For a long time, steering in Huey has been difficult - VERY hard to turn like something was always fighting you. I knew the boot that covers the shaft under the gas tank was never installed so I thought maybe the problem was that the tank was sitting on the shaft or bushings or something.

So today I took out the gas tank and sat looking at it. First....I have no clue how to put the boot on (do I have to drop the rack for that?) but I think the real problem is different. I undid the two allen bolts that hold the U bracket on and slid the rubber bushings out of the was to asses things. Immediately the shaft moved right up against the sides of the hole where it comes through the firewall and relieved the pressure it was under. (see picture) In other words, the shaft was NOT centered at all in that hole, so with the bushings trying to center the shaft, they were putting an immense amount of pressure on the shaft, thus making it hard to turn. (at least this is my theory). In fact, sometimes you can hear a squeaking/creaking type sound when turning the wheel, like metal moving tightly on rubber...

I thought "ok, adjust the U-joints to allow the shaft to be centered". no dice since you can't lengthen/shorten the shaft in the U Joints because of the notch they have where the tightening bolt goes through.

So....questions for the 914world brain trust:

1) how can I adjust things to get that shaft centered through the firewall hole?
2) how do I get the boot on?
3) where can I get new versions of all those bushings? there seems to be two (1 & 2 in my picture) and I guess a bearing (3)?

thoughts?
TIA

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2 and 3 are actually one piece...steering shaft bearing. Looks like the rubber outer part has separated from the bearing part. 914rubber has a high quality replacement. And they have a great refurbished/swap deal for the rack, too.

#1 can be reused. It's more of a weather insulator than anything. As for the difficulty steering, my guess is that the separted bushing or the rack itself is the problem. The "hockey puck" above the rack has a fair amount of give, so things would have to be pretty far off for the shaft to bind as much as you describe...though I guess it is possible. The rack ties in to the auxilliary support behind the belly pan. And, yes...nothing can be removed or replaced without dropping the rack. The boot goes on before the bearing and rubber collar before short column is inserted through the bulkhead.

Separating (and re-inserting) the u-joint where the short column passes through the bulkhead is the hardest part of the job. Best to have a helper pull the rack down while you hold the U-joint tabs apart with a prybar or large screwdriver.

Here's a video I made which includes most of the process. Hope it helps!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnuYLbZ89y8

I hear ya about the give on the 'puck' part, but with the rod under the dash, to the U joint, the rod through the firewall is forced hard against the hole edge. so hard that upon inspection, the #1 bushing is wallowed out pretty bad. The small part of the bushing that goes through the firewall hole is non-existent anymore. so I'm thinking it's really putting stress/strain and almost bending the rod from the U-Joint to the puck.

Hmm. Check the bolts holding the steering rack to the aux support. The way the aux support ties in to the A-arms, body and steering rack forces things to be aligned pretty well. Has the car ever had front end damage?

(note: I made some edits to my post above).

cuddy_k's question about front end damage is valid.

If the rack has spacers to reduce bump steer then the rack is pushed closer to the steering wheel and sometime binding like you describe occurs.
With the typical "bump steer" kits it is not usually a problem but si=ometimes it is.

Things I have done to alleviate the pressure:

The first 2 are really just making sure everything is correct to begin with.

1 Make sure the rack is sitting square on the spacers and as far forward as the slight play in the bolt holes allow.

2 Make sure the steering column is mounted squarely and not angled more than normal.

3 Loosen all the u-joint pinch bolts nd try to shift the u-joints farther on to the shats.
There is a little play or clearance in the groove cut for each bolt, all 4 add up to a little extra room.

4 I have replaced the 8 mm diameter pinch bolts with 7 mm diameter bolts. This allows more room for the joints to slide on to the shafts and gives some extra space. Use good quality bolts.

Jim

Oh and yes you have to drop the rack to get the boot/cover back on.

