87 R10 Steering Column upgrade

[Inchief]

Hi, I got an "87 R10 Stepside with a basic steering column, auto trans shift lever, no tilt, no wiper delay, no cruise control. I have a '88 Suburban donor with auto trans shift lever, tilt, wiper delay,cruise control that I want to put into the '87. I looked at the sticky post about column swaps but I can't get it. So piece of cake or what?

 

[chengny]

Easy - 2-3 hours max.

In the engine compartment, release the nut and pull the bolt that secures the intermediate shaft to the lower column shaft. While you're right there, pull the cotter pin from the shift rod and release the shift rod from the crank arm on the shift tube. Also remove the nuts/bolts from the column to dash clamp. The upper half of the clamp is part of the FW and stays put, set the the lower half aside:

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You'll have this - and the engine side is done.

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In the cab:


1. The lower column trim cover and dash filler plate come off:

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2. With those removed, you'll be looking at this:

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3. To drop the column you'll need to release the clip on the end of the gear indicator wire:

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From where it clips to the bowl shroud. Do it now, so you don't forget:

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4. Then just release the two nuts that secure the column bracket to the instrument panel support. Lower the column until the steering wheel rests on the seat:

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Unplug the harness connectors that attach to the various switches and cable ribbons as necessary. You might have to do the ones on the underside of the column first - before you lower the column. Then, after the column is free - and the steering wheel is resting on the front seat, you will be able to disconnect the harness connectors on the top of the column.

Dive under the dash and pull the harness connector from the back-up lights switch at the very base of the column:

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Almost done. Carefully spread the firewall insulation open to gain access to the lower column seal bolts. There is a slit in the cardboard and jute that extends from the column down - use it to open the pad up and fold it back:

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With the insulation pad out of the way, you can see the heads of the column seal plate bolts. There are five of them.

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Release them and draw the engine side of the column into the cab. You might need to rotate the column a bit to pass the shift lever arm through the FW opening. That's it.

Install your new column in reverse order.

 

[chengny]

Hi, I got an "87 R10 Stepside with a basic steering column, auto trans shift lever, no tilt, no wiper delay, no cruise control. I have a '88 Suburban donor with auto trans shift lever, tilt, wiper delay,cruise control that I want to put into the '87. I looked at the sticky post about column swaps but I can't get it. So piece of cake or what?

About the electrical stuff:

1. Pulse wipers will pretty much drop right in. The motor connections in the engine compartment are the same whether base or pulse. No need to disturb them. The new column will come pre-wired with a intermittent switch. The only thing you need to do is insert the pulse module into the wiper wiring harness. When you open your lower column covers, you'll see this harness connector:

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Break it apart - it's a pain in the ass, use a little screwdriver to help pry the halves away from each other. When you get the halves apart, you'll have this:

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When you pull the column, the half with the loose wires will stay with the truck and the ribbon half will come out with the column. The new column should have the module attached to it's wiring harness. After the new column is installed, reconnect the side of the harness that stayed with the cab to the open side of the module. Like this:

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Before you close the cover back up, look at he back of the module. You'll see a little tab. That tab - if it is still there, a lot of times it's broken off - goes into a similar sized hole in the bracket on the underside of the column:

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Final result:

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If the tab is gone just use a wire tie.

2. On the cruise control. There is a lot more to that system than comes with the column. All you get with the column is the control switch. If you end up pulling the rest of the system from the donor truck, come back and someone will help you install it.

 

[Inchief]

Jerry, That is great. Really good instructions for removal of the steering column. I may not have time until the weekend to get to this but really looking forward to getting this done.

 

[Inchief]

So I finally got some time and got the tilt steering column from the '88 Suburban pulled and into the '87 stepside. Had to replace the lower bearing and the highbeam switch but all went well. The wiper delay is working as are the turn signals. The only problem I got is the neutral position on the column is not lining up. I tried to adjust the linkage from the book by putting in neutral and the column in neutral by feeling the detent with the lever and setting it there but that was not even close. The truck has a 700r4 and the donor had a th400. Can someone point me in the right direction with this.

 

[HotRodPC]

So I finally got some time and got the tilt steering column from the '88 Suburban pulled and into the '87 stepside. Had to replace the lower bearing and the highbeam switch but all went well. The wiper delay is working as are the turn signals. The only problem I got is the neutral position on the column is not lining up. I tried to adjust the linkage from the book by putting in neutral and the column in neutral by feeling the detent with the lever and setting it there but that was not even close. The truck has a 700r4 and the donor had a th400. Can someone point me in the right direction with this.

Yep, lots of good info there Jerry. You can always add to Reputation Inchief, by hitting the scale icon under Jerry's details and make a comment with your approval. Kind of how we grade input around here.

Don't throw your old column away just yet. I know many have done the 3 speed swap with a 4 speed column and it worked. You're doing the opposite. Maybe you'll need to switch a detent plate for the gear selector in the column. I'm not talking about the Gear Selector indicator on the dash.

 

[Inchief]

So looking at the parts blowup of the steering column I see a part called the "Shift Lever Gate" and I am guessing that this part will be different for a 3 or 4 speed column. So I guess I get to learn how to disassemble the steering column. As it turns out the column I took out also has the problem of the detents not lining up and I was hoping to get that solved with this new tilt column. The column that was in there was a replacement and had all the wires cut and twisted together with electrical tape, no connectors. Luckily it was working and the wires were hooked up correctly so it now has connectors and heat shrink. This truck is turning into a bit more of a challenge than expected.
Where can I find the correct shift lever gate?