I am in the final stages of assembling my TII swap series 2. I've run into a problem with the steering column; when fully assembled, the steering wheel is rubbing on the bottom right side of the column cover. Parts wise, it's a 85 SE gear and column with 82 S multifunction switch, cover and steering wheel. The multifunction attaches with a sort of clamp and seams to become misaligned when tightened. I think this is what is causing the wheel to hit the cover, but I can't tell if I'm missing a sleeve or if there is a difference in the column. Everything else has matched up great. I'll take a pic as soon as I can. Any help is appreciated.

 

I had this issue, in my case, the steering column tube had actually slid very slightly out of the steering box (the only thing holding it in the box, on the 81.5-85 boxes is friction on that rubber seal), and was putting the combo switch and cover too close to the wheel.

Try loosening the two bolts that hold the column to the firewall/cowl area and pushing the tube down a bit.

You should have ~2.5" of the steering column shaft sticking out of the top of that tube in order for it to all work together without rubbing. I'm sure of this measurement because of the FC/FB columns I've made for my FC subframe swaps, as well as my prior re-speed steering installs. It works perfectly every time.

Hopefully that makes sense

 

Just had another thought, the small hole that the combo switches "pin" fits into is in a different spot on the 84/85 columns. Did you drill a new hole for your switches pin to fit into? That could be causing the misalignment of your switch...

 

Sweet, I was wondering about that tab, I think i still have the old gear somewhere, hopefully I can find it and compare. Its so close to fitting.

 

Yeah I actually had the opposite issue when doing my last FC subframe swap - on my 85 S. I used a spare steering tube i had from an 83 and didn't realize that small hole was in a different spot until after I had built the FB/C column. Just had to drill a small hole for the "tab" (it's not really a tab on the 85 switch, more like a little bump) to fit in. Nothing major, all works fine now.

 

Guys I have a question. I have an unused steering gear and column that I obtained years ago from a forum member. The part which attaches to the steering wheel was recessed into the column and was a challenge to extend. Once it was extended it wouldn't stay out. Do I understand correctly from this discussion that what holds the column in the extended position is a tab on the combination switch? Does that serve as the protection in the event of an accident? i.e. your chest hits the steering wheel, the tab breaks and the column collapses? I haven't had the unsued column installed because I wasn't sure if it was any good since it was already collapsed. Photos showing how this works would be great if you are able to take some.

 

The collapse ability of the column is handled by two parts. The actual steering shaft coming out of the gear is a two part sleeve with are secured together with a plastic shear bond. The column itself is secured to the dashboard buy similar plastic parts.

In the event of a crash where the driver contact the wheel, all this stuff breaks and the column will shorten.

in other news, I had an emergency appendectomy and am currently unable to work on the car till later this week.

 

See attached

 

I hope you have a speedy recovery and thanks for your response. Based on your answer it seems as though the column I have is no good because the plastic shear bond must already have been sheared for the inner piece to have been all the way into the outer sleeve. Do you know of a way to make it usable?

 

There have been a few threads over the years about fixing them, I can't find any right now, but basically you just need to drill two 1/8" holes through both pieces of the steering column and hold them together with something that will shear easily (cotter pin or some 1/8" aluminum rod like the respeed r/p kit used). It is certainly repairable. If the car you got that steering from was hit hard enough to collapse the outer tube/sleeve then I would probably find another one.... Chances are the rest of the box would be junk at that point.

This is all assuming you care about the crash protection. Much of my time behind the wheel is spent surrounded by idiots in SUV's going way too fast. If I were to get into an accident the column spearing me in the chest would be the least of my worries. When I did my FB/C column I just welded it together. For liability reasons I would NOT recommend you do this though