Thanks for the advice. So..yes the car has had damage (those that know Huey know...check out the story on the NaroEscape Motorsports website link in my sig)
And yes it has bump steer spacers, which is what I started thinking about before I saw your post.. I was looking at the shaft where the bearing should be riding on and it’s pushed up too high. So I took them out and made them half size and it seems to be more centered. But... for the life of me I can’t get the bushings and bearing back where it goes. Can’t get the rubber bushing that’s around the bearing to go into place, and don’t know if the bearing is in place. Or if it’s any good since it’s probably been off the correct place on the shaft all this time.
So I decided I’ll take out the rack, replace the bearing and bushing...and the puck too while I’m at it. Ordered it all from 914 rubber earlier. Might as well do it right while I’m here.

Btw cuddy...would have loved to see the remove and replace of the rack in your video. Do you have to take off the aux support? Last time I did a rack we were redoing the entire front end suspension so it was all out.
And FYI, this has a relatively recently installed quick ratio rack so it’s not worn out or anything. I know a quick ratio rack will be a bit harder to steer when going slow, but this is really hard all the time.

I’ll post progress. Need to get a tie rod puller tomorrow..

I do suspect the damage may have things slightly out of alignment.
The question is; its it in tolerance for a simple adgustment?
May well be the case that you can find some room as this may have just been the last part to go on and it seemed to git at the time. With just some gental persuasion.

Check the rack as its been under an abnormal load. It should turn freely, and not have any "slop" to it. I do jave a few rebuilts on the shelf and an exchange should be possible if you need one.

Mark

Hi Mark
once I took out the bump steer spacers, it seems to line up fine. When we put them in, we just pushed the rack upward and didn't think about the consequences upline in the shaft. I'll be putting bump steer kit on the tie rod ends instead...

I ordered a few things from you last night. Can you make sure they get out quickly? I need to get this all back together this coming weekend...got an SCCA Hilllclimb coming up in 2 weeks!
thanks

Glad to see that you're on your way to getting this sorted. No, you don't need to remove the aux support...just the two bolts which hold the rack to it.

Thanks for the note on the video. I wanted to shoot the actual removal of the rack, but I didn't have a third set of hands handy . Best I could do was describe it. Will definitely shoot it in more detail next time.

Ok, I have no clue how to get the rack out without dropping the entire suspension. The master cylinder and the brackets for the aux support are in the way. Can’t go sideways since the shaft is up into the car...

Suggestions? What am I missing?

Ran your tracking and these should show up later today.
mark
And I've never done it without dropping it all.

And I sure as hell am struggling to get mine in without dropping the cross member ...No idea what dismantling is like as I bought a box of bits

I know that, on my car, I could get the rack out (and in) without dropping the aux support. Pulling it was a two man job. One person in the cabin prying the U joint apart to let the splined shaft slide out...while another is under the car pulling the rack down (yanking, really). MAKE SURE THE CAR IS VERY STABLE!

EDIT: I deleted what I wrote here about dropping the support being easy, as I was having a brain fart.

4 bolts? I took out the big 19mm ones near the torsion bar “hinge” , and even th 4 up at the control arms up front. Support won’t budge....which I can’t understand since nothing is holding it in except at the bottom of the strut....hmm....and the sway bars....hmmmm

Sorry...I was having a brain fart when I wrote that. The A arms are tied in by the bracket at the front, the sway bar and the ball joint. I hope I don't have early onset carzheimers.

Lol... I saw your edit after I hit Post.so you’re saying I may have to take it all apart? That Really sucks, especially if it affects the alignment. I have nobody that can give it an alignment befor the hillclimb next weekend...

I’m just saying that removing the aux carrier is not as simple as four bolts. I was able to remove my steering rack and put it back in with the aux carrier in place. Have you tried removing the rack using the two-man method?

So it’s out but I had to remove/loosen everything except where it connects to the ball joint. Removed all the bolts, disconnected the sway bars and pried it down. Hardest part was getting it by the master cylinder. No clue how it’s going to go back in, in tact with the shroud over the puck and all...

FYI, I had loosened the the U-joint enough at the shaft at the bulkhead that the shaft just slipped out easily, so didn’t need someone there....not that I had anyone anyway..

