i have the exact same noise in my 96 ls and no matter what i do nobody can fix it. i have had into the dealer 3 times for the noise i have had all the gaskets and so on replaced and lubed in the steering column. it worked for like a day and then was back. the dealer said short of dropping the entire steering column they can do no more, and that is serious money in labor hrs. they said everything is mechanically fine and it seems to be. i have been driving with the noise for around 15,000 miles. all is ok, just annoying