Howdy Gents,
So my lower steering bearing disintegrated. The upper bearing seems fine, though I did not disassemble the collar area since that is such a PIA job, but rotation is smooth and noise free so I am just going to cross fingers it'll last. Not sure where you find that bearing if it goes. I got the repop lower from OPGI which fits great, however, on the schematic for the 4-speed column (closest version to the auto floor shift I'd guess) it shows a washer between the bearing and the column clamp. I didn't find a washer in disassembling and can't find anyone who has taken any pics of their column, at least not detailed pics of this area. Anyone know if this washer exists on theirs? It would have to be a 3/4" washer and for it to work it would have to be somewhat thick as I would think it is used to press the inner bearing race up against the notch in the column. Otherwise I'm not sure how the clamp keeps the bearing in place. I've seen some pictures of chevelle columns that use a spring between the clamp and the bearing but that is definitely not in the manual. Info on columns is tough to find so hoping one of you has gone through a rebuild or has an original to reference. Thanks.
Elvin