Shark Racer

I have a 78 w/ cruise, tilt/tele.

My turn signal stalk has one hell of a lot of play in it. What do I need to do to fix it?

How deep in the wheel do I have to go? Will I have to mess with anything else in the car?

Thanks in advance...

-Steve

groovyjay

I have the same problem so I'm staying tuned to hear what others have done to fix theirs. :cheers:

egertge

when i redid the interior of my vette last winter i replaced the turn signal switch that is inside the steering column for the same reason. i figured that would cure the play in the lever, but it didnt do much good. it does switch a lot easier, but the play is still there. while i was in there, i looked around and couldnt figure out how to strenghten it or reduce the amount of play in it. does you switch work alright? not too stiff or any other problems? if you dont have any other problems other than play in the lever, id say just deal with it, because getting in that far and replacing that switch is a pain. you must go behind the lock plate to get to the switch, and that lockplate is horrible to get back on, took me and my dad quite a while to get it back on the two times ive had mine off. i dont know if they make a tool for it, but the normal tool for lockplates doesnt work on the tilt/tele columns. but if you have a lot of spare time and you dont mind you thumbs hurting for a couple days after you get done putting that lockplate back on, id say tear into it and see what you can figure out. maybe someone else on here will have some advice on how to do it, unfortunately i had no luck trying to figure it out.

Fevre

The Bubba Repair Manual says to stuff some foam both above and below the switch, try diff grades/amounts till it takes out the slack but allows it to lock. :D

Glutamine83

thanks Bubba, always a saint when it comes to repairs

:chevy

Surfer69

I had same loose one and opened it up and it was half broken. I would assume yours must be broken also.

isosceles

me too.

Jim Shea

Starting in 1977, the turn signal lever presses into a separate plastic part called a pivot. The pivot connects to the dimmer switch (which is mounted down on the side of the steering column - under the dash) as well as having a short arm that extends into the steering column and connects to the turn signal switch.

It is most likely the plastic pivot that is broken. There was a special pivot for 1977 that included the windshield washer switch. There was a different pivot from 1978 through 1982 that was just a pivot. The good news is that the pivot is still available from GM dealers and also from most Corvette suppliers. The bad news is that I have two part numbers for the pivot and I am not sure which one is correct. It is either 7833704 or 7833283. Either one sells for about $14. I would appreciate it if someone would tell me which one is correct!

Some more bad news/good news. The bad news is that you do have to disassemble your steering column in order to remove the old pivot from the turn signal switch housing. The good news is that I have written complete procedures on disassambling and repairing the C3 steering columns. Go to http://www.corvettefaq.com and look under Steering. You will need to download either the T&T papers or the standard (non-adjustable) steering column papers. There are quite a few papers but all the information is right there. Download the following - either Tilt & Telescoping Column or Std Column:

Std 76-79 or T&T Column 77-82 Steering Wheel and Horn Parts
Blowup Pic
Disassembly & Repair Paper #1, #2, #3
Disassembly & Repair Pics #1, #2, #3

I know that the above is a lot of material, but you can repair the column yourself with a minimum of tools.

Good luck,
Jim Shea

Skeets

same thing with my '79... it's got the angled stalk too, which probably makes it worse.
I did actually take the steering column apart once , & i think that the stalk just 'clips' in if i recall correctly... into a plastic retainer... to remove the switch you pull out the stalk.
It's not a very snug fit (especially after 20 years of use).

You can't really glue it or anything permanent, in case you need to remove the switch in future (besides, glue is a bit...erm.. bubba?)

I recon there must be a clever little bit of engineering that will solve the problem ...... let me know when you find out! :D

OkeeGuy

BEEN THERE...DONE THAT

on my 79 it was the easiest fix i have ever done next to washing my windshield!
i simply pulled the switch handle out...
cleaned the end off...
and put a couple of drops of locktite on it...
i used the high strength s perfect but the medium will do...
i stuck it back in and didnt use it for a day or so...

believe me...this works...it feels like new...
AND if you need to remove it, you can...
it ended of the problem for about a year...
then i just did it again... :yesnod:


[Modified by SIGNGUY, 6:58 PM 7/8/2003]

Skeets

Whoops! .... sorry Signguy :lol:

....guess i had better gut the glue out! :D