Hi guys,
I have a replica speedster and my steering is fairly loose. I’ll post a pic of the shaft, it’s moving below the circlip where the bearing sits. The shaft seems to have approx 1-1.5mm of play inside of that bearing. if someone would be so kind as to tell me what parts I need to buy and an idea on how to fix this.
many thanks
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My best guess is you need one of these.
Just a thought…. Have you checked the assembly retainer screw that helps secure the turn signal assembly to the steering shaft?. If this comes loose the whole assembly will move when you try to engage the turn signal. This one little screw holds everything tightly in place.
the screw is small, typically only visible when installed on the car from the underside of the turn signal assembly. It does not require much force to have it hold the assembly tightly in place. When loose it will begin to manifest as a little movement on the turn signal assembly when you try to engage it.
the assembly, if memory serves me from the last time I service mine, does not have any bearings, just grease, copper washers & connectors and some plastic bits isolating the connections. Super easy to service if you connections start acting up.
Sample pic below.
hope this helps.
@Lfepardo posted:Just a thought…. Have you checked the retainer screw that helps secure the turn signal assembly to the steering shaft?. If this comes loose the whole assembly will move when you try to engage the turn signal.
the screw is small, typically only visible from the underside of the steering assembly. It does not require much force to have it hold the assembly tightly in place. When loose it will begin to manifest as a little movement on the turn signal assembly when you try to engage it.
the assembly, if memory serves me from the last time I service mine, does not have any bearings, just grease, copper washers & connectors and some plastic bits isolating the connections. Super easy to service if you connections start acting up.
Sample pic below.
hope this helps.
Yep had this go on me first so fixed that part. It’s definitely the shaft inside u can actually see it moving with about a mm of play.
Maybe worth checking Ed’s recommended bushing - link above.
The later VW steering columns had that nylon bushing that Ed mentioned to isolate the column from the shaft (which is ground for the horn circuit), as well as a special copper top bearing that fits inside that nylon bushing that completes the horn wire circuit.
That copper bearing is your culprit. If you can figure out the year range of your column (pre-1968 or after 1968) you can look locally for the bearing and nylon bushing. I bought my last one from Wolfsburgwest.com Try searching the parts sites for "Steering Column" and go from there.
Depending on the year of the column, it may or may not have a wire attached to the bearing to complete the horn ground circuit. Once you replace that bearing it should be tightened right up, or at least it was after I replaced mine.
