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 SPECIFICALLY
DESIGNED FOR THE AIR BAG SYSTEM. THEY MUST
NEVER BE REPLACED WITH ANY SUBSTITUTES.
ANYTIME A NEW FASTENER IS NEEDED, REPLACE
WITH THE CORRECT FASTENERS PROVIDED IN THE
SERVICE PACKAGE OR FASTENERS LISTED IN THE
PARTS BOOKS. BEFORE SERVICING A STEERING
COLUMN EQUIPPED WITH AN AIR BAG, REFER TO
GROUP 8M, ELECTRICAL FOR PROPER AND SAFE
SERVICE PROCEDURES.
WARNING: SAFETY GOGGLES SHOULD BE WORN
AT ALL TIMES WHEN WORKING ON STEERING
COLUMNS.
CAUTION: Disconnect the negative (ground) cable
from the battery, before servicing any column com-
ponent.
CAUTION: Do not attempt to remove the pivot pins
to disassemble the tilting mechanism. Damage will
occur.
NOTE: Wait for a minimum of 2 minutes before
starting to remove an airbag from steering wheel.
This will allow the airbag system capacitor to de-en-
ergize.
WARNING: WHEN AN UNDEPLOYED AIRBAG
ASSEMBLY IS TO BE REMOVED FROM THE STEER-
ING WHEEL, DISCONNECT BATTERY GROUND
CABLE AND ISOLATE. ALLOW SYSTEM CAPACI-
TOR TO DISCHARGE FOR TWO MINUTES, THEN
BEGIN AIRBAG REMOVAL.
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 ELECTRICITY BE PERMITTED NEAR
THE INFLATOR ON THE BACK OF THE AIRBAG MOD-
ULE. WHEN CARRYING A LIVE MODULE, THE TRIM
COVER SHOULD BE POINTED AWAY FROM THE
BODY TO MINIMIZE INJURY IF MODULE ACCIDENTLY
DEPLOYS. IF AIRBAG MODULE IS PLACED ON A
BENCH OR OTHER SURFACE, PLASTIC COVER
SHOULD BE FACE UP TO MINIMIZE MOVEMENT IN
CASE OF ACCIDENTAL DEPLOYMENT.
STEERING COLUMN
NOTE: Before proceeding, review SERVICE WARN-
INGS AND CAUTIONS found at the beginning of the
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION section.
NOTE: This procedure is to be used when replac-
ing the steering column. It is written to reflect that
objective. If the column is to be removed as one
assembly, or without removing the steering wheel,
the steering wheel must be turned from the straight
ahead position to the RIGHT 180° and locked in
place. Lock the column in this position by removing
the key from the key cylinder. This MUST be per-
formed before the steering coupler to the gear is
disconnected. This is done to prevent the chance of
damaging the clockspring. When reconnecting the
steering coupler to the intermediate shaft, verify the
front wheels have not moved from their position
when column was removed. If during column rein-
stallation, any doubt is present as to whether the
clockspring is properly centered, the clockspring
centering procedure in step Step 19 MUST be per-
formed prior to connecting the steering coupler.
REMOVAL
(1) Remove remote ground cable from ground stud
on shock tower and isolate ground cable from vehicle
by installing isolator on stud (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 Correctly Isolated Remote Ground Cable
1 – CABLE ISOLATOR
2 – GROUND STUD
3 – GROUND CABLE
LH STEERING 19 - 47
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION (Continued)
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