it and I have no idea how to get it off. It is ridged all the way around and it is made of metal, and has some locking pin that sticks into it.

How do I get this damn thing off?

Call around and see which auto parts store near you has a steering wheel removal kit for rent or loan. You need this tool to depress the spring loaded lock plate to remove the snap ring and work your way down through the column to the broken part(*).

Here is a link describing "how to" posted by truewildman and taken from the article linked for you above by m1030w6. http://www.autozone.ro/az/cds/en_us/...rInfoPages.htm

Well I took your advice and looked for that tool. Couldn't find it for the life of me, everyone gave me a stupid look and said I would have to order it from a specialty place. Fed up and tired I improvised. I took two bolts of equal length and put the big nut for the steering wheel back on. I put the two bolts along side the steering shaft wedged between the locking plate and the nut. Then I tightened the nut on the steering shaft and slowly but surely it forced the locking plate down and I got the ring off. Install worked the same way but backwards.

Interesting enough, the cam wasn't broken. There were two broken off pieces of metal wedged in the turning signal hardware. One has a white roller on the end of it. I pulled them out with pliers and guess what, it worked.

I have no idea what those damn pieces do but everything is functioning normally and my horn isn't blaring when I put the right turn signal on. I'll take a picture of them sometime.

Now I'm praying I realigned that airbag coil right and its not going to blow up in my face...

Thanks for your help.

Congratulations - you got it fixed. And you know how to get in there again if you need to - so...that'* good. But, those broken pieces of plastic may come back to bite you. Have you tried your high beams yet?

On the first few of these that I did, I used a big washer under the nut, and two steel blocks just the right length in the same way you did, to compress the spring under the plate. But the right tool makes it soooo much easier to expose the circlip.

This reminds me of a general question I've had with airbags - I recently disconnected mine, following the steps in the techinfo artice to remove the dash cluster. I don't have the first clue about what sequence of events must happen (besides running into something) for the air bag to deploy.... but I was VERY nervous about messing with the lead. It was no problem in the end, I disconnected and reconnected it and all is well. But when it comes to removing the actual assembly..... I don't think I would do it. I think I saw a special on 60 minutes or something that showed the explosives used in 'em, and what can happen if it deploys outside of it'* mount..... pretty scary stuff.

Anyway - the question: What'* the general consensus on removing the air bag by people with no experience or training in this area (i.e. ME)? I'm just curious in the event I ever need to do repairs to the turn signal, etc....

If you have any doubts that you can safely remove an airbag -- don't try. And certainly don't try without proper written instructions from a good service manual. Both the factory service manual and Chilton'* 28200 provide detailed instructions on how to safely disarm, remove, handle and install airbags. By carefully following the instructions, there should be no troubles.

Honestly, I was sort of worried about the airbag as well. However I read 3 different sources for the correct procedure and I went aheand and did it.

All you need to do is disconnect the battery, remove all the fuses that have something to do with the airbag system, and disconnect the harness for it which is belowing the steering wheel behind the panel. After that it was just two Torx-25 bolts behind the wheel and it easily came out. Just be sure to read up first and understand the procedure in its entirety.

Bill: Next time I tear into a column I will make sure I have that tool first. My high beams work just fine to...but there is a slight problem. When making that right turn sometimes the turn signal will cancel too early. For example, I will have half made my turn and the blinker cancels. It isn't a big deal at all. Next time I am at a yard and see a good steering column I will take the guts, since I have no idea exactly where that part came from.