Fitting a refurbished steering column

[Steve Berry]

Hi - I’m pondering whether to remove a fit a refurbished steering column or pack the car off to the local garage. I refurbished a spare column myself and would like the satisfaction of finishing the job myself. I’m a little daunted by the thought of refitting the column to its upper and lower mountings whilst getting the lower splines through the bulkhead and connected to the intermediate shaft in the engine bay. Splines can be a nightmare and I’ll be working alone, maybe with the help (and advice) of my wife. Any advice on the best way (or order) of attaching the splines and the upper and lower mountings would be appreciated.

[Lingen]

Steve.
I would recommend a second set of hands to help with the spline alignment if you can find them. It would make the fiddly job so much easier.
MIke.

[jbuckl]

Have managed it single handed…. Just needed patience. Iirc step 1 was engage spline.

Key thing is to have the wheels straight ahead and check the self cancelling trigger is at straight ahead too.

[sujitroy]

A second pair of hands for sure. Also you may want to loosen the lower shaft from the rack end. That end allows for about 1/2" of movement along the splines when reassembling.

[Steve Berry]

Many thanks - great advice

[richardthestag]

when ever I have replaced the steering column I locate the splined end through the bulkhead, rest the column on a toolbox in the footwell. Then in the engine bay locate the splines, then the bolt through the outer column shroud to the bulkhead, then locate it to the underside of the dash. Not a tricky job on the scale of things. once everything is in place, bolt up the column tight to bulkhead and dash, then wind the steering a couple of times before nipping up the UJ pinch bolt.

Piece of cake

[Steve Berry]

Many thanks - some really useful tips. I was thinking of suspending the steering wheel end fixing of the column with wire before bolting to give me some movement when engaging the spline (probably over thinking it). The toolbox tip sounds much easier. I guess it’s another one of those jobs where you need hands the size of a child, arms twice the length and short legs. Unfortunately I have none of these so much profanity ahead😂

[Philip Wardle]

Hi Steve, at the time Iwas doing some trial fits with my steering column I had no dashboard, windscreen or seats in the car. I was also working single-handed at the time, and used the wiring-up method as you suggest. I'm not very strong, but this did help by taking the weight and achieving rough alignment while allowing some jiggling as you suggest. Later on I wanted to steer the car to move it around but had no dashboard in the car, it was fairly easy to create a dummy mounting point for the top of the column from some scrap wood, I wish I had taken a picture of this.

[FrenchStag]

I have always managed it single handed so far and also had to do it twice because initially I messed up the position of the indicator cancel clip. Just by pushing the column spline into the housing with the column and wheel loose.

It may be psychological but I also each time try to slightly widen the jaws of the clamp that receives the spline, with some very light taps of the slot with a slim chisel like a spot weld chisel.

[Philip Wardle]

I must admit I similarly widened the jaws - the tolerance between the clamp and splines appears quite tight, even just a few thou extra spread seemed to make a difference. The main thing I learned was to inspect the ends of the splines and deal with any burrs while the steering column is on the bench, and of course the jawa and splines need to be clean e.g. using one of those brushes that look like tootbrushes with brass bristles, and some light lubrication helps.

[Steve Berry]

Thanks everyone for your advice. The steering column is now refitted after two days of frustration. Key tips from my experience are 1) wire brush the lower splines (internal and external) filing any burrs/damage with a needle file 2) wipe then lubricate both parts of the spline with WD40 silicon spray and 3) allow the splines to move (ie don’t fit the bolt sectioning the spline) until the lower steering column mount is bolted-up. Unfortunately due to a combination of brittle electrical connectors and the previous restoration being wired by a chimp I’m yet to get the car up and running but will persist. Thanks again.