Borgeson steering shaft installation

[BABIS]

I have recently installed a rebuilt steering rack, and it was the right time to install the Borgeson steering shaft I had on the shelf for a while. It is the splined version, and I copied the part numbers from other owners ? Gil at Borgeson confirmed they were the right parts. The splined shaft is long 11 ??.
I am experiencing this: the lower joint is correctly seated on the steering rack pinion but the upper joint securing nut is rubbing against the body. The steering column itself is pushed about ?? inside the cabin, I mean without the joint I can pull the column tip for about ?? towards the front of the car, but you have to push it inside to secure the joint locking screw against the groove in the column.

What do you think about this? I could simply grind a bit the area where the nut is touching.
I addition to this I dislike the fact that the shaft is so long that in order to install it you have to fully retract the column or remove the steering rack from the brackets. the good thing is that even if the locking screws become loose the shaft cannot separate form pinion and column.

71800

71801

71802

[ssdelorean]

Mine is very close but not touching. Is the 11" shaft fully seated into the universal joints? You may be able to gain a teeny-tiny bit of space if you can move those closer to in the joints (towards the steering column).

A pain to disassemble, but you could also grind off a quarter inch or so from the 11" bar if you do not want to grind into the tub.

[dn010]

Do you have 9 3/4" between the two joints?

https://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?17041-How-To-Install-Borgeson-vibration-dampening-u-joints

Also, I cut the bar to 11.5", I do not have an issue.

[BABIS]

I have recently installed a rebuilt steering rack, and it was the right time to install the Borgeson steering shaft I had on the shelf for a while. It is the splined version, and I copied the part numbers from other owners ? Gil at Borgeson confirmed they were the right parts. The splined shaft is long 11 3/4".
I am experiencing this: the lower joint is correctly seated on the steering rack pinion but the upper joint securing nut is rubbing against the body. The steering column itself is pushed about 1/4" inside the cabin, I mean without the joint I can pull the column tip for about 1/4" towards the front of the car, but you have to push it inside to secure the joint locking screw against the groove in the column.

What do you think about this? I could simply grind a bit the area where the nut is touching.
I addition to this I dislike the fact that the shaft is so long that in order to install it you have to fully retract the column or remove the steering rack from the brackets. the good thing is that even if the locking screws become loose the shaft cannot separate form pinion and column.

71800

71801

71802

Corrected the measures that were missing in my first post.

the joints are fully seated in the borgeson shaft splines, and they can't go further toward the centre of the shaft. the lower joint is the antivibration one.
I'll take the measure of the space between the joints and report back.

this is the part number I have: https://www.borgeson.com/11.75-Long-7-8-Spline-Length.html
maybe it is better suited the 11.5" one: https://www.borgeson.com/11.5-Long-7-8-Spline-Length.html

[BABIS]

Do you have 9 3/4" between the two joints?

https://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?17041-How-To-Install-Borgeson-vibration-dampening-u-joints

Also, I cut the bar to 11.5", I do not have an issue.

I have measured 10" between the joints (the lower joint is the antivibration one). at this point looks like I have an extra 1/4", and the 11.5" shaft is mandatory..

[deloreandmcxii]

Sorry if I'm mis-understanding. I went through a similar experience and was confounded with the steering shaft's geometry until remembering: The column itself expands/collpapses.

Can you not just pull more of the inner (lower) portion of the steering column toward the front of the car?

Theoretically you could attach the inner piece of the column to the upper u-joint while disconnected from the rest of the column, then slide on the rest of the column & wheel assembly.

Is the 'firewall' bushing missing in your photo - or am I looking at it wrong?

[dn010]

It's more about the steering shaft. If it is too long there is nowhere for that extra length to go but into the fiberglass at the column no matter how far expanded or collapsed the column is. There is just not enough room. If he used a D shaft instead of the splined one, he could have adjusted for the extra length or cut the length out but there is nothing you can do when it's all together with distance from the end of the shaft to where the splines end if the overall shaft is too long.

[deloreandmcxii]

I doubt it would make enough difference, but the angle of the steering column would impact where the upper u-joint sits in relation to the fiberglass. Something else isn't looking right with how the column passes thru the fiberglass in these pics. If I recall the portion of lower-column is NOT splined at the point that goes thru the bushing. The pics make it look like the spines are right within the hole in fiberglass (which is missing the bushing, no?)

Side thought: It never made sense to me how we all went to the hard plastic bushings. The only thing accounting for the column's angle changing is the give in the rubber bushing...

[BABIS]

I doubt it would make enough difference, but the angle of the steering column would impact where the upper u-joint sits in relation to the fiberglass. Something else isn't looking right with how the column passes thru the fiberglass in these pics. If I recall the portion of lower-column is NOT splined at the point that goes thru the bushing. The pics make it look like the spines are right within the hole in fiberglass (which is missing the bushing, no?)

Side thought: It never made sense to me how we all went to the hard plastic bushings. The only thing accounting for the column's angle changing is the give in the rubber bushing...

The firewall bushing is present (a PJ grady teflon one in place for a long time) and as I said before I had to push a bit the column inside the cabin in order to make the 11 3/4" shaft assembly clear the grooves on the pinion and the column.
I have ordered the shorter shaft and will report back. Now I think that with all the variations on the body tubs the DD shaft is some kind of insurance.