steering column movement

[stingray]

Hi, my 77 has slight approximately 15mm up and down movement on the steering column but it seems to be pivoting only about 200 mm from steering wheel so who can fix this pedders do not do this.

[Vettech]

Pic of 78 - will no doubt be the same.

[Vettech]

Your 77 will be as per my 78 - pic is below.
As you can see the lower LH end goes thru the fire wall and is secured.
The outer casing or tube goes up and to the right where it secures to underside of the Dash assembly.

The lower inner shaft or steering column has bearings/ bushes etc to support and centre it. This shaft should have minimal movement in any direction, but at approx 200mm from the top where it says "PAD ASM - I/P" and the assembly circumference increases, inside this is a knuckle joint that allowes the upper shaft to tilt up/down from the lower shaft.

For some reason I cant find a diag of the innards of this bit, from vague memory its very similar to the early C4's.

[Vettech]

This pic is out of my 87 GSM.

Very similar, but the lower pic gives a basic idea, the 4 upper pics are more complicated, this job requires at least three Spec Tools.

Maybe some one else (Bfit or Sirfixalot) can throw more light on the subject - personally I would not worry about 15mm of play, as you can see the knuckle is large and thus the play would be also.

As long as the bolts in the fire wall and the bolts securing the saddle to the dash assembly are torque tight, all good.

[Vettech]

From 87 GSM. very small but it shows the layout of the shafts relative to each other

[sirfixalot]

Can be a number of things worn pins in tilt mechanism, loose tilt knuckle bolts, Collapsed bearing, or worst case scenario lower tube that tilt knuckle sits into is broken due to metal fatigue. Pretty much all problems are caused by pushing off steer wheel to get out or into car. As Vettech said specialist tools are required all can be repaired. If you get it out of car can sort it for you 

[sirfixalot]

77 is a one of year is a bit of a bugger putting in  the blinker arm with wiper switch on stalk

[Vettech]

Pic of the three items as per the 87 C4 book.

Steering wheel puller - most people have.
Lock plate depresser - I made one up - somewhere in the garage.
Pivot Pin Remover - now if this was an Austin/Morris handbook the diag would have sizes & diamentions. But alas.

But it only requires two (2) nut/bolts under dash, two (2) on fire wall, disc electrics, and undo the knuckle/ rag joint and give it to Sirfixalot.

[stingray]

I don't want to pull it out because I will probably lose something I would rather somebody who knows what to do to fix so who can do this job?