Steering Coupler Disc (Rag Joint) Failure

After only 800 miles on our T/R Speedster, the steering coupler disc (rag joint) broke apart. I was only a mile from home and got the car back safely.

The coupler is red and I assume it is suppose to be urethane, but it feels more like a chunk of plastic with about 1/3 of it cracked off.

It

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Stock OE reinforced steering rag joint Only...

Ditto Allen's OEM reccomendation.....Unreinforced ureathane can't take the shear forces applied in this application....Ureathane is easy to cast into any shape, but chemical formulation and reinforcement are the key.....Stick with OEM mounts and couplers...

A local VW parts supply has the red urethane coupler, but it sounds like that is the problem not the solution. My online searches are finding the same.

Any advice on where to get the OE reinforced couplers?

I just ordered two from Wolfsburg West.

I am not sure that they are the rag reinforced but they looked like it in the picture.

CIP1 also sells one they call original VW.

Michael - They both seem to carry to OE versions...thanks.

The $9.00 one is not OEM, the 19$ is

I drove my CMC to St. George, Utah, some 567 miles from my home in southern Arizona. As I turned into my friends driveway, my steering went snap. Yep, It was the coupling, the original rag one. The local VW shop was out of stock. We made a new one, using a piece of rosewood (very hard wood). It got me back home, where I had a new off road one installed. If any of you are not sure of the age of yours, best to replace it.
Paul

I just received my couplers from Wolfsburg West.

They are actual VW from Germany. I can't tell if they have fabric inside.

The cost was $9.50.

Heres what a real ragjoint supposed to look like :
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/502656.jpg

BTW the ground wire here is WRONG ; your horn will be stuck ON !!