Steering: Inner shaft and mesh cage sliding problem while replacing column bushing

[kings1527]

Hi everybody,

I have a little bit of a situation. I was in the process of replacing my steering rack, steering shaft, and steering column bushing today and everything was going well until I had to pull the steering wheel from inside the car to clear the firewall in order to install the new column bushing.

Everywhere I read states that the funky mesh cage on the outside will stay put and the inner shaft will slide back when you pull it, therefore clearing the firewall and letting you install a new bushing. For the life of me, I couldn't get the inner shaft to budge at all. Nothing was moving. So I started taking my steering wheel and pulling it back sharply several times. With each tug and pull, the inner shaft started to come out towards the driver's seat and that cleared it enough to let me do my thing with the bushing.

Re-installation has been another thing. Now the inner shaft is flush against the mesh cage and I can't get it to go back out. In fact, I can't even see where it was sliding in the first place. I removed the entire steering column to see if that would help me figure things out with it out of the car, but I'm still puzzled.

Anyone have any insight?

Thanks in advance!

20080

[kings1527]

Ok, easy solution. Apparently the cage is fixed and doesn't move but the inner shaft does. During the whole operation, I could've sworn the cage moved. I guess it was the vibration that sent the inner shaft backwards so I could have room to insert the new column bushing. To fix the problem, I took off the plastic bushing at the end of the steering column and reached in with angled needle nose, taking care not to damage the splines. Then I pulled it back out. Special thanks to Dennis for the tips.

So for anyone doing the steering column bushing, just reach down and manually push the inner shaft but you might need to use something to pull it back out. Messing around with the steering wheel definitely won't cut it.

Onward.

[Riley88]

Sorry to necro this thread but this exact issue is happening to me and i did your exact method, except when i go to push the column back in through the bushing on the firewall, the damn thing slides back in to the cage. Will be working on it after i do some research

[CriticalB]

Sorry to necro this thread but this exact issue is happening to me and i did your exact method, except when i go to push the column back in through the bushing on the firewall, the damn thing slides back in to the cage. Will be working on it after i do some research

I just installed a new steering column bushing last night, so I’ve been reading a lot about this issue. I haven’t reinstalled the steering column yet but I’ll probably get to it tomorrow. I think the first step is to lube the column and bushing, then make sure the angle is right if the column hasn’t been reattached to the dash. Someone mentioned using vice grips to push the column through and keep it from retracting; just be careful not to damage the splines.

[Riley88]

I'll be doing that then. Exactly what I was doing. Mine has a new bushing, everything was completely new in my whole steering setup. The last piece is this upgraded steering shaft. Got her installed but it was offset by one spline I think so I took if off to re adjust then this happened. Good luck with yours it isn't ....too bad.