PROCEDURES THAT INVOLVES REMOVING THE
AIR BAG. REMOVE AND ISOLATE THE NEGATIVE
(-) BATTERY CABLE (GROUND) FROM THE VEHI-
CLE BATTERY. THIS IS THE ONLY SURE WAY TO
DISABLE THE AIR BAG SYSTEM. FAILURE TO DO
THIS COULD RESULT IN ACCIDENTAL AIR BAG
DEPLOYMENT AND POSSIBLE PERSONAL INJURY.

WARNING: THE AIR BAG SYSTEM IS A SENSITIVE,
COMPLEX ELECTRO-MECHANICAL UNIT. BEFORE
ATTEMPTING TO DIAGNOSE, REMOVE OR INSTALL
THE AIR BAG SYSTEM COMPONENTS YOU MUST
FIRST DISCONNECT AND ISOLATE THE BATTERY
NEGATIVE (GROUND) CABLE. FAILURE TO DO SO
COULD RESULT IN ACCIDENTAL DEPLOYMENT OF
THE AIR BAG AND POSSIBLE PERSONAL INJURY.
THE FASTENERS, SCREWS, AND BOLTS, ORIGI-
NALLY USED FOR THE AIR BAG COMPONENTS,
HAVE SPECIAL COATINGS AND ARE SPECIFI-
CALLY DESIGNED FOR THE AIR BAG SYSTEM.
THEY MUST NEVER BE REPLACED WITH ANY SUB-
STITUTES.

ANYTIME

NEW

FASTENER

NEEDED, REPLACE WITH THE CORRECT FASTEN-
ERS PROVIDED IN THE SERVICE PACKAGE OR
FASTENERS

LISTED

THE

PARTS

BOOKS.

BEFORE

SERVICING

STEERING

COLUMN

EQUIPPED WITH AN AIR BAG, (Refer to 8 - ELEC-
TRICAL/RESTRAINTS - WARNING).

WARNING: WHEN HANDLING AN UNDEPLOYED AIR
BAG MODULE DURING SERVICING OF THE STEER-
ING COLUMN, THE FOLLOWING PRECAUTIONS
SHOULD BE OBSERVED:

•

AT NO TIME SHOULD ANY SOURCE OF ELEC-

TRICITY BE PERMITTED NEAR THE INFLATOR ON
THE BACK OF THE AIR BAG MODULE.

•

WHEN CARRYING A LIVE MODULE, THE TRIM

COVER SHOULD BE POINTED AWAY FROM THE
BODY TO

MINIMIZE

INJURY IF

THE

MODULE

SHOULD ACCIDENTLY DEPLOY.

•

IF THE AIR BAG MODULE IS PLACED ON A

BENCH

OTHER

SURFACE,

THE

PLASTIC

COVER SHOULD BE FACE-UP TO MINIMIZE MOVE-
MENT, IN CASE OF ACCIDENTAL DEPLOYMENT.

CAUTION: Disconnect negative (ground) cable from
the battery before servicing any column compo-
nent.

CAUTION: Do not attempt to remove the pivot pins
to disassemble the tilting mechanism. Damage will
occur.

19 - 10

COLUMN

REMOVAL

NOTE: Before proceeding, review Warnings and
Cautions. (Refer to 19 - STEERING/COLUMN -
WARNING).

WARNING: WHEN AN UNDEPLOYED AIRBAG MOD-
ULE IS TO BE REMOVED FROM THE STEERING
WHEEL,

FIRST

DISCONNECT

THE

BATTERY

GROUND CABLE AND ISOLATE IT. ALLOW THE
SYSTEM CAPACITOR TO DISCHARGE FOR A MINI-
MUM OF TWO MINUTES, THEN BEGIN THE AIRBAG
REMOVAL.

(1) Disconnect negative (-) cable from battery and

isolate it.

(2) Remove lower instrument panel steering col-

umn cover. (Refer to 23 - BODY/INSTRUMENT PAN-
EL/STEERING

COLUMN

OPENING

COVER

REMOVAL)

(3) Remove three screws securing driver airbag to

steering wheel (Fig. 1).

(4) Tip driver airbag outward, then disconnect two

squib wiring connectors and horn wiring connector.
Remove driver airbag.

(5) Remove squib wiring routing clips from steer-

ing wheel (Fig. 1).

(6) Place front wheels of vehicle in STRAIGHT-

AHEAD position.

(7) Remove ignition key from ignition key cylinder.
(8) Holding steering wheel firmly in place, remove

steering wheel retaining bolt from steering column
shaft in center of steering wheel (Fig. 2).

CAUTION: When installing a wheel puller on the
steering wheel, be sure the puller bolts are fully
seated in the threaded holes on the steering wheel.
If the bolts are not fully seated in the threaded
holes, the threads may be stripped out of the steer-
ing wheel when attempting to remove the steering
wheel. Take care not to over-thread the puller bolts
such that they contact the clockspring possibly
damaging it.
Also, threading the retaining bolt back in the end of
the shaft until approximately 13 mm (0.5 in.) of
thread is showing between the wheel and the head
of the bolt allows a safe reaction surface for the
puller to work against.

(9) Thread wheel retaining bolt back into end of

steering shaft until approximately 13 mm (0.5 in.) of
thread is showing between wheel and head of bolt.

(10) Install

steering

wheel

puller

steering

wheel.

CAUTION: Do not bump or hammer on steering
wheel or steering column shaft when removing
steering wheel from steering column.

(11) While

holding

steering

wheel

firmly

STRAIGHT-AHEAD position, remove steering wheel
from steering column shaft using puller. Remove
puller, wheel retaining bolt and steering wheel.

(12) Remove two screws attaching lower shroud to

steering column and upper shroud (Fig. 2). After
removing

screws,

unclip

the

shrouds

from

one

another by applying hand pressure along seams
where shrouds connect, then remove lower shroud
from upper shroud and column.

(13) Remove upper shroud from steering column.
(14) At base of steering column, remove intermedi-

ate shaft extension pinch bolt (Fig. 2). Separate the
intermediate shaft extension from the steering col-
umn shaft.

NOTE: If same steering column is to be reinstalled,
clamp tilt lever to lock column in place so that it
can be easily reinstalled in same location.

(15) Remove two lower mounting nuts attaching

steering column to instrument panel.

(16) Remove two upper mounting nuts attaching

steering column to instrument panel.

(17) Disconnect wiring harness electrical connector

from clockspring (Fig. 3).

(18) Disconnect wiring harness electrical connec-

tors from multi-function switch, windshield wiper
switch, and ignition switch (Fig. 4).

(19) Remove steering column from vehicle.
(20) If steering column is being replaced, perform

following:

Fig. 1 Airbag Mounting To Steering Wheel

1 - DRIVER AIRBAG
2 - HORN WIRING CONNECTION
3 - LEFT WIRING CLIP
4 - RIGHT WIRING CLIP
5 - STEERING WHEEL
6 - SQUIB WIRING CONNECTION

COLUMN

19 - 11

COLUMN (Continued)

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