First, it's a nylon ring on a steel tube, so I went with a little white lithium grease. I honestly don't understand the need for grease considering neither part should move relative to the other, but it can't really hurt anything either. I don't know why they don't just have a bracked welded to the column housing that then bolts to the dash beam, then we wouldn't have the problem in the first place.
So, limber up a little and then go spelunking in your driver's side foot well. (your's is probably cleaner than mine
)
here's the area we're interested in (note pedals in foreground)
Here's a closing shot narrated a bit:
That black bracket comes off by removing two 12mm bolts. To remove the nylon sleeve, you also need to remove the black column cover ('thing with the yellow SRS sticker on it.). It's a clam-shell and should have two metal clip/bands that just pop off, and then it will have some plastic body clips that hold it to the floorboard.
Here is the piece I removed. it's an odd part for sure. A double-sleeve that's pinned together. I really have no idea why it's designed this way unless it's something to do with allowing the steering column to collapse in an accident:
It was actually still there, but had somehow worked it's way out of the bracket and down into the lower column cover. Since I had a replacement, and this one was cracked a bit (see second picture above), I swapped the new one in.
The good news is this is a ~$7.00 part, so if your wheel is wiggling, it shouldn't be an expensive fix if this is the problem.
