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Wiper switch

tagjeep

New member
24
0
1
Location
Mansfield, Ar
The 1008 I bought earlier came without a wiper swith,turn signal lever. Found a lever lying around, but need wiper switch.
My question is, which one do I need? O'reillys has two different ones, and autozone has three.
And why so much? If I can use one out of a tilt, cruise truck, I could try a salvage yard.
Thanks
 

rlwm211

Active member
1,648
18
38
Location
Guilford, NY
The manual calls for a part number 7840274 which is the same as the GM part number.

w/o intermittent wipers standard column.

Should be the cheapest of the different parts available.

This is the switch itself and not the arm that inserts into it.

RL
 

joediveguy

Member
239
2
18
Location
Front Royal, Northern VA
All the arms are the same on the end. To remove turn chrome part either front or back as u pull out ,just be careful. U can go in the salvage yard and get a few in just mins. I put a delay one on m1009 that wasnt chrome but all black,looks better just doesnt here delay!
 

rlwm211

Active member
1,648
18
38
Location
Guilford, NY
The part number is the correct one based on the AC DELCO OEM Part Number.

I double checked wtih Advance just now on the phone.

Disconnect the batteries first. There are always on power feeds in the column and you do not want to short them out when you are working on this.

Remove the center pad on the steering wheel being careful that the horn wire does not get broken that connects the horn relay to the swtch in the pad.

Once you have access to the top of the column inside the steering wheel, you reove a lock clip on the end of the shaft and then remove the nut in the center. You will neeed a puller to remove the wheel.

Once the steering wheel is off you will have a black plastic cover over a sector plate for the locking column. This is held against a spring by a lock ring.

You compress the metal plate down and then carefully pry the lock ring out of the grove and then release the tension carefully. You can buy the spring compressor tool, and I have done these without one. I work on GM a lot so I have the tool.

The sector plate will come off and there will be a spring underneath which can stay in place unless you need to remove it for access. It just pulls off.

Next you remove the turn signal lever. It should pull straight out but it is possible that it is threaded in as well. You will have to look carefully and make that determination.

In order to access the wiper switch you will have to move the turn signal switch out of the way.

There are five screws.

One holds the rod that connects the turn signal lever assembly to the turn signal switch.

The second is the screw that holds the emergency flashers button on. There is a small philips screw in the center. Be sure to hold the pieces together as there is a spring between them and you do not want to lose it.

The last three hold the turn signal switch in. Once you have the switch loose, you can lift it out of the way so you can pull the old switch off of the pivot it is on.

The wiper switch sits on this pivot and once you have it off the pivot you will need to remove the lower dash panel under the steering wheel. There are four screws at the top and two at the bottom that hold this in place.

Once that is removed you can access the wiring connectors under the dash that are from the column.

Unplug the wiper switch connector.

Next you will carefully pull the wire harness up and out of the column. There is a plastic extension of the main column shroud that extends down towards the dash. This snaps into the bottom of what is called the bowl which is where the shift lever is mounted. You can pull this off and slide it down to make pulling the wire out and then the new one in easier.

Be careful as you place the wire harness in as it needs to be clear of the operation of the turn signal switch or else it can either interfere or be chafed by the assembly.

Before I would reinstall all of this, I would put the turn signal lever back in and turn the key on and try the turn signals. You can just press the battery cables on to try this and then remove them while you put all of this back together.

Once you have gotten into this you will find it is not that hard to do. It just takes patience.

If you get stuck, post a picture of where you have gotten to and I will try to explain what to do.

I hope this is helpful.

RL
 

joediveguy

Member
239
2
18
Location
Front Royal, Northern VA
The part number is the correct one based on the AC DELCO OEM Part Number.

I double checked wtih Advance just now on the phone.

Disconnect the batteries first. There are always on power feeds in the column and you do not want to short them out when you are working on this.

Remove the center pad on the steering wheel being careful that the horn wire does not get broken that connects the horn relay to the swtch in the pad.

Once you have access to the top of the column inside the steering wheel, you reove a lock clip on the end of the shaft and then remove the nut in the center. You will neeed a puller to remove the wheel.

Once the steering wheel is off you will have a black plastic cover over a sector plate for the locking column. This is held against a spring by a lock ring.

You compress the metal plate down and then carefully pry the lock ring out of the grove and then release the tension carefully. You can buy the spring compressor tool, and I have done these without one. I work on GM a lot so I have the tool.

The sector plate will come off and there will be a spring underneath which can stay in place unless you need to remove it for access. It just pulls off.

Next you remove the turn signal lever. It should pull straight out but it is possible that it is threaded in as well. You will have to look carefully and make that determination.

In order to access the wiper switch you will have to move the turn signal switch out of the way.

There are five screws.

One holds the rod that connects the turn signal lever assembly to the turn signal switch.

The second is the screw that holds the emergency flashers button on. There is a small philips screw in the center. Be sure to hold the pieces together as there is a spring between them and you do not want to lose it.

