Steering

I wouldn't recommend moving the wheel, unless it's only 1 or 2 splines off of center.

The pitman arm NEEDS to be STRAIGHT when the wheels are straight ahead.

I don't know what year column you have, but it doesn't sound right to me that the shaft moves inward.

Broken thermion coupling ?...................Bruce

Is thing safe to drive?

Part 5 could be loose - it connects it to the rubber rag joint coupling - one on other side of rag joint to the steering box.  Part 2/3 could have cracks or be near broken off.  Everything else is  single piece.  Guess steering box could be loose on the H beam too?

I think I need to take the steering wheel off again so I can located the slippage point.

scribe the wheel so it knows where to go back in straight..

Ok, I took the steering wheel off and pushed the shaft down.  Below is a picture of where it separates from some type of coupler.  I think its strange there is no nut, pin or clip to lock it down.

Well, there is SUPPOSED to be a clamp, bolt and nut to lock it down!!!!!   There should be a set of splines on the shaft coming out of the coupler which slide into the bottom of the steering shaft, then, in Wolfgang’s diagram, parts 1, 5 and 7 make up the coupler clamp.   The clamp is VW part 111415539 and you can get one at Bugcity.com   Just search on that part number.

https://www.bugcity.com/shop/s...1c-9cec-5d5f3688d43f

DON’t drive the car without that clamp installed and torqued!

You can get the bolt and nylock nut at any ACE hardware store.

Gordon

My steer shaft doesn't look the one Wolfgang's diagram

Those two post that go in the coupler do not appear to have and threads or slot for a retainer.  They barely protrude out the other end of the couple.  So the steering wheel nut is the only thing that keeps the coupler together.    Our speedster is Beck.  I don't know if Carey uses the standard VW setup.

I’d check with @chines1 to be sure.  The coupler on mine was different from the ones I saw on other cars.  What year was your car built?

Lane it was built in 2013

Carey will know what column it is. I knew I'd seen that column before. I had one in my Vanagon. Check out numbers 2 and 5.

I am sure Carey will chime in tomorrow. 

While I was checking things over, I noticed some oil on steering dampener.  Is that a sign of it leaking?  I am going to take the car in for a front end alignment this week.  Should I have then replace the dampener?  I always felt this car had wonky steering.

@DannyP posted:

Carey will know what column it is. I knew I'd seen that column before. I had one in my Vanagon. Check out numbers 2 and 5.

Looks like Plan B (C?) of a non-lethal steering column. I like it.

I’m guessing that step (bearing?) on the column (1) rides on a race in the tube (9) in a VW. When I was trying to figure out why my horn button was constantly grounding, Carey told me they remove that stuff and replace it with a Delrin bushing so the column doesn’t ground on the tube.

@Bobby D posted:

Lane it was built in 2013

I'm pretty sure that means it's an American-built car rather than Brazilian like mine was.  That means generally better quality.  Danny's post shows the kind of coupler mine had (#2), and I don't think they changed it until the new suspension came out.  I can't really tell from your picture, but something's come apart.  By the way, if your "wonky steering" means that it didn't always return to center in the same spot and felt kind of disconnected in the middle, then you might need to crank down on the pinch bolt on the shaft out of the steering box.  It took me two years before I understood what folks were telling me.  It takes an extension on your wrench to get enough torque to do the job.  Just hand cranking a regular wrench won't do it, even though it will feel tight.

Is that your problem?  I kind of doubt it since you have the in/out shaft movement, but it might be the wonkiness.  As for the steering damper, it might be failing or it might not, but I doubt that it's a contributor to either issue.  To answer your question, don't drive it until you solve this.  That might be overkill, but better safe than sorry. You'll figure it out.

I would have this checked out if I wasn't sure how it was all supposed to work. Like I said before, contact Carey or wait for him to chime in here. The choice is yours.

I believe that everything is fine in there. The column isn't very long, and has an upper and a lower bearing. As was mentioned, the lower bearing is replaced with a Delrin(nylon?) bushing so the horn wire isn't grounded. If the steering wheel is removed, the shaft can slide forward. It's designed that way.

The two prongs on the steering shaft box are designed to NOT ram the column into your chest in the event of impact. The prongs are designed to disengage the column.

Lane is correct that the pitman arm must he SUPER tight, like with an 18-24" breaker bar.

Bobby just wants to center his wheel, I don't think he's having any other problems.

I didn't realize the in/out movement was normal.  Ya l'arn sumthin' new ever' day.

Hint: Always look at dark pictures on a big screen and not a cellphone.   It makes it a lot easier to see what's going on.

Thanks guys for all the guidance I would be lost without this forum.  I am going to get a front end alignment this week.  Danny, what you mentioned about the safety feature of the column makes sense as to why it separates.   I used some vice grips to hold it together while I was putting the steering wheel back on.

Yes, Danny's diagram is pretty much exactly what you have.  In Brazil it was common to several cars, but in the US maybe just T3 and some Vanagons?  The 2 rubber bushings that sit on the pins can wear and make a little slop, but they are easy to replace.  It uses a pinch bolt/splines at the input shaft of the steering box, at the universals, but NOT at the crash coupler.  That safety coupler is just a reverse slip fitting and the tension of the steering wheel nut holds it in place.  When you remove the nut/wheel you have to be careful that you don't push the column down as it can easily separate at that time, but it cannot separate under normal conditions.  When reinstalling your steering wheel, reach behind the dash and grab the exposed steering shaft and hold it in place while installing the wheel, OR get under the car and lightly clamp both sides of the coupler to keep it from separating.  Also, be careful not to knock the wire off of the column at this slip fitting as it is what bridges the rubber isolation and makes the upper column grounded.

as for moving your steering wheel: we use VW/Porsche/Audi fine spline upper column (Late Beetle, 90s Audi, Porsche 924/944) and it is 18mm diameter tapered spline with 40 splines.  thus you have 9 degrees of movement per spline.  So, you can correct some misalignment via rechecking the wheel, but if it is off less than 9 degrees then you correct it through a minor realignment of the tie rods.

Thank you Carey

Carey: The Man. The Legend. Customer Service Extraordinaire!

Bobby D: next time use a plastic ty-rap.