Steering Shaft Repair
s I've said before, driving home has always been an adventure. While recently replacing the engine
I noticed the steering shaft had some bad rubber bits. Bad would not really adaquately describe the
level of deterioration of the rubber on the shaft. (Hehe, I said, "rubber on the shaft.") Rubber is
supposed to be, well, rubbery, pliable, etc... This rubber bit had all the pliability of a china plate.
So it was kinda obvious it needed replacing.
I found the steering shaft on sale
at British Pacific's Steve's Deal of the Day! I have shortcut on my Mozilla toolbar and check it
everyday. Anyway Woooot! I found one on sale so I bought it. It's best to get your parts on
sale when you can. Even if you don't install them right away. See also, heater core.
Okay now the install.
First thing you need to do is remove the air filter and mass airflow sensor. You can't do the job with them in the way. It's a two nut, one hose clamp and one plug removed job. No biggy. Might as well unplug the coil wire too if it is in the way like mine was. Make sure your wheels are directly straight. This is a must. The next thing the instructions on my manual said to do was remove bolts on shaft, remove old shaft and replace with new, reattach bolts. Pretty simple instructions. It was not that simple however. As the instructions state, you need to remove the bolts in these pictures.
First thing you need to do is remove the air filter and mass airflow sensor. You can't do the job with them in the way. It's a two nut, one hose clamp and one plug removed job. No biggy. Might as well unplug the coil wire too if it is in the way like mine was. Make sure your wheels are directly straight. This is a must. The next thing the instructions on my manual said to do was remove bolts on shaft, remove old shaft and replace with new, reattach bolts. Pretty simple instructions. It was not that simple however. As the instructions state, you need to remove the bolts in these pictures.
Upper shaft Steering wheel side
Lower shaft Steering box side
Mine were not too corroded and came off with a little bit of effort. 13 mm wrenches are necessary and
if you use a socket with rachet you'll need a variety of extensions to get the right angle on each bolt.
Okay while I was trying to get the shaft loose I found it necessary to use a rather large
screwdriver to gently pry the squeeze points loose to allow for the shaft to slide inside the pinch point on
the steering wheel end and the steering box end. Once I had that done I used a hammer to
ever so gently tap the old shaft ends loose. When I say tap I mean tap, as in lightly. It takes
a few taps but they eventually will slide off.
When I started on the upper, steering wheel side, as I tapped, the steering wheel shaft
came out with the steering shaft assembly. I was a little worried, as the instructions did not
mention this happening nor did they describe the additional shaft. A picture of it is here
Steering wheel shaft.
The end is "keyed" so it goes into the steering column. I did not tear the entire column loose to
see this. This shaft just comes out of the steering column with very little effort, at least in my case.
Okay with it off you need to replace with the new shaft assembly. There is one key point the
book talks about. Each shaft is notched where the bolts go through the assembly. This provides
you with one more thing to hold the shaft from spinning if something horrible happened. In
other words it helps prevent the shaft from spinning in the assembly. There are three such
places, one on the steering box shaft, one on the steering wheel shaft and one on the
steering shaft assembly. It is important to line up the notched part with the bolt hole.
I failed to get a picture of the shafts with the notches. Sorry about that.
When I refitted the new steering shaft assembly I fitted the steering wheel side first. It
spun and thus was no longer aligned straight ahead as the instructions, early on, stated.
So I called for my handy
RovErica and she came to
the rescue with the patented, "I can do that, and I can't wait to drive. I like the way
the seat feels." buttering up dad for potential take over of the BWB.
I got the steering shaft all the way back up in the column and then lined up the new assembly.
If you do this right the lower part will be lined up as well. I left the middle bolt that is
the only adjustment point of the system loosened until the ends were properly fitted.
When I got the steering box end fitted I again used the hammer to slightly tap the
assembly on to the shaft. Once I got it all on I tightened everything down the instructions
state that to be 35nm. I took that as one grunt using the wrenches.
I then tested it out and found a catch when turning right. This was the "U" joint being
bound up on the new steering assembly. I then loosened the
adjustment bolt.
Started the engine. Then I turned the steering wheel all the way in each direction, several
times. This allowed the bind to adjust out. I then went back in and tightened the bolt.
That's it. It wasn't too bad. I was a bit worried about using a hammer, but I was
careful. I could see where this might be worse if there was more rust. The difficulty
of this project is a 2 on the
Difficulty Scale. It was hot as you can see I needed a improvised
shade and needed to remove the sleeves of the shirt due to them clinging to me
when I began sweating profusely. As always a good environment makes for an easier job.
Thanks for reading and happy Rovering.