dzywicki

I have a 1998 Jeep Cherokee and the tilt steering is loose. There is about 1" of play (up and down) without touching the tilt lever. I have done some reading and threads about a couple of torx bolts that come loose. I was not able find a good article with pictures. After reading some articles, it looks like you have to take the steering column pretty far down to get to those bolts. I see several listings on eBay in the $75-$100 range. Was looking fro opinions on the tradeoff of tearing apart the steering column vs. putting a used one on. I have replaced the steering gearbox on my 98 and 99 so familiar with the bottom end of the column, And I have loosened the column to replace the heater core so know how that comes out. Thanks for any opinions about this.

garyferg

Beautiful Girls in your city

lawsoncl

Apparently, you can ask a pretty girl for help.

I'd probably just go ahead an tear into the column myself. No guarantee that a used one will be any better, and you still have to do some disassembly to change the lock core.

dzywicki

Sadly, the pretty gils in my city did not know hw to fix the tilt steering column. I did find a video that looks like the actual problem. . Some articles say the problem is loose bolts under all the stuff in the column. this video identifies the problem as the tilt mechanism. I'm going to get a used column off of ebay so I have one for reference. I have a '99 and a bin full of parts so any left over parts will have a place to live. I have recently replaced the lock core and ignition pin swtch so very familiar with how that goes together.

Clint62

Womans in your town

dzywicki

I guess all the hottie Womans [sic] in my town really like tilt steering problems in late 90s XJs. Didn't know these were such chick magnets.

lawsoncl

Well the girls that hang out on R street all say they'll do anything for $50, but they lie. They just give me a dirty look when I ask if they can do electrical work. Had one claim to know her way around plumbing though.

I did the bolts on my 89 many years ago and I recall it took about an hour and a half. I think the 98 column is different internally though.

dzywicki

I was watching that video again and I ha not watched until the end. The guy said his problem was loosen bottom nounting bolts. I went out and removed the kick panel and metal plate to check mine. Definitely tight. I also checked on my '99 and am convinced it's the actual tilt mechanism not locking. DEfinitely oreding a used column and will swap out the tilt mechanism. On business travel next week so won't be able to get to this until the wee after next. Looks pretty straightforward.

UKXJ

Funny thing is, I'm sure I recognise the guy in the vid but obviously never seen that one - 'cos I didn't even know XJ's had tilt steering.

dzywicki

I got the used steering column yesterday and braved the heat and humidity to do the wok today. It's been ~100 degrees and 60%+ humidity in Northern Va. I removed the tilt mechanism from the used column and then took off the kick panel on the Jeep. I put a socket on the nuts holding the column to the body and they came off within about 1/2 turn. Hmmm.......I did a quick check and it turns out that if the two nuts that hold the column to the body is loose, he column will move a lot independent of the tilt mechanism. Who knew ? . Was done in ~20 minutes and all is good now. If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough. I had a heck of a time getting the column back in after the heater core replacement. All I can figure is the tilt plate was a little misaligned and felt like it was tight. ver time, it aligned itself. At least I have a spare column now. Came with an ignition switch and ignition pin lock.

sed column

Nut that was loose (both sides were loose).