heres the deal im stationed on a remote island in alaska, theres no shops here that are worth a damn and i didnt have two grand to give them anyway. i bought my wife an '07 chevy crew cab for her and my kid to run around in, but the ignition key lock cylinder locked up a few weeks ago. in the process of repairing that i messed up the actual housing that the cylinder goes in. i pulled the airbag and the steering wheel and all the parts under it to get to this housing. now ive replaced the housing and need to put it back together but i cant get this spring to compress and i was wondering if anyone had any insightful wisdom they could pass on to me. any help will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance. -DL

 

the short spring? there's a tool available at most parts stores and online for this.

here's an example, if we are talking about the same part you need to install.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Steer...motiveQ5fTools

 

that may be what i need, just to give you an idea i have always driven fords and understand them pretty well this is the first chevy ive owned in 10 years and the last one was an old suburban, way different. anyhow ill check it out when i get off work, thanks

 

just to understand, you are trying to reinstall the plate behind steering wheel that is under spring pressure and held in by a snap ring, correct?

 

Yeah it's a pretty stout spring too it fits around the steering shaft and the plate is almost teardrop shaped and holds the horn rotating contact in as well and the snap ring is round not the flat kind that you can use regular snap ring pliers on

 

yeah, you need a tool like that. you can make something like this if you have the hardware there, or they cheap enough to order.