Last week I asked about any hints to make the job of replacing the bushings
in my steering column easier. I completed the job this past weekend and
found no major difficulties. In response to a couple of private requests I
am posting the significant findings while the info is still fresh...
1. I followed the procedure in the Bentley manual and found it quite
adequate to do the job. Only departures from the description is that I
removed the tach AND the speedo to gain better access to the ignition bolts
and I removed the driver's seat. No big deal to remove either of these
instruments IMO and I got to clean out the back of the glass while I was at
it. (Just had to take them apart while I had them out :-) As for the seat,
it makes access waaay better, I highly recommend it.
2. I thought removing the ignition "shear" bolts might prove difficult if
the bolt heads had been sheared off (they were). Quite the contrary, once
the steering column was loosened, I was able to rotate the column in such a
way that the ignition was almost upside down. I then used a drill and
easy-out to extract the two sheared off bolts. (I did not want to make slots
in the bolt heads or opposite ends with something like a cutting wheel on a
dremel cause that would have scarred up the aluminum ignition housing -
kinda hacky IMO). Using the easy out presented no problems (other than
having to do it on my back).
3. New shear bolts were not going into my car!!! This has to be one of the
stupidest security measures I have ever seen. I just bought a couple of SS
hex head bolts to fit my ignition. M8-20, 3/4" long in my case, very late
TR6. Others have said they used 5/16 UNF. I did have to file down the bolt
heads so they would fit into the recesses in the ignition, initially the
bolt head diameter was to large for the recess. No biggie here.
4. Another stupid device - the domed caps on the bolts clamping the column
between the steering wheel and the ignition. Bit of a pain to get off.
Definitely they were not replaced. I just left the bolts "bare".
5. Removing the old bushings seemed like it might be difficult. I acquired
some drywall anchors based on previous posts hoping they would make this
step of the job easier. Not needed! As it turns out, the pictures of the
inner column I have seen up to now do NOT show the thick sleeve welded to
the inner column which is used to enable the column locking feature. I had
thought the inner column would just be a uniform steel rod. Instead I was
able to use the inner column itself to drive out the lower bushing (after
cutting off the two "ears"). By drive I mean slowly applying pressure - not
pounding!. It came rather easily. Same technique for the upper one. New ones
went in with no problems again using the inner column to drive in the upper
one. I used a piece of plastic pipe of the right size (~1" OD) to drive in
the lower bushing once the inner column had been put in position. I used
silicone spray lubricant to make installation easier. Note: cars without
locking ignition may indeed have a single diameter inner column in which
case removal may be more difficult.
6. Cleaned up all the contacts in the steering column harness while it was
apart.
That's about it. All in all, a reasonably simple procedure. Results are very
impressive. The wheel no longer has that loose sloppy feel when lateral
force is applied. I don't know how long the new bushings will stay this
solid but it is definitely worth it so far.
Hope this helps some others out if you are planning on doing this in the
future or if you were intimidated by the prospect of the task.
Peter Zaborski
76 TR6 (CF58310 UO)
Calgary AB Canada
|