1988 911 Carrera - steering issue part II

[jared_s]

My "new" car, which only has <60K miles, had the steering lock while making a sharp right turn, as if the key was out/off, but only in the unwinding direction; turning it a little more the other way seemed to unlatch it. No stalling, nothing funny with the key position.

Here's the original thread:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/1096289-1988-911-carrera-weird-steering-issue.html

Dealer said they couldn't diagnose it, but recommended a new steering rack.

I've been thinking about sending the steering rack to someone to rebuild, but it just doesn't make sense to me that that is the problem.

Whatever is wrong, I was thinking it *must* be related to the steering anti-theft lock. Googling, I found something in a forum where someone was towing their Jeep, and the steering locked, and what they did was simply cut or grind off the pin that locks it. Not elegant, but effective. So I decide to investigate taking the lock assembly out to do that.

I got sidetracked fixing other things and before I knew it, a couple months went by and fall is here.

Finally (and I wish I'd done this before I let anybody else get their hands on it) I unscrew the cover on the ignition switch. And I find *one* screw where there are holes for two, (not four by the way) and it doesn't look like the OEM shear type, just a regular screw, kind of beat up.

This is kind of weird, because the dealer should've used the right fasteners. Now I have no way of knowing whether it was in this condition originally or not.

I remove the screw, and there is just a little play in the lock assembly, and given that the key is out and the ignition is completely off, I find that if I pull it one way, the steering wheel is free in both directions and if I wiggle it the other way, it partially locks in one direction like it did while I was driving. And if it's in just the right position, it locks in both directions as is normal when the key is out.

I think this is the Eureka moment, the locking issue *must* be due to a slight misalignment of the lock on some right turns that pull on it.

I don't know whether it's the missing shear bolts, or perhaps the bearing at the top of the steering column, or something else, that is off. So I may permanently disable the steering lock as planned.

I would like to figure out something I can test or measure, to prove when the alignment is nominal, though. So I could return it to OEM condition.

[jared_s]

The lock assembly came out after I undid the single screw and unplugged the connector on the back. Nothing else had to be unscrewed, I'm not sure if that's normal. Wayne Dempsey's book of 911 projects says that you may or may not need to loosen a "nut that holds the ignition switch onto the steering wheel lock" Figure 2 on p. 213 shows the assembly from under the dashboard and says make sure to loosen the steering wheel lock bolt on the left. I'm unclear on whether that's left in the picture or left facing the dash from outside.

In the picture I took below of my assembly, it looks like the socket the arrow is pointing to is a bit worn, and possibly it also is where a bolt is supposed to locate that end? I do not see any other feature that appears able to locate the end near the steering column with precision.

The pin seems to be undamaged and moves smoothly. What looks like damage on the end where the pin slides in and out is not as bad as it appears. Mostly discoloration.

So...maybe I need a new $800 assembly, or maybe I just need a missing bolt or two.