The switch mechanism (not to be confused with the lever) comes with the wire harness pinned correctly for the car. The part is about $20.
I'm rebuilding the entire tilt column following these instructions:
http://transamcountry.com/community/index.php?topic=24962.0 If you just want to fix the turn signal switch mechanism, then you can stop about 1/4 down the page, stop just before the step to remove the "ignition lock and warning buzzer switch". The switch will come with a new wire harness with all the pins where they need to be that snakes through the column to below the middle column collar. The photos show a pre 79 column, where the turn lever is screwed directly to the turn switch mechanism. 79 and up cars are different in that there's a pivot arm that connects the turn lever to the turn signal mechanism. This El Camino site has some good photos of the pivot lever:
http://www.elcaminocentral.com/showthread.php?t=27192 Sometimes the screw that holds this pivot lever is just loose and needs re-tightened, but in my case the white plastic turn signal mechanism was over fatigued and needed replaced.
If your tilt is sloppy, it's definitely worth doing a compete tear down, there are 4 external torx (E8 socket) bolts that hold the tilt to the column that tend to get loose. Mine were so loose you could pick up the column and see about 1/8" of movement at the tilt area. Folks recommend a couple drops of blue loctite on the bolts when you put them back. Also make sure you don't over tighten them, they can only handle about 10 ft lbs.
The lock plate and the column collar require special steering wheel puller tools. I got a cheap set of these tools at my local harbor store for less than $30. Make sure the set you get has both a "steering wheel puller" and "steering wheel lock plate compressor". If you do the complete tear down, there's one more tool you need to remove the pivot pins (Lisle 19940 pivot pin remover), which on Amazon is less than $7 and worth every penny.
