Steering Column Crush Tube Cracked

[Nicholas R]

The expanded metal crush tube on my steering column has been slowly cracking all the way around the shaft for the last six months or so. All but one of the joints in the circle are now cracked through so there's a huge amount of slop in the steering.

I'm trying to pull the steering column so that I can weld it up but I'm having trouble removing the upper steering shaft, that the steering wheel is connected to, from the crush tube. The lower tube came out easily as the telescoping just allows it to slide off. I can't figure out what part of the ignition switch/steering lock is holding it and I'd rather not blindly start taking things apart.

Does anyone know what needs removed so that the upper shaft can come out of the crush tube? Below are some photos.

Thanks!








EDIT: please disregard the "a" in the thread title. Siri and whatnot...

[Nicholas R]

Ok so in the process of taking the steering wheel off, it became obvious how to get it off. Behind the turn signal and wiper switches you can see a snap ring on the upper shaft the is locking it against a bearing. Pull the snap ring and the shaft falls out!

Now to see about successfully welding this....

[Lenny]

Come On Guys Lets Get This Fixed.

I want to see Nicks car at Celebration.

Solve This Quick for him.

[SS Spoiler]

Had the same thing happen. Dropped the steering to the seat and rewelded it in the car. Pushed the broken ends together like praying hands rather than trying to weld the tip to tip.
After welding wrap with duct tape to prevent snagging wires. Going on 18 years now.

[Andrew]

Had the same thing happen. Dropped the steering to the seat and rewelded it in the car. Pushed the broken ends together like praying hands rather than trying to weld the tip to tip.
After welding wrap with duct tape to prevent snagging wires. Going on 18 years now.

I had my crush tube welded 3 weeks ago. Since I had to replace the bushing, I removed the column and took it to the welding shop fully assembled complete with the steering shaft and the steering wheel. The welding shop fixed it for $25 out-the-door. However if I didn't have to replace the bushing I would have taken the "repair in the car" route...that upper u-joint is a real pain!

To prevent damage to the column in transport and at the welding shop, I protected the splines with an old sock. I'm sure it looked dumb, but it worked :-)

Andrew
4194

[Soundkillr]

I fixed the title for you. Hope you don't mind.
I have seen these welded before, and it never seemed to be an issue. I agree with welding it up! That sounds like a practical solution.

[Nicholas R]

Because this was cracked all the way around I don't think there's any way I could weld it in the car. Plus getting the steering column out of these cars is surprisingly easy. I think it probably took about 45min-1hour to get out of the car, and maybe 15min for the column disassembly.

I feel a lot more comfortable with this being TIG welded on a bench with the shafts removed from the inside.

[john 05141]

As I had a power steering installed, I still have my old steering shaft in the basement.
I assume I will never use it again, and it may not be interesting to the US because it is heavy to transport.
Is this thing worth anything, or hard to come by?
should I hold on to it or what would be the value for that? I think new is some 230€ or so.

jan

[ccurzio]

How does this happen? Should I be inspecting mine for similar issues?

[EdR5150]

I've heard they can break if you lean too much on the steering wheel, or if you go over a bump really hard. Once a break in the mesh starts, the rest of the mesh will soon follow.
My mesh was broken by a previous owner, and instead of repairing it, they simply removed the lower half! I'd been driving with sloppy steering for several years before I realized it. I was lucky to find a used steering column for a decent price. Details here: http://www.16908.info/?p=2310
So yes, if you're converting to power steering, hold onto those old steering columns.