Desperate for help please...gonna have an aneurysm

[mtl911sc]

Guys, someone on these forums must have done this before, could someone who has please chime in with how they managed to do this? If I'm stupid I'll be the first one to say so...

As a continuation of this thread Steering column lower bushing - stumped ...

The triumphant reinstallation of my refreshed steering rack, new fuel pump, and entire refreshed front suspension is being held up by two %^$@ bolts.

As per the thread above, I purchased a Rennline replacement steering shaft bearing (also called a steering column support bushing, located in the smuggler's box, oem p/n 911 347 029 01). However I tried I couldn't get the billet aluminum Rennline part to fit, and so I bit the bullet and spent another $100+ on the factory part, thinking it might be slightly smaller. Received it today from PP and sure enough it is smaller by just a couple of mm. It's also made of rubber rather than solid aluminum which allows for some extra flexibility.

Well, I'm SO close but I can't get the suppport bracket bolted back into the car. I'm using the original 15mm allen bolts and the AC evaporator doesn't seem to be in the way either. I thread on the lower bolt in ever so slightly, position the bushing under the bracket, and then try to thread in the top bolt, but it just won't line up enough to start the threads. I don't want to risk damaging the bearing inside by forcing the bushing too much, so what am I doing wrong?

[boyt911sc]

Please post some pictures of what you are doing and you will get better responses. Your questions plus pictures will be more effective. Good luck.

Tony

[mtl911sc]

Good thinking, will do.

[mtl911sc]

[Mahler9th]

I will have to look at my car to see if there is a trick I can suggest. Meanwhile...

What I sometimes do when faced with challenges like this is start the process with slightly longer bolts. Of course if those are blind holes you may not be able to tighten longer bolts all of the way.

In any case, I have used longer bolts to get everything kind of in place to start and get things into place, then swapped them out one at a time with the proper length.

I can think of a few places on my 911 (a '75) where that method has helped... especially dealing with rubber or spring tension and brackets.

[Mixed76]

What he said. Home Dept or whatever will have the wrong bolt with the right threads, and that will let you confirm that it will line up and mostly tighten up; change to the correct bolts afterwards, without pulling off your bracket.

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[proporsche]

i hope you are not trying the mount the bearing before you slide it on the shaft?
It should be a snug fit,m can we see the bearing unit?I did one recently and it just went in with ease...
Ivan

[mtl911sc]

Here are photos - top & bottom - of both the oem and Rennline bushings. The oem one is flared at the bottom which would be to help guide the shaft into it, no?

[proporsche]

you should slide it on the shaft 1st..
Ivan

[Hx911]

You could get longer bolts, and have a nut on each, all the way up at the bold head. Thread them in, tighten them, and then use the nuts to properly tighten the bracket. Not beautiful or original, but it may just work.
And once everything is in place, maybe you can swap the long bolts with the original ones....

[Wayne 962]

Longer bolts will work, but studs are a better option. Stick some studs in there, then install the bearing, and then thread some nuts on each end. Tighten down, then remove the nuts and studs (leaving one in place) and then replace with the original bolts. Should work well. I have a drawer full of old nuts, bolts and studs for this exact type of purpose...

Hope this helps,

-Wayne

[mtl911sc]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

I had tried longer bolts when I first encountered this problem, but realized two things after racking my brain for hours on it:

1) I’m limited in the bolt length I can use at the bottom because the AC evaporator box is in the way, and I want to avoid disconnecting the AC lines to remove it;

2) More importantly, it’s not only the length but the angle of the bolt that’s causing the issue. Notice in my first pic that the threaded sleeves welded to the body are not parallel to each other? They spread out slightly in a “v” shape. It’s almost like I need a wider bracket rather than longer bolts.

[brcorp]

Wayne had the solution with one twist. Install the studs in the same order you'd install the bolts. Since the mounting nuts are at an angle, installing the studs first won't work. You should be able to locate the bracket then install the studs finger tight making sure you get at least 1 diameter of thread engagement. Then install washers, nuts and you're done!!

[porsche930dude]

First make sure the bracket bolts on without the bushing. then see how far away it can be before the holes dont line up any more. You may need to bend the studs in a bit.

[mtl911sc]

Originally Posted by brcorp

Wayne had the solution with one twist. Install the studs in the same order you'd install the bolts. Since the mounting nuts are at an angle, installing the studs first won't work. You should be able to locate the bracket then install the studs finger tight making sure you get at least 1 diameter of thread engagement. Then install washers, nuts and you're done!!

Yeah makes sense. What stumps me is that when I first removed the bolts, they were threaded in quite deep - take a look at the pic and you can see just how far they went in. Doesn’t seem like I’ll come even close to reinstalling the bolts that deep. And considering this is holding down the steering shaft, is it even safe to only have a few threads being engaged by the bolts?

EDIT: the pic is of the lower bolt, which was threaded pretty deep. The upper bolt didn’t seem to be threaded in that deep.

[boyt911sc]

MTL,

Could you post pictures of the old and replacements bushings side by side? What is the difference between them (dimension)? Did you take some measurements for the OD? If I were you, I would try to install the old bushing and figure out why you are having problem with the replacement part. Something is definitely different between these parts. Keep us posted.

Tony

[mtl911sc]

Originally Posted by boyt911sc

MTL,

Could you post pictures of the old and replacements bushings side by side? What is the difference between them (dimension)? Did you take some measurements for the OD? If I were you, I would try to install the old bushing and figure out why you are having problem with the replacement part. Something is definitely different between these parts. Keep us posted.

Tony

Tony, best I can do is further up above in this thread, pics of new oem and new Rennline bushings. The original went in the trash and out the door weeks ago 🙄 Another lesson learned.

The Rennline aluminum bushing looks significantly bigger but when measured with calipers is actually only 46mm od vs 44mm for the new original piece.

[Mixed76]

Sounds like something got bent and needs to be bent back.

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[mtl911sc]

Hold up a sec, think I may have found my problem... took a look at the 911SC PET for 1978-83 to see whether there were part number changes.

There’s only one part number available for the whole part (complete bushing and bearing), however my car may have had the older part number 901-347-223-03 which is of course NLA:



However, it also appears the bracket p/n changed as well, if you zero in on number 25 in the two images below. I must have the older bracket “housing” 901-347-221-00 along with the older bushing/bearing part that went with it. Seems I need to get myself p/n 901-347-221-01 to solve my issue.






LESSON LEARNED: NEVER TOSS THE OLD WORN-OUT PART BEFORE RECEIVING ITS REPLACEMENT AND VERIFYING THAT IT FITS THE SAME.

Thanks very much to everyone who took the time to read and post - any help is very much appreciated!

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by Mixed76

Sounds like something got bent and needs to be bent back.

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MTL,

Do you have a couple longer bolts you could install to the threaded bracket on the chassis? With the longer bolts installed check the axis of the 2 bolts if they are still parallel. Maybe one or both could be misaligned and would need some adjustment (McGyver trick). I have a strange feeling that the replacement bushing could be the culprit(?). Best thing is to investigate and determine the root cause of your problem. Keep us posted.

Tony