Hi Rob
You may wll be correct about the plastic taking up the free play between the
shafts. Mine had the bulk of both pieces plastic in place, and I hadnt
noticed any rotational free play. It was just that the pegs had sheared off
and allowed the inner to slide out.
Nice fix by the way.
----- Original Message -----
From: <rdusel@att.net>
To: <mgs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 7:28 AM
Subject: RE: 79 B steering column
> I'm going to jump in here with one little observation. I have 2 1975 B's
that
> both developed an annoying problem in the collapsible shaft. Both started
out
> normal, then at some point the steering developed a noticeable amount of
play
> in the column. Approximately 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch of play where the
steering
> wheel would move back and forth with out turning the steering rack. This
would
> be accompanied by a metallic clink and would become very disconcerting
when
> driving as you could feel the two shafts rattling around. Disassembled the
> column and found at least 1 of the plastic pieces missing and no signs of
any
> other spacer or device to take up the play between the two shafts. So the
> plastic pieces may have a role in keeping the inner/outer column shafts
tight,.
> In my case I repaired the column by spraying silicone into the outer,
larger
> column, coating the inner column with "liquid nails" adhesive (yes, liquid
> nails because it hardens down to a firm, rubbery consistency) and then
> inserting the inner shaft into the outer shaft. Now there is no noticeable
play
> and the silicone should have kept the "liquid nails" from bonding to the
outer
> shaft so that the callapse feature still works.
> This repair so far has lasted 10 years of regular use...
> Something to think about before you reassemble the column and find play
down
> the road when the car is re-assembled.
> If anyone has any more comments on how the system works I'd be interested
to
> know. Maybe my column shafts were just worn out? One of the two B's was
low
> mileage so I didn't think it was excessive wear...
>
> Rob
> 1975 B (x2)
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