The last three hold the turn signal switch in. Once you have the switch loose, you can lift it out of the way so you can pull the old switch off of the pivot it is on.

The wiper switch sits on this pivot and once you have it off the pivot you will need to remove the lower dash panel under the steering wheel. There are four screws at the top and two at the bottom that hold this in place.

Once that is removed you can access the wiring connectors under the dash that are from the column.

Unplug the wiper switch connector.

Next you will carefully pull the wire harness up and out of the column. There is a plastic extension of the main column shroud that extends down towards the dash. This snaps into the bottom of what is called the bowl which is where the shift lever is mounted. You can pull this off and slide it down to make pulling the wire out and then the new one in easier.

Be careful as you place the wire harness in as it needs to be clear of the operation of the turn signal switch or else it can either interfere or be chafed by the assembly.

Before I would reinstall all of this, I would put the turn signal lever back in and turn the key on and try the turn signals. You can just press the battery cables on to try this and then remove them while you put all of this back together.

Once you have gotten into this you will find it is not that hard to do. It just takes patience.

If you get stuck, post a picture of where you have gotten to and I will try to explain what to do.

I hope this is helpful.

RL

Thanks for the info. I just ordered the part from AA. However, the clerk said according to his computer, it is not for a 1984 K5 Blazer. The correct part # is S3477, however that is discontinued and has no replacement. WTF! I'll match it up with the one I just pulled out. What a PITA! I have the column all in pieces. It is going to be fun putting it all back together. It would probably be easier to just pull a column from a junk yard!
 

rlwm211

Active member
1,648
18
38
Location
Guilford, NY
Well, pulling a column is not as easy as it looks. The ignition switch and the PRNDL switch are a pain and so is the hi beam lo beam switch. You would have to do alot of what you are doing and then there is the ignition lock.

In all honesty, the first time I ever got into a GM column I swore and cursed and cut my knuckles and finally got it done.

Now I can tear one apart and have it together in about 15 minutes.

It just is something you have to do to understand how to do it easily. You are on your way to just that.

Good job on getting it apart.

RL
 

joediveguy

Member
239
2
18
Location
Front Royal, Northern VA
Well, pulling a column is not as easy as it looks. The ignition switch and the PRNDL switch are a pain and so is the hi beam lo beam switch. You would have to do alot of what you are doing and then there is the ignition lock.

In all honesty, the first time I ever got into a GM column I swore and cursed and cut my knuckles and finally got it done.

Now I can tear one apart and have it together in about 15 minutes.

It just is something you have to do to understand how to do it easily. You are on your way to just that.

Good job on getting it apart.

RL

Thanks bro! :beer:
 

joediveguy

Member
239
2
18
Location
Front Royal, Northern VA
I found a tilt column in a bone yard yesterday, it is a GM and looks just like the one from my CUCV. It was in a pile of GM parts in an ’85 K5 Blazer and I snagged it for $50, mostly to use it as a learning tool on how they work. The tilt is kind of loose but it looks to be all in tact and the yard mechanic said he has tightened them up before. I saw a couple posts were some SS’ers were arguing whether or not a tilt was a direct swap or not. How are they to rebuild and will I run into any issues swapping it into my ’85?

 

Attachments

Hasdrubal

New member
690
4
0
Location
Vancouver BC
I dont know about rebuilding it, but mine bolted right in, works great. The intermittent wiper is one of the best mods you can do. You'll need the module.

If you're tearing it apart, Pm me or post on getting to the shift lever tension spring. I have the part , just haven't done it yet.
 

Grega

Member
205
1
18
Location
St. Paul Nebraska.
I just installed a tilt wheel in my m1009 this last weekend so everything is still fresh in my mind. The main thing to know is that the two electrical connectors that connect to the ignition switch on the tilt wheel go back on flip floped and upside down. This threw me for a loop when I went to hook them up the regular way. Also make sure the routing of the wires from this dont get pinched on the piece of iron above the steering colume when tightening the bolts down under the gear selector. .
 

joediveguy

Member
239
2
18
Location
Front Royal, Northern VA
After looking at your photos, that steering column looks pretty rough. I would try to find one thats in better shape and not loose. --- Yea, I was thinking that too, but I am going to try to tighten it up, if that does not work I’ll use it for parts and as a working diagram on how they go back together. What is a good price for one in a bone yard? I paid $50 for that one, was that ok or did I get jipped?

What year,and what kind of truck did you get the column out of?---- It was in a pile of GM parts in an ’85 K5 Blazer”
 

Grega

Member
205
1
18
Location
St. Paul Nebraska.
I work for a rural power company in two counties so in my travels, I see alot of stuff that people have in their backyard, trees, etc. There are still quite a few of these trucks out there. I pulled mine out of a 85 surburban with a diesel. My tilt colume was in good shape, just missing the dimmer switch. Even still had the wiper delay module. The steering wheel was iffy so I just reused my old one. Paid the guy with a 30 pack of Bush lite, so we were both happy.
 
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