Steering rack + column joint

[poll250 0]

Hi,

 

Does anyone have any good tips on getting the splined U/J on the steering collum onto the steering rack?

 

I dropped the whole subframe and refurbed it all, and when I came to fit yesterday couldn't get the two to mate properly, so did the subframe bolts up tight to see if it went in with the subframe in place, but no joy as yet.

 

Any tips would be great as at the moment the only thing I can see working is hitting on it with a hammer, which doesn't sound too clever!

[davidwort 0]

I'd fit the UJ to the rack and then fit the combination to the car, connect UJ to bottom of column once it's all in.

[poll250 0]

Thanks for the advice David.

 

That sounds like I'd end up having to drill the bolts and remove the whole steering column off in order to mount the column into the other side of the UJ? There must be an easier method as lot's of people seem to fit refurbed racks etc!

 

I'll have to have a closer look tonight.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I'm afraid if you fit the UJ at the rack end, you do indeed need to suspend the whole subframe on a couple of threads of the front 2 bolts (as per fitting an uprated front ARB) to allow enough clearance.

 

Personally I would drill out the sheer bolts and drop the column, it's FAR easier, quicker and safer :D

 

You can do the whole lot with the car on the ground then.

[poll250 0]

Luckily the engine is out at the moment and the car is on stands anyway.

 

I was thinking: Can I just put a trolley jack below the subframe to support the weight, undo the bolts holding it in and lower it slightly until I've got the right angle.

 

Should it just push in by hand, or should I give it a 'tap' from above?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yep, you can do that. They can be a little tight, so wire brush off any surface corrosion on the rack spline (if present) and maybe a wee bit of grease to ease it's passage into the hole :D Is it a new UJ? If you push the subframe back up again with the jack, that'll do a good job of the tapping for you. You might need to loosen off the rack to subrame bolts too, get it all lined up, tighten the subframe to the floor and then tighten the rack bolts.

 

I did it a few years ago in situ, replaced the UJ and fitted a fixed column that is. My column was already "drilled" due to a previous ignition barrel replacement some years ago, so it was all a piece of p1ss :D

 

Interestingly, the people who've driven my car with the fixed column have commented on how much stronger my steering's self centering is compared to their's..... an unexpected, but good, side effect it seems. I haven't missed the adjustable column at all. It's a £500 part to replace (mine was worn out) , more than twice the weight of the fixed column and I always needed a 4th position, so good riddance I say :D

[herisites 0]

Yep, you can do that. They can be a little tight, so wire brush off any surface corrosion on the rack spline (if present) and maybe a wee bit of grease to ease it's passage into the hole :D Is it a new UJ? If you push the subframe back up again with the jack, that'll do a good job of the tapping for you. You might need to loosen off the rack to subrame bolts too, get it all lined up, tighten the subframe to the floor and then tighten the rack bolts.

 

I did it a few years ago in situ, replaced the UJ and fitted a fixed column that is. My column was already "drilled" due to a previous ignition barrel replacement some years ago, so it was all a piece of p1ss :D

 

Interestingly, the people who've driven my car with the fixed column have commented on how much stronger my steering's self centering is compared to their's..... an unexpected, but good, side effect it seems. I haven't missed the adjustable column at all. It's a £500 part to replace (mine was worn out) , more than twice the weight of the fixed column and I always needed a 4th position, so good riddance I say :D

 

That's one of the next jobs on my to-do list I think. Mine's definitely got play in the steering. I currently have mine on the lowest setting anyway as I think it feels tighter than on the higher setting (might just be me thinking that though, not sure) but I think somewhere in the middle would be ideal.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah same as mine mate. The bottom notch felt tightest and the middle and top felt quite "loose". At first I thought it was just an angles / leverage / physics / mind trick type thing, but when I removed the column and put it in a vice, I noticed it's UJ had some slight wear in it. It was only really noticable in the vice and really leaning on it!!

[poll250 0]

Mine feels tightest in the highest position! (lucky as my mk2 subframes make the seats

 

It failed the MOT a couple of years ago when I left it in the middle, as there was too much movement, so I just stuck it in the high position and removed the adjuster :D Replacing it with a fixed column is on my list of things to do later in the year for sure.

[Jim 2]

That's one of the next jobs on my to-do list I think. Mine's definitely got play in the steering. I currently have mine on the lowest setting anyway as I think it feels tighter than on the higher setting (might just be me thinking that though, not sure) but I think somewhere in the middle would be ideal.

 

Definitely not in your mind mate (well unless we're both crackers) as I find the same on my valver which has got a fair amount of play in the UJ - crank it down to the lowest height setting and it's far more solid than when it's in the middle.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

It failed the MOT a couple of years ago when I left it in the middle, as there was too much movement, so I just stuck it in the high position and removed the adjuster :D Replacing it with a fixed column is on my list of things to do later in the year for sure.

 

Really? Christ it must have been mega f'cked then!!

The fixed column is pretty cheap in parts and simple to fit and if you've stuck a new rack UJ on aswell, you're in for a right old treat in terms of tight steering :D