Andy :
The wires come out of a tube that projects through the brass nut on the
gear box at the lower end of the column. This tube runs the entire
length of the steering column, and keeps the control head from turning
with the steering wheel. The wires then run up the inner fender (where
they're hard to see) and terminate in bullet plugs behind the LH horn.
(or RH, if your car's RHD). Look for the 4way bullet jack connected to
the LH horn, you should be able to find the heavy wire that runs from it
towards the front of the car (and eventually to the horn button). There
should be 3 more wires in the bundle for the turn signals. Be sure to
mark carefully before disconnecting them, as the color codes are often
hard to read (and some DPO may have messed them up). Keep in mind that
the wires have to be pulled back through the column, so the labels have
to be small.
Once the wires are disconnected from the bullet plugs, and from the
clips on the inner fender, have a helper pull (gently) on the control
head while you feed the wires into the tube. You may have some trouble
if the old fabric covering is in bad shape. I had to cut some of it
off, and replace with heat shrink tubing. My preference is to only pull
back until about 2" of wire is left protruding from the tube, then
remove the tube and control head at the same time. This makes it easier
to reassemble, but handling the tube with the wire connecting it to the
control head can be tricky. An alternative is to tie a piece of kite
string to the wires, and leave the string inside the tube when you pull
the wires out.
Before removing the tube, you will need to remove the brass nut, and the
packing gland under it. The gland can be stubborn, but you should be
able to work it off with your fingers. Of course, if there's any oil
left in the steering gear box, it will run out, making a mess of
everything. Unfortunately, there's no drain plug, so I don't know of
any better way to do it.
Hope this helps
Randall
andy wrote:
>
> I have the split steering shaft and I'm trying to remove the control head to
> replace the bush at the top of the steering column. I've removed the three
> grub screws. Can't find the horn and flasher wires - flashers work (could I
> have the rare wireless flashers?), can't really figure out how it works- I
> can see the shaft turn in a space between the column and wheel and the
> control head appears to be attached to nothing, yet it stays stationary.
> Confused in Northern VA.
> Andy D.
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