Steering column threads stripped....oop

[LateFan]

(Maybe this should be in Suspension & Steering?)

Well......I have completely stripped the threads on the steering shaft removing the steering wheel yet again. Could be the nylock nut was kind of screwed up and I put it on cross-threaded and kept turning - because it's a nylock. Stupid mistake. We were just replacing the turn signal switch.

Anyway, I ruined it. Threads are just mashed flat.

"Steering Spindle Upper", # 32311155367, shows up as NLA in most places I've looked. And, it appears there are a lot of bearings and circlips holding it together, and the column has to come out anyway (?).

So should I just find a good used non-airbag column assembly and swap them?

How tough a job is it? - remove all switches and turn signals, chisel off the fracture bolts, unbolt the firewall plate, unbolt the joint below the U-joint in the engine compartment? Is that all of it?

It's a non-airbag '86.

Are the coupe column and the sedan column the same part?

Thanks -

[flyboyx]

the problem(or difficulty rather) is that there are two screws on the underside of the column with no head. getting those out will be a challenge but its doable.

as far as the solution you mentioned above, yes....your best option is to simply get an other pre airbag column and swap it out.

good luck. there are threads here on getting those bolts out.(no pun intended-well maybe ;) )

[Todd Black 88]

It's solid up there right?

Re thread it down a size, and change the nut

[LJ851]

Before i replaced the column, i would buy a threading die and chase the threads.

You might end up with serviceable threads on the column. Smeared over threads sometimes look a lot worse than they actually are.


Re threading down to something slightly smaller (maybe non metric threads) as Todd mentioned would be my plan B.



If you replace the column and have to remove the shear bolts , just drill the heads of the bolts off.

[LateFan]

It's solid up there right?

Re thread it down a size, and change the nut

Before i replaced the column, i would buy a threading die and chase the threads.

You might end up with serviceable threads on the column. Smeared over threads sometimes look a lot worse than they actually are.

Re threading down to something slightly smaller (maybe non metric threads) as Todd mentioned would be my plan B.

If you replace the column and have to remove the shear bolts , just drill the heads of the bolts off.

Thanks Gents.
So, there is a hole in the shaft - it's not a "pipe" with wall thickness but there is a center hole.

I don't know that I'd say the threads are just "smeared" but take a look. They seem gone to me. Looks like maybe there's a bit of bend at the end from too much breaker bar to get it back off.

Does a die cut down the diameter of a shaft? How would you mill it to a smaller diameter before cutting new threads?

A lot of this damage was just trying to get the nut back off - it just spun.

[LateFan]

What is the clamp at the firewall end of the column? What is it clamping?

Do you replace the whole thing down to the fitting below the u-joint in the engine compartment, or does the column separate there at the clamp?

[LJ851]

Damn, son.


I would replace that shaft.

[flyboyx]

damn, son.


I would replace that shaft.

muther trucker!!!


+1

[LateFan]

Pretty bad, huh?! I'm only a little embarrassed.

Kind of interesting such a beefy nut - there are splines for rotation, and there's not much force pulling UP on the wheel... Maybe it has something to do with accident forces.

It's been on and off of there half a dozen times at least - cluster work, wiring, switches. I put it on last, so it's something I did.


Right now I'm out in the driveway fighting Volvo front struts. These aftermarket struts on there don't have flats for a wrench, they have a torx hole in the top of the shaft, so you use a T-50 bit and box end on the huge nut. Somebody before me put the nut on with way too much force plus rounded off the torx points. So I try to get it off...grunt grunt.....aaaand crack the end of the thin-walled shaft! yay

[AbsorbantNut]

What is the clamp at the firewall end of the column? What is it clamping?

Do you replace the whole thing down to the fitting below the u-joint in the engine compartment, or does the column separate there at the clamp?

[ATTACH]115212[/ATTACH]

By clamp I'm assuming you mean the black 2 bolt plate. It's used to hold on a rubber cover. It acts as a flexible barrier btwn the cabin and engine compartement.

The part you need to replace is the column/tube. The part that connects to the steering rack is actually a splined shaft that fits inside of the column. It's held in place by a lock nut similar to the driveshaft. You can actually remove the lower piece that connects to the steering rack while it is in the car. SImply loosen the big nut (36m m or something) and back it all the way off. Then disconnect your u joint from the rack and you can pull the splined section out.

ninjaedit- nvm, what I described is for airbag cars. Not sure how much crosses over to nonairbag

[LateFan]

It's at the far right in that photo, before / above the firewall piece. On realoem it's #6, 32311115062 "clamp." It looks like it holds two sections of the tube together, with a sleeve over the firewall piece.

Just wondering if that's a better place to break the column, or go to that isolation pad joint just below the upper u-joint.

Thanks -

oh, EDIT......maybe the shaft itself doesn't break until the splined end goes into that u-joint. That makes more sense.

[LateFan]

Got the new one in. Went fairly smoothly with a few setbacks. Those "safety bolt" heads are a pain in the ass - dremel, drill, chisel....laying on your back with metal shavings in your face. Use 8mm hex head bolts to reattach.

Open up the clamp on the steering coupler, but not so far that the splines on either side of the opening are way out of parallel, because it's difficult to get it to slide back together. We greased the splines slightly with waterproof grease.

The ignition lock cylinder takes a trick to get the right size pin in the hole to release it. We wanted to keep the keys all the same. This was handy....

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Removing_Ignition_Lock