I posted this on Facebook under DeLorean Technical but figured I'd post is here as well.

How to regain a safety collapsible steering column after installing a DMCH, DeloreanEU or your own home grown power steering unit.

When you install one of the power steering units available from one of the vendors or one that you made, you lose the safety of the collapsing steering column from the original one you removed. Using the Borgeson parts below, we are adding that safety collapsing shaft back between the power steering column and steering rack. Once it?s been cut and installed, you?ll have about 3.75? (3 3/4?) of collapsing shaft before it begins to press against the steering column in the event of a front end collision.

Parts you?ll need:
- Borgeson 450024 Steering Shaft, Telescopic, Steel, 24" Extended Length. Unfortunately, they don?t make this in stainless steel so you?ll need to treat it or paint it.

- Borgeson 115212 Steering U-Joint, Stainless Steel, 1DD X 9/16-36. Make sure you get this 1? DD shaft unit and not the standard 3/4? one that has been used in the other Borgeson steering shaft instructions. The bottom part of the collapsing steering shaft is 1?.

- Borgeson 154912 Vibration Dampening Steering U-Joint, Stainless Steel, 3/4DD X 9/16-36.

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Even though the length of the steering shaft states that it?s 24? on the package, it?s actually 27.125? (27 1/8?) fully extended.

*****Extremely important, don?t skip this part******
The shaft needs to be 11.5? (11 1/2?) long BUT, with this shaft you can?t just cut all of the excess off one side like you do with the solid one piece shafts. You can cut off up to 10? from the hollow 1? DD side of the shaft. Once you?ve cut off 10?, and If you need to make it shorter (which we do) you must cut an equal amount off from both ends until you get the length you need. So in order to get an 11.5? steering shaft we need to remove 10? plus an additional 5.625? (5 5/8?) which divided by 2 comes out to 2.8125? (2 13/16?) from both sides.

*****Make sure the shaft is fully extended before making any cuts******
**The amount to cut from the hollow 1?DD side will be 12.8125? (12 13/16?). This includes the 10? of ?free cut? plus the additional 2.8125?.
**The amount to cut from the solid 3/4? side will be 2.8125? (2 13/16?).
Once you?ve cut the shaft down, you should be left with an 11.5? shaft fully extended. 27.125 - 10 - 2.8125 - 2.8125 = 11.5

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**Installing the 1?DD U-Joint. This is a little different from what?s been published out there on making this with the 3/4? DD solid shafts. Because the u-joint is being installed on a hollow 1? shaft section, one set screw will need a dimple drilled into the shaft (the shorter set screw) for the set screw to recess into and the longer set screw will need a single hole drilled on one side only (not through both sides). If you don?t drill a hole and only drilled a dimple for it to set in, it could work its way loose as the hollow portion would give way. The long set screw will sit and compress against the opposite wall.

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******Also Important****
Because the 1? u-joint will allow the shaft to slide all the way in, it?s important that you only slide it in just below the yolk. What I did was flex the u-Joint to the max (on the DD side) and slid the shaft in until the edge of it just barely touched the yolk and then backed it off very slightly. I then tightened the set screw down to make a mark on the shaft so I knew where to drill the dimples and the single hole. If you don?t make the clearance for the yolk to freely move and install the shaft to far in, the yolk will hit into it as it flexed causing a clicking noise as well as cause damage.
Once you?ve drilled the single hole and made a dimple for the u-joint on the 1? end, install the u-joint and tighten the set screws down. Double check the shaft didn?t move closer to the yolk after the set screws were tightened and that it?s not interfering with it when fully flexed.
Now onto the solid 3/4? side with the vibration dampening u-joint.

*****If you are replacing a steering shaft currently on your car and you?ve had an alignment, after removing the old shaft, take note of the flat surfaces on the splined end of the steering rack and the steering column. Are the flat surfaces pointing the same way or are they opposite of each other? If they are facing the same way, install the vibration dampening u-joint with the splined end set screw pointing in the same direction as the set screw on the splined end of the 1? u-joint. If they are pointing opposite of each other, install the vibration dampening u-joint on the shaft with the splined end set screw pointing the opposite way as the one on the 1? splined side.

Once you have the set screw orientation correct, make sure the vibration dampening u-joint is installed where it bottoms out on the shaft, there is no concern for the shaft to stick out past the yolk on this u-joint. Tighten the set screw down on the shaft to make marks, remove the u-joint and drill the two dimples in the 3/4? shaft side for that u-joint. Once the dimples are drilled, install the u-joint.

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At this point, prior to installing it on the car, you can paint the shaft or leave it as is. Also, I added some additional grease under the rubber dust boot to help with corrosion. I then used the zip tie the shaft comes with and zip tied the rubber boot onto the 3/4 solid side.
To install it is simple. Since the shaft collapses, you can collapse it in on itself to make clearance and then fully extend it into place. Make sure the set screws on the splined side of the U-joints line up with the flat surfaces of the splined end of the steering column and the steering rack. Tighten your set screws, lock down the lock nuts and you?re done.

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