i went to look at a sapphire cosworth that im buying and the steering colum moves up and down slightly he told me it was normal is that true???



sorry i carnt spell!!!

 

it will prob be the lower colum bush the one that goes through the fire wall you can sometimes tap it back in and the play will go away if not they are only Ł3-Ł4 and about 20-30 mins to fit

 

THANKS

 

If its ever been in a shunt, maybe a silly little one, the column can compact but they do seem to bend on the concertina (collapsable) part over the years. As said its not a difficult job but fiddly to fit new bushes. There should also be a washer thing on the triangular section of the column to hold the bush in place. If that's gone or left too far back (like I did - doh!!) it will pop out again in a jiffy.

 

As said the bottom bush wears, you can cheat by sliding the triangular tube up the column, so saves dismantling steering at all, also as said make sure the sprung clip is pushed down onto the bush when fully home.
tabetha

 

I had this problem on mine and some dick had put the sprung clip on wrong way so it slid up the shaft and was a twat to get back off.

 

Hey neat trick tab - why didn't I think of that!!

 

I only thought of it as I'm a lazy git!!
tabetha

 

Hi all,

In my experience the bush that fits on to the column shaft can only be fitted when the universal joint on the bottom of the trangular shaft is removed. Think you will find that it cant be slid up the shaft because there is a plastic sleve that slides into the upper part of the column which acts as a type of bush between the two sections of the column enabling the in and out ajustment of the wheel. the UJ at the bottom of the shaft is only one bolt as the other should be a pressed joint. Should get away with just removing the turbo heat sheild for access.

Mike

 

They can be slid up and they are designed to be slid up, in the event of an accident, as well as the crush section, they are hard to slide up but not impossible, if they did not slide they would be made as one solid bit!!
tabetha

 

Tabetha,

I think we are talking in cross perposes, what i mean is that the bush and the triangular clip can not be slid up the bottom of the steering column and removed from the top as the bush that goes into the top part is on the shaft is larger than the holes on the triangular clip and bottom bush. You are correct in saying that the column will slid up as it is ment to do so, if it werent for the fact that the bottom part was clamped in the steering UJ it would pull out of the bulkhead when you tried to adjust it towards you (when sat in the driving seat).

If you are still unsure exactly what i mean i will post pictures of a Sierra Ajustable collumn which has been fitted to a kit car i am building. It has a new bulkhead bush and shows the white plastic sleeve between the two sections that side into one another.

Mike

 

you undo the clamp from inside the enginebay
remove the carpet from the pedals
push the old bush out
put the new bush in
job done

unless there is something else about the column that needs doing? if the inner shaft moves up then it just means it's not going to reach the bit at the bottom, othewise it's not going to move?

also, the colapsable bits of the column do tend to collapse after a few years so it's also worth just removing the steering shroud to see if this is the case, it's covered by some sticky foam so don't pull that off if you can help it, you should be able to feel the corugated section of tube to see if it's tight up aginst itself or ridged like it should be

 

These may help - the concertina part and the shaft end with the original worn bush still fitted.

 

The point I was making about the lower inner part sliding is that it can be slid up far enough, to be able to remove the bush, WITHOUT having to even touch the clip on it, once unbolted from the joint of course.
tabetha

 

Right, got you, thought you meant that the bsuh and clip can be moved up the whole shaft. You can see the inner shaft bush in the Bottom righthand part of the second picture that Andy has posted. Thats what i was on about..

Mike

 

so how u fit these mines got slight up and down movement if it a 30min job will do mine!(i work on vauxhalls so never done one of these!)be gentle

 

the bush comes in 4 parts
innder (the bit in the pic)
outer( not in the pic)
rubber outer (not in the pic)
metal spring clip (in the pic)

once the carpet is out and the intermediate sheeter shaft has been uncoupled you can just use a long screwdrive to punch the bits out
whenyou put the metal clip onto the shaft first make sure it's the right way in so that it locks on the way up not on the way down the shaft
then put the innder bit on
then the outer bit
then push the rubber seal up through the gap as well
now put the out bit of the bush into the rubber bit and then push it all through he bulkhead from insdei out
then the innder bit slide in and then the metal washer locking tab goes over the otp
you can always use a cable tie to clamp the shaft after th emetal clip to ensure it stays in place and, on some cars, there is also a metal collar that goes over the engine bay side of the rubber plug so make sure you put that on if it's there

think of this as a service item and replace it every eyar or so and you won't go far wrong

 

All the bits described - old and new set

 

great stuff done all this when fitted 4x4 colum in my 2wd.