steering column bulhead bearing mod to improve fitting
Discussion
For those of that enjoy this task here are a few things that made my life much easier - a one man job this way and much easier next time!
1. use a ring spanner wedged into position on the 5 retaining nuts in the engine bay side holding the bearing housing, one by one
2. use a battery drill mounted socket in the footwell to undo the bolts from the bearing housing (5)
3. buy a new aluminium housing, bearing and triangular bore bush for the steering column, undo the column top uj in engine bay and cut 6mm threads in the 5 mounting holes using M6 x 1 tap
4. undo top column mounting bolts and pull the column out, resting it on something on the drivers seat (you can leave all wiring intact)
5. pull the bearing and housing off the end of the column
6. drill out bulkhead mounting holes to 6.5mm OD
7. put one bolt in one of the threaded holes in the new housing from the footwell side to aid temporary alignment and hang it in the top mounting hole (like you would hang a picture), now go back to engine bay side
8. put finger in steering column hole in bearing in the housing housing and align the other fixing holes, fix bolts in bearing from engine side of bulkhead (i used M6 x 20 stainless with washers)
9. remove the temporary internal bolt and re-insert from engine side
10.put column loosely in the new bearing, pushing it through and refix the top column mounting hand tight for now
11. slide on new bush with shoulder facing engine side from engine side, tap gently with small hammer and a bit of 22mm pipe until you reach the bearing, carefully align and tap gently home until the shoulder reaches the the inner race of the bearing, with the rest oif the bush inside the inner race
12. loosely fit the uj and measure between uj and bush shoulder
13. make a spacer to prevent new bush sliding out (i used an ofcut of the old bush, cut approx 1/16" short to allow a little free movement and to avoid putting an unnecesary load on the bearing
14. bolt it ALL up tight, job done.
next time, you can undo the bearing mounting purely from the engine bay side..........the way it should have been without the need for super extendo arms...........or a small child
1. use a ring spanner wedged into position on the 5 retaining nuts in the engine bay side holding the bearing housing, one by one
2. use a battery drill mounted socket in the footwell to undo the bolts from the bearing housing (5)
3. buy a new aluminium housing, bearing and triangular bore bush for the steering column, undo the column top uj in engine bay and cut 6mm threads in the 5 mounting holes using M6 x 1 tap
4. undo top column mounting bolts and pull the column out, resting it on something on the drivers seat (you can leave all wiring intact)
5. pull the bearing and housing off the end of the column
6. drill out bulkhead mounting holes to 6.5mm OD
7. put one bolt in one of the threaded holes in the new housing from the footwell side to aid temporary alignment and hang it in the top mounting hole (like you would hang a picture), now go back to engine bay side
8. put finger in steering column hole in bearing in the housing housing and align the other fixing holes, fix bolts in bearing from engine side of bulkhead (i used M6 x 20 stainless with washers)
9. remove the temporary internal bolt and re-insert from engine side
10.put column loosely in the new bearing, pushing it through and refix the top column mounting hand tight for now
11. slide on new bush with shoulder facing engine side from engine side, tap gently with small hammer and a bit of 22mm pipe until you reach the bearing, carefully align and tap gently home until the shoulder reaches the the inner race of the bearing, with the rest oif the bush inside the inner race
12. loosely fit the uj and measure between uj and bush shoulder
13. make a spacer to prevent new bush sliding out (i used an ofcut of the old bush, cut approx 1/16" short to allow a little free movement and to avoid putting an unnecesary load on the bearing
14. bolt it ALL up tight, job done.
next time, you can undo the bearing mounting purely from the engine bay side..........the way it should have been without the need for super extendo arms...........or a small child
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