1st gen steering-- a scary first....
 

Even after almost two decades around these cars I've never seen this happen on any of mine:

On the way home in my '84 GSL (std steering box) 2 days ago my signal switch would no longer cancel automatically as the wheels straightened. "No problem" thought I. "That little white plastic thingy must have broken. I'll just swap in that other combination switch I have under the bench in the garage when I have time on Sunday."

But when I began this minor task I noticed that the steering wheel was stood off from the plastic column cover by almost one inch, as though the nut had come loose and the wheel was sliding off the spindle. The little tits on the plastic ring that cancels the signals were clearly visible, explaining why those weren't working. I'd been driving the car like this for two days(!)

As it turned out, the nut was still tight on the spindle. What had happened was the spindle assembly itself had moved rearward, taking the steering wheel with it. Using a block of wood and a hammer I was able to tap the column forward into its proper position.

But this begs the questions: What has let go inside the column assembly to cause this? (I can't see anything abnormal from the outside). And is there an easy fix without having to swap in another column?

Has anyone else ever had this happen to them?

My old GSL=SE used to do this. The steering wheel would pop out like you described. But I would just pop it back in. It would go back and forth like that if I pulled on it.

The collapsible section of your steering column has broken. I don't know how to fix other than replacing the column. The FSM make several references to not striking the steering wheel or column because the collapsible shaft will be damaged. I had an 81 that you could pull the steering wheel out about 1 whole inch. If it was out enough it would contact the blinker cancel plastic thing. I learned to live with it, eventually the car was totaled so the problem kind of solved itself.

Rearview may have hit the problem.

Not an easy fix but with our steering system the lower shaft is replaced by removing the upper shaft from the lower shaft. The way we put it back together will also work for your repair.

You will need some 1/8" aluminum dowel and some heat shrink tube. You can find both at a local hardware store. If you have trouble finding the aluminum dowel then you can visit a local welding shop and ask for some aluminum tig welding rod.

The holes in your lower shaft are not all the way through so you will need to drill the holes through and then insert the aluminum dowels into the holes. Leave the dowels long and "mushroom" the head on both ends. Use the 1" heat shrink tube over the joint and heat it to shrink down.

Now the bad part about the repair would be that the entire steering box must be removed out the front of the car and the outer steering shaft removed from the steering box.

-billy

My wheel does the same thing, I don't think it affects anything other than the turn signal auto cancel.

Thanks for the info guys. I knew there was a collapsible section there, and that the problem had to be internal, but I had no way of knowing precisely where the breach was.

My main concern was the possibility that the shaft could eventually move far enough aft to disconnect from the steering box while driving. I'll have to keep an eye on it until I can find the time to fix or replace. Meanwhile, having the signal cancellation fail should give adequate notice that it's time to push forward.

I drove my 81 like that for years. In fact, the steering wheels actually wore a ring into the housing around the combo switch! Back when I had my car there was barely internet or a forum to ask the questions so it used to drive me nuts. I never knew it to be a safety hazard, just a nuisance.

Yeah, I drove mine like that for the entire two years I owned that car. I just learned not to pull on the steering wheel.

mine did the same thing. i solved it by moving the steering wheel all the way out and then moving the blinker/wiper switch assy. foreward with it then tighting it down.

Problem solved!