Steering wheel is off...now what?

[curlesw]

About a week ago I posted a question concerning movement in my steering wheel up and down. Wavey sent me a bushing (thanks!) suggesting I needed to replace the existing bushing. Well the steering wheel is off and I am not sure what to do next, i.e. how do I get the new bushing on? What do I do about the old one. As you can see in the pic it looks as if the lip of the old bushing has come off. Also, what is the white material? Do I need some of that? thanks guys!

Wayne C.
83 SC

[curlesw]

Here is the bushing I have...

Wayne C
83 SC

[Green 912]

If you have the same setup as I dealt with last year all you need to do is remove the “E” ring and the remaining plastic bushing. Then slide the new part, with the lip up, down around the steering shaft. This fills the gap between the shaft and the bearing left by the failure and decomposition of the stock bushing.

I bet that thumb hurt about a month ago

[Vipergrün]

Hey Wayne, from what I recall, you'll want to remove that circlip, remove the old white plastic bushing and install the new one in its place. You should be able to use a deep socket to get the bushing to seat properly. Replace the circlip and yer off.

Good luck...

[curlesw]

Thanks for the quick response guys....sounds easy enough.

Green, I lived in Arlington for 9+ years (9th st off of Wilson)....sold my house for $225k when I left back in 96....now they goes for $425k+, should have kept that one As far as the thumb, if there is ever a stupid garage trick thread, I might when...did not just do it once, but twice

Thanks again guys...

Wayne C.
83 SC

[ein 6er]

don't know about the bushing, but ......... i've got a thumb that looks just like yours!!!

doug

[Eric Mckenna]

Hi,
You should be able to remove all the old broken bits and simply slide the new metal bushing right on the spindle.. with the flange toward you..
I had to do this upgrade on my car right after i bought it should not have the problem anymore once you do this ..


Eric Mckenna
78SC

[Joe911]

Great thead - just did this job after reading this. Cleaned out old plastic (there was hardly any), removed circlip and serrated washer. Drive the new bushing in with light blows with a hammer and brass punch.

[curlesw]

Hey Joe, question for you. I wonder if inserted the bushing too far. It seems my wheel now makes some noise whenever I turn. Looks as if the plastic of the steering wheel housing is now rubbing against the part of the dash where they meet. Are you experiencing any noise? Can you insert the busing too far?

Wayne C.
83 SC

[MBAtarga]

The perfect "tool" to drive that replacement sleeve is a short length of ceiling fan drop pipe. The 6" piece I had left over from a fan installation kit was the perfect diameter to fit over the shaft and fit the flange.

[Joe911]

Curlesw - sounds like the wheel hub is on further than in the past??? and now rubs the plastic housing that covers the stg column. Removing it would confirm this. However, the wheel should tighten up on the splines before the hub contacts the bushing etc. so the bushing has no effect on the wheel location. At least this is how it looked to me. One could always install a large washer if it did. It could also be the horn contact rubbing on the stg wheel hub if it got bent a little. My wheel is an aftermarket Fittipaldi but they all work approximately the same.

[Joe911]

Looking back at your picture - it looks like the hub would hit against the circlip first so the new bushing has no effect on the stg wheel location. The bush just takes up empty space between the shaft and the ball bearing and is about even with the serrated clip. I put the clip on over/after the bushing - I wonder if they could be touching on yours? Aren't having digital pictures great!!
Good luck.

[Wil Ferch]

Sorry for the hijack....but a related question that isn't too clear ( to me at least!) from these previous threads....
Many say to simply drive the broken bits down into the column. Let's say you want to do a pre-emptive strike and replace a good plastic bushing with the improved 928, wavy metal piece. Is this possible to do on a original bushing that isn't broken? Can it be removed prior to replacing with a metal piece?
--Wil Ferch

[jmohn]

Originally posted by Wil Ferch
Sorry for the hijack....but a related question that isn't too clear ( to me at least!) from these previous threads....
Many say to simply drive the broken bits down into the column. Let's say you want to do a pre-emptive strike and replace a good plastic bushing with the improved 928, wavy metal piece. Is this possible to do on a original bushing that isn't broken? Can it be removed prior to replacing with a metal piece?
--Wil Ferch

Wil-

Assuming the new bushing is approximately the same length as the old plastic one, I had about 1/3 to 1/2 of the old bushing length left on mine. I remove these remains of the old bushing with a combination of needle-nose pliars, heavy-duty (almost forceps like) tweezers and a pick normally used for removing O-rings. It wasn't really difficult, just a bit tedious to get it to move up out of it's position as one piece rather than breaking each time I attempted to grasp it. I thought it was a good idea to remove as much of the old bushing as possible before driving in the new. BTW, the replacement piece I used (928 part number) was not "wavy", it looked exactly like the one shown in the pictures posted by "curlesw" at the beginning of this thread.

Cordially,

Jerry M
'78 SC

[speeder]

A perfect tool for installing that bushing is an old oil return tube, (discovered by accident).

Speaking of accidents, that thumb looks familiar to me also: