Steering column bushes question

[Stag-Victor]

Just when I thought I had worked through my winter to-do list, was reattaching the brake pedal to the servo and I must have disturbed the steering column as the remains of the plastic/rubber bushes dropped out and I now have a fair bit of up/down play in the column...

Looking around at the posts, I've got a fair idea of what I need to do to fix it, however what appears to be two metal shims also came out (see photo), which I cant find any reference to on the rimmers exploded diagrams, or in the ROM or anywhere else, has someone just shoved them in at some point to eliminate play or am I missing something?

The upper rubber bush looks like a bit of a pig to fit, is using vaseline or similar worth doing to help ease it in?

The column didnt have any noticeable play before this, is it worth replacing the column bearings while the column is out or best to leave alone I wonder...

[sujitroy]

Probably the PO put them in to get through an MOT. Those bearings are not cheap.

Use a clamp ring

Sujit

[Goldstar]

Probably the PO put them in to get through an MOT. Those bearings are not cheap.

Use a clamp ring

Sujit

Neither is an accident from a badly repaired or maintained steering column. A bit fiddly to replace but worth doing properly. Clamp rings are for the top bush not the bottom.

[bullstarz]

So this means you have to replace these,

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Well I did those and it’s not nice, not gonna lie it’s not easy either. It’s a right pain in the arse ,if your Star Wars fan I say I hope the forces with you. One of the hardest bits I remember was those 2 rubber bushes. They fit in the outer sleeve with those two little bits location it in the column but you’ve got to get one of them all the way down the column without twisting and somehow trying to get it in the right place. Which I can tell you is a bit of test. Then you have to insert the steering column in which normally catches and knocked him out of place because it’s quite a tight fit, like I said it’s not a nice job.

Then the second part of the kit, the actual metal bits there is a way of doing that, it’s mention somewhere else on the site, somewhere. To get the right tension I have to use like a spanner pulling one way while you tighten it up, quite fiddly and complicated unless you have 3 hands, but well worth it.

[Stag-Victor]

No wonder it had been bodged...... Well at least I found it now and not while driving.

Better get the swear box ready then!

[jbuckl]

At least the parts are available now. Wasn’t always the case

[DJT]

I did mine over Winter. Not difficult if you buy quality items. Mine came from LD Part. I only found one of the steel shims among the remains inside the column. After reading of other owner’s experiences I decided not to bother with them, and just fitted the bushes.

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[dasadrew]

Some stuff in the technical section on the steering column.

I inserted those confounded rubber bushes with one of those grabber tools.

2012 - 01 - 003.JPG2012 - 01 - 002.JPG

[Andrew S]

Hope this helps This was posted years ago by Julian

[dasadrew]

Hope this helps This was posted years ago by Julian

Yes, like I said, in the Technical Section.

[Andrew S]

Oops sorry Drew

[dasadrew]

No probs Andrew, but I think it's a shame that the one feature we have over fb & Co is the retrievability of information and it's not always used. Hence I always try to nudge users to look in our "library" !

Drew

[MandM]

Hope this helps This was posted years ago by Julian

Also an article in the mag a few months back,

[richardthestag]

the lower bushes are not that difficult to fit, the whole column and inner/outer tubes need to come apart. done a few now and never really had any issues. the metal parts are from the original bush and i have never used them on the ldpart replacements.

push the upper sleeve in and align into place using the inner tube. and pop the lugs through the hole with a log pry bar. honestly takes me a couple of mins to get both bushes in.

then i chamfer an edge onto the inner sleeve to help it go through the new sleeves. dont paint the inner sleeve! or at least until it is in place. silicon lube or wd40 onto the inner tube and twist it gently to push it through each bush.

oddly one of those jobs that doesnt have me reaching for the swearing fine jar

[Andrew S]

No probs Andrew, but I think it's a shame that the one feature we have over fb & Co is the retrievability of information and it's not always used. Hence I always try to nudge users to look in our "library" !

Drew

You raise a good point Drew in that there is a fountain of technical articles and maybe this should be highlighted in a magazine article which would encourage more people to use the forum and who knows, provide further articles. You worked very hard on the technical section and very time consuming, would be good to have more awareness outside of the forum to get people onboard.