it wasn't a torx bolt. i think it has a 10mm hex head and was probably about an inch long. it seems like the whole column is loose, not the steering wheel itself.

thanks, I'm with you now. I was thinking loose column by the couple of bolts underneath only. You've seen a bit more and definately brought up some great points.

damn, sounds like i may just take it to the GM dealership since this is my daily driver and need it for work (no time to work on it).

btw, i looked at the bolt again and it'* actually more like 1/2"-3/4" long.

i've had the entire column out of my Cutlass numerous times (heck, it has a '93 Lumina column in it right now lol), and the bolts that hold the column up are VERY easy to get to....guess that is not the case on the H-bodies :(

just to clarify, the steering wheel IS tight to the column, but the column itself is what is loose....

you may have a bad battery terminal... same thing happened to me twice, but the second time i ran out of gas

well i haven't fixed it yet but have noticed some things...

it seems to be happening more often now. when the gauges stop working, everything goes off except the speedo & tach. the compass turns off, the DIC turns off, and the fuel gauge as well as the oil/temp/volts guages stop working. also, the odometer doesn't count mileage when it'* off! that sucks! trip odometer also resets itself as i mentioned earlier. i don't think the steering column being a little loose has anything to do with the problem. it seems to stop working when it gets a little cooler outside (like when it gets dark out). usually i can get everything to start working again if i just smack the top of the dash hard :?

i'm going to pull the cluster out on my next day off and clean the plug(*) with QuikDry electrical contact cleaner, and see if there is anything obviously messed up like a pinched wire. i'm hoping it'* not a cracked solder joint on a circuit board, as that would be pretty hard to track down.

thanks again

How does the column shake?

There'* three bolts that hold it in, Pull the radio trim (clips) and the column peice (two 10mm bolts) to see the two upper (13mm i think) bolts that hold the top of the column in.

Anyway, If a bolt fell out it'* going to have wear marks as it was vibrating. Look for a hole it fits in (with accompanying wear marks) and put it back.

Things are loose, they are rubbing and when you smack it...it works. This sounds classic of a bad connection.

Tighten that wheel up and pull the cluster at your next chance. Matter of fact the techinfo article tells you to pull the column down. You don't need to, for the cluster to come out.

Same here......guages quit several times over a couple of days.

Very corroded battery cable!!!!!!!!

Haven't run out of gas (yet) :P

If you are pulling the cluster, dropping the column is necessary. To pull the dash, PULLING the column is necessary. When I pulled my entire dash I didn't pull the column and boy was that a bitch! Never again would I attemt that without pulling it.

But yeah, it sounds as though the bolts that hold the column to the support[*] fell out. Not internal bolts. I had to move the car real quick once with the column dropped [but still secured, somewhat], and that too was a bitch. Again, never going to do that one again.

I'm trying to remember how I got to the mounting bolts.. I think just pulling the fuse panel.. but I could be dead wrong. I can check when I get home from school if ya want.


-justin