We are in our busy season [swimming pool construction] and I have not gotten back over there. I hope they havn't hired someone to haul everything off. A co-worker said there are companies that do just that. It's in Richland Hills Texas rdaystrom, so a bit far from PA. I may be going over there this afternoon, and if It's still there I will take pics with the digital camera. Im sure some of you guys would know instantly if you saw a picture.

I hate to admit it, but my wife came up with the solution: after trying to drive the bolt out and damaging the thread in the process, she said the magic word: WD40. I sprayed the area around the bolt on both sides last night, and this morning it took only a light tap and it came out.

Refer to the online Owner's Manual (click link) and the line drawing below. There will be some wear in the lower steering column bearing (items 6&29) which allows deflection of the steering shaft (item 16). There will also be wear in the sector gear (item 35) shaft bearing (items 6&27). Because the sector gear PUSHES the drag link (item18) toward the steering knuckle (not shown here) when making left turns, the wear in the sector shaft bearing allows the sector gear teeth to move away from the pinion gear teeth. When this happens, the gear teeth simply jump over each other instead of operating the steering knuckle. When making a right turn, however, the sector gear PULLS on the drag link and the steering knuckle, and the wear in the sector shaft bearing allows the sector gear teeth to be pulled closer to the pinion gear teeth, and right turns can be executed with no problems. To fully restore the integrity of the pinion gear to the sector gear, you will need to replace at least the bearings indicated on the line drawing. If the teeth of the sector and pinion gears have worn places, replace the sector gear and the steering column shaft also. Ask whether a "kit" is available to do the rehab program, sometimes a comprehensive kit is cheaper than buying individual parts. By the way, this is a fairly involved procedure, requires complete disassembly of the steering column and a lot of clearance underneath the tractor. Here is a link that might be useful: 917.275021 OMan

I remember the Opel Manta & Ascona, and the equivalent Vauxhall Cavalier from the 70's and early 80's all had this problem on their dashboards. I did some digging and found the attached link. In the absence of changing the whole steering wheel you may want to give this a bash. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: interior trim repair manta ascona cavalier