Now, if Fed Ex would deliver my parts from 914Rubber, we’d be in business!

Good thing I ordered a new bearing and bushing...these are ugly...

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The condition of that bearing may be related to why you couldn't pull the rack out without loosening everything. I wonder if anyone here can offer advice on how to measure the placement of the rack/aux support and determine if the prior front end damage knocked things out of whack.

Ran the tracking, they still say today. But I called and sounds like they may deliver Sat. I’ll follow up.
Mark

Saturday? Not good. That’s a business address it’s going to and nobody will be there to receive it. I was hoping to install it tonight (Friday) because that’s the only time I have help available.
Car needs to be done and off the lift because I have another one to put up there and work on this weekend....

EDIT: just looked at it this morning. It SAYS its in Charlotte, so maybe deliver today...fingers crossed!

The problem with getting it out has nothing to do with the bearing or shaft, there’s just no way to get the actual rack past the aux support and master cylinder without taking it all apart. The shaft was separated from the UJoint fine, and the bearing/rubber bushing just slid down the shaft. Just couldn’t get the rack and tie rods (and bellows) past the master cylinder (mine is a big 21mm the pushes up against the cross member) and the brackets on the aux support. No other way of getting things past than dropping everything down. Even then, it was a really tight squeeze getting by the master cylinder.

But...its out. and with another person helping, I think we can pull everything away enough to squeeze it back in. Was hard to hold the support out of the way while trying to maneuver the rack past everything by myself.

Just got an update....Saturday delivery. Not good... I won’t see it until next week and now no way to get it all installed before the hilllcimb next weekend. Damn...

Bob I'll drop you a call but it shows delivers yesterday at about noon. Signed for by "K Daniels" 12:04 which is after this post.

-Mark

Thanks Mark. Got it! Had to make sure someone could be there to receive it. Gotta Love delivery companies just changing delivery dates...really put a delay in our projects. Have to finish up Huey with just me and Nadine today (hopefully) and get another car on the lift for a buddy to do a bunch of work on. No clue when that will get done now. We leave Thursday for the hillclimb and won’t be home for the next 3 weekends...

Parts are awesome btw! Thanks!!

Thanks Bob I'm glad to hear that that worked out. I was really concerned when I saw the timing of the post versus when it was received. Let me know if there's anything else I can do thanks Mark

I don't want to steer this thread off topic, but in a related question Bob; when you took the bracket that holds the steering shaft support bearing off, were there washers under the allen head bolts?

Thanks

Sorry...To be honest I don’t remember....that was months ago.

Bummer.

Regardless...since this car was so put together with spare parts and whatever we could cobble together, if it did or didn’t doesn’t mean anything. I’m guessing you’re trying to get it right? Then whatever you do..DONT follow what is on my cars!! Lol

Bob,
I got to looking closely at your 1st picture and noticed something is off here.

The bearing should sit on the polished surface, but If I recall correctly the flange that holds the hearing goes across the 2 protrusions (for lack of a better term) off the bulkhead. It appears that your shaft not aligned with the bracket that holds the rubber that holds the bearing.

I suspect you need one of the 2 shafts that I have come across here. One is longer (from the yoke on the puck to the bearing surface I'm referring to), I think you need the shorter.

Drop Scott a call in the office and we can measure the short one we have. Happy to drop out to you if it helps

-Mark

Hey Mark
You are 100% correct, it is not aligned properly. But the problem was not with the shaft, it was with the bump steer spacers we made and put in to raise the rack - they were way too big and was forcing the shaft up too high, hence making the polished part off center.
This was all done back in May. I reduced the size of the spacer (by half!) and it centered out perfectly...with your new bearing and bushing. It also allowed the shaft to center in the bulkhead hole, which is wasn't doing before. The car has steered much better since then - less stress on the shaft pushing against the bushings.

Great,
I was actually scared to see that when I realized the shaft was only partially supported. Kind of makes you wonder what others have done, and how many other cars may be out there like this with unsuspecting owners?