At 11:04 AM 6/17/2002, Dan Barrett wrote:
>Folks,
>   I'm contemplating rewiring the door speakers with nicer cable.  Do I really
>   have to take off the steering column in order to take the top off the dash?

No -- in fact you shouldn't -- but you do have to unbolt it in two places
(two regular bolts and two special).

>   I kinda want to avoid having to drill out (and find replacements for) the
>   bolts that the Bentley says hold in the steering column.  Has anyone
> done this?

Visegrips usually work fine for removing the special bolts.  Use sharp
visegrips and grip as close to the bottom of the head as you possibly
can.  The designers slipped up a little and left just enough flat for the
visegrips to grab.

For replacing I would recommend regular bolts.  Those tamper-resistant
bolts are supposed to make it harder for the thief to drop the column and
remove the ignition lock -- but I doubt any thief in this country would
bother with that method anyway.

david
ps -- for completeness: There are those who maintain that the special bolts
are to ensure correct torque so that the steering-wheel will collapse
properly during an accident.  InMyNotSoHumbleOpinion those folks are wrong
-- the column will collapse forward (not down) without disturbing those
bolts at all.  The upper support struts are bent in such a way as to ensure
their proper collapse (as you will see when the dash is off).  Anyone
interested in the principle can see it in the hood of any modern
conventional car -- the longitudinal struts that stiffen the hood are
notched in the middle so that in a collision the hood will fold in half
instead of cutting the driver's head off (there are also a pair of strong
hooks to catch the rear edge of the hood).

--
David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"