Will a quarter short out anything in the steering column???

[Radshooter]

The other night I was at the Sonic drive-in to get a burger on the way home from work. I had the money to pay the car-hop on the dash above the steering column. When I tried to pick up the change, I fumbled it and a quarter fell and slid down into the steering column and disappeared. It did not come out the bottom. I moved the steering wheel up and down as much as possible, but it still did not fall out.

Is this going to be a problem down the road? Do I need to get busy and figure how to get it out of there? Hopefully it won't short any wires.

Thanks for your help... ... .

Steve

 

[DPKetchum]

It could bind on the clock spring(part of air bag system and a few other parts in there. Could cause a elect,issue as there are plugs ins and wires etc. I'd get it out.

 

[rbattelle]

DP is probably right. But I think you can just remove the two halves of the column shroud without taking anything else apart. Give it a try.



Ryan

 

[Radshooter]

Thanks guys. It looks they just snap apart? I don't see any screws or bolts in the diagram.

Do I have to worry about setting off the airbag? Should I disconnect the batteries first?

Sounds like a project for this weekend.

Thanks again... ... Steve

 

[PBrauer]

Going from my '06 here but the figure above looks identical to mine...



There will be some screws to remove... typically they are T20 or T25 Torx. Look for one on the tilt lever, which has to be removed to get the bottom half off, another one right next to the tilt lever, and at least one (but probably two) more on the very bottom, one of which usually "clamps" the two halves together... meaning, if you get everything "loose" (snaps, etc. ) but they just won't come completely apart... look for another screw on the bottom.



Kind of an un-neccessary pita, getting the two halves to snap apart (hard/no place to get any leverage). Cover the ears of all youngsters before you start...



If it were up to me, I'd remove the bottom panel under the steering column 1st. It snaps out at the top (corners and sides) and has screws on the bottom (very easy). That would give you a place to fish around 1st, then if you can't find it, you'll have a way to grasp the lower shroud while pulling (or trying to pull) them apart. The structural member that holds your hood release lever is seperate and behind the plastic panel. It is also easy to remove (screw or nut driver) and will give you full access to the area I think you need to get to.



Famous last words... It is doubtful you could set off the airbag doing this. If the quarter fell between the upper shroud and the instrument panel then the only things it could interfere with are the tilt mechanism or the shift lever (if it's an auto) and even then it would have to sit just right. There isn't anything that could "short out". It's a lot less complicated in there than it looks from the outside. The clockspring is right behind the wheel itself and is presumably (hopefully???) well protected from just such a condition (by design???).

 

[Radshooter]

Sorry to resurrect an old post, but I thought I would let you guys know how it went.

Finally got around to working on it this past weekend when I changed oil and fuel filter.

It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There were a total of 3 #20 Torx screws to remove from the bottom half. One was right behind the tilt lever. (Thanks PBrauer, I would have looked a long time before I found that one. ) The other two were deep inside the two holes in the middle of the bottom panel. I bought a small set of torx screwdrivers just for this project. Almost didn't because I have torx sockets but they would not have been anywhere near long enough to get to these screws. A thin shaft screwdriver was the only way I could get to them.

After I found the third screw, the halves came apart pretty easily. The quarter was sitting right on top. Not anywhere near any wires or moving parts. Could have left it there forever and not hurt anything, but I am glad I got it out in case it ever shifted.

Thanks again for all the ideas.

Steve