Stuck '79 tele

[mike cobine]

I was out in the '79 to run some errands and witht he seat back further, I went to pull the wheel out.

Darn tele lock only went half way, was ver stiff to move, and the wheel wouldn't pull in or out.

Before I take off on some wrong direction and make a mess, who has some tips on freeing one up that must have gotten a little stuck from sitting too long?

[Jim S.]

Re: Stuck '79 tele

Try Ceallis !
Extensions lasting 6 hours or longer can cause damage however, and should be treated by your mechanic !
Jim

[Geoff C.]

Try this

Mike

The C3 Tilt Tele has quite a few parts, but the tilt mechanism is much more complicated and has many more individual parts than the tele mechanism. If can be so presumptuous and say look at page 158 of my recent Corvette Blood Bank. Note these parts: RR SS TT UU VV. All are steel except UU, a plastic shock bumper.
.
RR the lock rod, slides through SS the upper shaft, and thus pushes on and releases TT, the locking wedge so the upper shaft can telescope inside VV. If you cannot completely release the tele lock, then the lock rod cannot move the locking wedge. If corroded, nothing will slide as they all have a close fit in their respective bores.

Not too hard to fix. Good news is that everything is located above the tilt mechanism. Removing the horn cap and spraying with some such penetrating oil.

I would not muscle it loose. I know of a fellow whose late C3 PS pump took a dump and he continued to drive for weeks afterward with muscle. He ended up breaking away, the break away safety nuts that hold the 77-82 column mast jacket to the dash. I don’t know of any intelligent ways to re attach them safely.

Geoffrey Coenen

PS Your welcome on the popsicle.

[mike cobine]

Re: Try this

Thanks, Geoffrey,

I went out armed with your notes and catalog and then found something unexpected - bubba.

Did you know that the locking ring can be mounted in several positions, of which only a couple work as designed?

A shot of lubricant for good measure and putting the ring in the correct position let it all work, more or less, as designed. It has a bit of stiffness from disuse, but I think that will go away soon. Nothing muscled.

Mike