Replacing Shift Bowl On Tilt Column

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Big Chip

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Has anyone ever replaced the shift bowl on a tilt column? Mine is broken, it seems like someone just pulled a John Rambo and yanked the thing down into gear. I assume the steering shaft will need to be pulled out below the tilt mechanism and I'm wondering if that can be accomplished while it's in the truck? The other option is to go get another column which I assume would be the easier option. I'm looking for advice either way.
 

Big Chip

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Vbb199

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No advice here, but I'd like to follow along and watch you.

Mines busted on my s10 from forever ago when the key got stuck in the iginiton "off" and I couldn't start it or put it in gear, so I yanked it down and broke it.
 

Goldie Driver

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Used to fix those almost 30 years ago, and we always pulled them to take back to the shop.

I guess were there is a will, there a way, but so much easier to pull it to fox it, or swap it out.

My .02, anyhoo.
 

MisterB

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It's going to be a big pain. I just switched from non tilt to tilt, and I rebuilt the tilt column with new wiring and such and you can't get to that broken part without taking it apart all the way down to that point. You can do it without removing the column from the truck completely (there are lots of youtube videos that will show you), but either way it's pretty involved.

If you just buy a new tilt column, it's going to cost you a small fortune, but you'd definitely save some time.

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Big Chip

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Looks like $150 for the tilt column with cruise for the win. I may try to screw with that shift bowl when I get the old column out but undecided at this point.
 

MisterB

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Looks like $150 for the tilt column with cruise for the win. I may try to screw with that shift bowl when I get the old column out but undecided at this point.
You got a rebuilt tilt column with cruise for $150?

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Big Chip

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You got a rebuilt tilt column with cruise for $150?

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Not rebuilt. It is out of the 78 suburban I bought the hood and doors from. It's still solid, no wobble in the tilt. comes with a steering wheel too.
 

MisterB

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Not rebuilt. It is out of the 78 suburban I bought the hood and doors from. It's still solid, no wobble in the tilt. comes with a steering wheel too.
Cool. What year is your truck? I bought something similar to you out of a '76 Suburban to put in my '80. Once I got in, there were various parts that needed to be replaced, such as the key lock cylinder that was incompatible with my old one. Now, if I had found a 1980 tilt column in perfect condition, and with the keys, it would have been much easier, but as it stood I really had to do a lot of work. Still worth it, but I'd sure have been more hesitant to do it if I'd known what I was getting myself in to.

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Big Chip

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Cool. What year is your truck? I bought something similar to you out of a '76 Suburban to put in my '80. Once I got in, there were various parts that needed to be replaced, such as the key lock cylinder that was incompatible with my old one. Now, if I had found a 1980 tilt column in perfect condition, and with the keys, it would have been much easier, but as it stood I really had to do a lot of work. Still worth it, but I'd sure have been more hesitant to do it if I'd known what I was getting myself in to.

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My truck is a 79 with tilt and cruise so hopefully the wiring harness is the same in both.
 

Big Chip

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It figures. There’s some 79 Blazers there too that I’ll take a look at. I appreciate the heads up!
 

MisterB

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It figures. There’s some 79 Blazers there too that I’ll take a look at. I appreciate the heads up!
It's not impossible. It just might not exactly be plug and play, so check out the link I sent you to make sure

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