After 2 years of not being able to see the top of the speedo due to my height (6' 1" with a long torso), I have finally fixed the visability problem without sawing off the top of the steering wheel ala rambler dan.
and now I'm doing the happy dance; this bugged the @$#%& out of me for the past 2+ years.
It ended up being very simple; I modified the steering wheel tilt mechanism to allow the wheel to tilt up slightly more. The mechanism is incredibly basic consisting of a arced slot, a bolt, and the tilt adjust lever. simply mill, dremel, drill, etc the slot longer and the wheel will tilt higher. There is approximatley 3/16" or so of clearance above the steering column bearing at the tilt mechanism. When the steering column can tilt up that 3/16" or so, it allows the rim of the steering wheel to be raised another 5/8"-3/4" or so (since the steering wheel rim is about 10" or so from the tilt mech, basic trigonometry), making all the difference in the world.
If you look at the clearance between the guage trim rings and the top plastic steering column cover, that's the limit that the wheel can tilt up to, since the plastic cover will run into the trim rings if it went any higher. It turns out that the tilt mech will only accommodate about the same extra tilt as the trim ring clearance so all is good.
I can post some pics if needed be but I'll describe the process here.
DISCLAIMER: DO THIS MOD AT YOUR OWN RISK, IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH MODIFYING YOUR STEERING COLUMN, DON'T DO IT. This mod may void your warranty, result in death or disfigurement of you or your loved ones, blah blah blah
These are the steps that I used to reach steering wheel nirvana:
Disconnect the battery (In case the airbag wires are disconnected accidentally you won't have to reset the airbag light)
Remove the plastic access panel below the steering column
Remove the upper and lower plastic steering column covers (three screws hold the bottom cover to the column, the covers then unsnap from each other.
Remove the 2 screws and 2 nuts that hold the steering column to the underside of the dash.
At this point, the entire assembly should be able to descend down and out about 3-4" so that it can be worked on. I left all of the wires connected for ease of reassembly.
Remove the extension spring (on the passenger side of the column/tilt mech)
Remove the 10mm screw and retaining clip that prevents the head of the tilt mech bolt from turning. It is on the passenger side of the column. Unscrew and remove the tilt pinch bolt from the tilt adjust lever. At this point, tilt the column up as far as it will go (or tilt the sheet metal top plate down) and you will see how much additional slot will be required to allow for the extra tilt. If you have gotten this far, then you are probably capable of Modifing the slot as required and reassembling. I used a big C-clamp to hold the mechanism at it's max tilt height and drilled and milled the slot longer (taller).
Reassemble, and adjust the tilt lever preload by tightening or loosening the tilt bolt; when you get it right, reinstall the retaining clip and 10mm screw.
reinstall the column to the underside of the dash, replace the plastic covers and check for proper operation of the tilt mechanism. According to the manual, torque the 2 screws and 2 nuts to 144 in-lbs or 16 newton meters (this appears to be the collapsible feature for the steering column)
A little bit of extra tilt at the mechanism goes a long way at the rim of the steering wheel.
and now I'm doing the happy dance; this bugged the @$#%& out of me for the past 2+ years.
It ended up being very simple; I modified the steering wheel tilt mechanism to allow the wheel to tilt up slightly more. The mechanism is incredibly basic consisting of a arced slot, a bolt, and the tilt adjust lever. simply mill, dremel, drill, etc the slot longer and the wheel will tilt higher. There is approximatley 3/16" or so of clearance above the steering column bearing at the tilt mechanism. When the steering column can tilt up that 3/16" or so, it allows the rim of the steering wheel to be raised another 5/8"-3/4" or so (since the steering wheel rim is about 10" or so from the tilt mech, basic trigonometry), making all the difference in the world.
If you look at the clearance between the guage trim rings and the top plastic steering column cover, that's the limit that the wheel can tilt up to, since the plastic cover will run into the trim rings if it went any higher. It turns out that the tilt mech will only accommodate about the same extra tilt as the trim ring clearance so all is good.
I can post some pics if needed be but I'll describe the process here.
DISCLAIMER: DO THIS MOD AT YOUR OWN RISK, IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH MODIFYING YOUR STEERING COLUMN, DON'T DO IT. This mod may void your warranty, result in death or disfigurement of you or your loved ones, blah blah blah
These are the steps that I used to reach steering wheel nirvana:
Disconnect the battery (In case the airbag wires are disconnected accidentally you won't have to reset the airbag light)
Remove the plastic access panel below the steering column
Remove the upper and lower plastic steering column covers (three screws hold the bottom cover to the column, the covers then unsnap from each other.
Remove the 2 screws and 2 nuts that hold the steering column to the underside of the dash.
At this point, the entire assembly should be able to descend down and out about 3-4" so that it can be worked on. I left all of the wires connected for ease of reassembly.
Remove the extension spring (on the passenger side of the column/tilt mech)
Remove the 10mm screw and retaining clip that prevents the head of the tilt mech bolt from turning. It is on the passenger side of the column. Unscrew and remove the tilt pinch bolt from the tilt adjust lever. At this point, tilt the column up as far as it will go (or tilt the sheet metal top plate down) and you will see how much additional slot will be required to allow for the extra tilt. If you have gotten this far, then you are probably capable of Modifing the slot as required and reassembling. I used a big C-clamp to hold the mechanism at it's max tilt height and drilled and milled the slot longer (taller).
Reassemble, and adjust the tilt lever preload by tightening or loosening the tilt bolt; when you get it right, reinstall the retaining clip and 10mm screw.
reinstall the column to the underside of the dash, replace the plastic covers and check for proper operation of the tilt mechanism. According to the manual, torque the 2 screws and 2 nuts to 144 in-lbs or 16 newton meters (this appears to be the collapsible feature for the steering column)
A little bit of extra tilt at the mechanism goes a long way at the rim of the steering wheel.