Q. tighten steering wheel/column in '78 sc

Hi,
recently put larger 17" wheels on the car - and these are showing up a lot of free play in the steering wheel

if you hold both sides of the steering wheel it can be moved up/down by about 3/4" so feels as through the free play is in the steering column.

Is there a way of tightening it - or is this a sign that the steering rack, or somethink else expensive is on it's last legs?

Thanks

[silverc4s]

Sounds more like a bad bushing at the top of the column, just below the whell, etc...

Pelican have a metal sleeve that supposedly displaces the worn plastic steering bearing for $12. My car has the same symptoms- with about 1/2" or so wobble in the steering wheel so I'm planning on giving this a go. Has anyone used this- will it be as effective as replacing the plastic bushing itself? I am a little sceptical about the concept of hammering this sleeve into the steering column...

Andrew

[Joe911]

I have the same symptoms on my Carrera. Have the sleeve - also have been hesitating to install. Would also like to hear some encouragement that I will not damage anything!

[APKhaos]

The 'Sleeve' is the uppen steering column bush. Its concentric. When it fails the steering column will have some movement, but not what the ephonymous Mr Hippo is describing.

Lost motion - the steering wheel turns n degrees before anything else moves - is likely to be due to something else. You can locate the problem by isolation.

- Jump into the smuggler's box and clamp the lower unversal joint with large channel locks or vice grips. Hold tight while a help moves the wheel back and forth. This should isolate the lost motion to the area above or below the clamped universal.
- If its above the universal, try pulling the fresh air blower so you can clamp the upper column universal and test again.
- If it is below the universal, next potential culprit may be the two bolts that secure the column flange to the rack. You could see the kind of lost motion you describe if these are loose.
- Finally, if it is still lower, check under the car. Have a helper rock the steering wheel which you watch for motion. There is a possibility that the star washer, seal and bushing have popped out of one end of the rack. This introduces nasty bending loads on the rack actuating arm, and can produce the kind of lost motion you describe. When mine failed this way, it actually looked [and felt] as if the rack-to-tierod joint was flexing along its axis [which is not possible, but when the whole business is hidden inside teh boot thats what it felt like. If you suspect this may be your problem, remove the boot immediately to confirm the diagnosis.

Belay that order of play - check the rack forst. If this is the problem you should NOT drive the car until it is fixed. You really don't want the actuating arm to fail on the motorway!

Good hunting

[rstoll]

First repair I did on my 911 2.5 yrs ago. Metal bushing from Pelican, 10 minutes, tight wheel.