Bushing at top of steering colum

[pyromanic]

So I'm checked into the sloppy steering wheel today. Pulled the plastic off the colum behind the wheel. Looks like theres a bushing that the shaft goes through at the very top of the colum. Very sloppy. Thats where all the play is. Went out to the donor car and did the same. That bushing is good.

 

I could borrow a steering wheel puller tommarrow, but before I do that I thought I'd ask, can these bushings be removed and installed without destroying them?

 

And is it a bushing, bearing, or what?

 

 

Pyro, who is trying to learn to ask for some direction before he tears things to far apart!

[carfreak85]

Well, I don't know anything about the bushing, but I have never used a steering wheel puller on my steering wheel. They have always come off pretty easily for me.

[pyromanic]

Well stupid me, I didn't even tug on the wheel after removing the nut and washer, just assumed that since I know there is such a thing as a steering wheel puller, and since Fuji saw fit to accomadate a puller with two hole and a tapered divit in the shaft, that it was a tight press fit. I'll find out today if one is needed.

 

Since I'm not getting a bunch of hits on this question, I'm thinking that maybe these bushings are never found to be worn much, like this one is. Here is what I think happened.

 

I bought this car from my mail lady. We live rural, and the mail carriers are private contractors, and must use their own vehicle. So this 85 wagon saw many tens of thousands of miles with the driver sitting in the passenger seat, with left leg and foot straddleing the console and shifter. It started as an auto, so she worked the gas and brake with left foot. My theory is that that hundreds of times a day, she leaned out the passenger window to stick mail in boxes, while holding on to the wheel with her left hand, and counterbalencing her weight on the wheel. Maybe that is why the bushing is shot.

 

My mechanic buddy, (who has never worked on a Soob after 30 years of wrenching!) says that often these bushing cannot be removed without destroying them. If that turns out to be the case, I'm looking at a steering colum swap. PIA

 

What about just replacing the top part, from the U type joint under the dash? I wonder if that U joint comes apart?

 

This is gonna be fun.

 

Pyro

[pyromanic]

Well, I don't know anything about the bushing, but I have never used a steering wheel puller on my steering wheel. They have always come off pretty easily for me.

 

Nope, can't get it off by hand.

 

Hayes Repair Manual says this:

 

5 Remove the steering wheel from the steering shaft; a steering wheel puller is not usually needed for earlier models. On later models, if the steering wheel is difficult to remove, install a steering wheel puller to seperate the wheel from the shaft. [chapter 10 sec. 20, Hayes Repair Manual Subaru 1600 &1800 1980 thru 1994]

 

Pyro

[WoodsWagon]

That happened on my 86. It just up and went one day. Well, the car was being driven hard at the time, but thats no excuse. The bushing didn't look too replacable to me.

[pyromanic]

Got it apart. Ball bearing type, but a little unusual. Very replacable, but that wasnt needed. There is a rubber spacer which had somehow come off the bearing housing, and was just laying behind the bearing in the colum. Allowed the shaft lots of slop. Probably like I thought, mail lady leaning on it for years.

 

But every thing was in good shape. Just cleaned it up, used a little permatex to glue the spacer to the bearing housing, greased it properly, reinstalled, good as new.

 

Pyro