To tell the truth, I don't know why I am even posting this update with the 1 whole reply it got.
I'd thought that there'd be a whole bunch of us w/ similar column issues but evidently every bodies columns are perfect.
Mine on the other hand was not. After looking at it, and doing some internet searches, it appeared that NOBODY had a solution to this problem, .........ever.
I posted a similar thread in tech, but got the same outcome, so, for anybody left that gives a rats' ass, this is what I did to fix it.
I decided to separate the column at the pivot point. Cannot be done in the car, the damn pivot point is hardened. Trying to drill it by hand would be futile, and the angle would be impossible to keep even remotely perpendicular.
I removed the column an drilled the pivot points out by progressively increasing the bit size (and killing the bit each time consecutively). The two pieces finally separated at slightly under 3/8".
There are two bearings in that head, easily removed by tapping. I looked at them, and other than a wash and re-lube, couldn't determine that my squeak was coming from there. I removed the shaft, and could see no area that looked dry, or worn. But I cleaned and re-lubed that as well. The bolts behind the multifunction switch were loose, so I removed them and loctited them as detailed in other threads. To tell the truth, I now had a column in two pieces, and drilled beyond reassembly, and couldn't tell you that I did ANYTHING to fix my damn squeak. Now I was faced w/ the reality that there was no way to put the two pieces back together w/o somehow "bolting" them back together.
So I drilled and tapped the pivoting part of the head 3/8-24. Then drilled the pivot part out to 3/8".
I installed two 3/8-24 studs in the holes and ran two locking nuts down to hold the two pieces together ala FRANKENSTEIN.
Embarrased to say that this pic is supposed to show the threads I tapped into the pivoting head.
And this of course would be the pivot portion.
The next blurry pic is of the two pieces married, and nutted together:
What happens when you do all this you ask ( all one of you). The column gets factory tight. It still pivots, yet it no longer wobbles. The left-right play in the steering was dramatically minimized. Most importantly and for whatever reason as a by product my diabolical column-ectaty,......
The stinking squeak is GONE.
Now I cannot recommend this solution to anybody else, because it takes the requisite drill press, and makes it really hard to get the column trim back on. but in my case, it fixed my problem. And there was always that "what if I "f" it up so bad I can't fix it?" thingy to consider....
AS a footnote while I had it off, and since I was butchering things, I decided to "shallow up" the dish in my retro steering wheel. The wheel was really too deep for me, and it made me feel like I was sitting too close to it. I looked for a custom aftermarket piece, but they were all too "blingy" for me. So that said, I decided to "customize" it myself.
OLD WHEEL
NEW, IMPROVED "LOVE IT OR HATE IT" WHEEL
OLD,.....
NEW.
I cut 1.5" inches out of the dish, and welded it back together. Painted it gloss black and added red pinstripes to match the interior color.
I don't know if I like it enough to keep it, but for now I can stop feeling like I'm about a foot away from the wheel.
