Discussion
KEVINTHEGERBIL said:
heard info about joints and best way to install them something about offsetting them?
If you think of the splined shaft from the bulkhead down to the rack as a small propshaft I believe the two UJ yokes attached to it should be aligned, like this,
And NOT 90 degrees out like this,
Remember as well that because of the triangilar shape of the steering column you are limited in where you set this up in ralation to wheel position, wheras the bottom one can (within reason) be positioned almost anywhere, therefore I would suggest you fit the upper UJ first fix the steering wheel in the mid position, check the steering rack is centred and then align the lower to the upper UJ as detailed above
HTH
Mark
HTH
Mark
Managed to change the bulkhead bearing today. Although mine was secured with some M6 nuts and bolts not M5 as suggested so I drilled the new bearing housing out very carefully and it went in very easily.
As for the UJ's I could not get the buggers off the splined shaft's, they were well coated with WD40 and even tried to tap the top one free but no movement on either, so I left the old ones on for the time being as while the shaft was loose I moved it around and both UJ's seem smooth so I will have to wait and see.
I will attack again with some brut force and heat soon, if the tightening I get while turning ends up being the rack it does not look to hard to get the rack out, will just need to find someone hopefully in the Suffolk area to refurb it for me.
Changed the air filter to as it looked like the one that the factory had fitted 21 years ago as it basically disintegrated in my hands.
As for the UJ's I could not get the buggers off the splined shaft's, they were well coated with WD40 and even tried to tap the top one free but no movement on either, so I left the old ones on for the time being as while the shaft was loose I moved it around and both UJ's seem smooth so I will have to wait and see.
I will attack again with some brut force and heat soon, if the tightening I get while turning ends up being the rack it does not look to hard to get the rack out, will just need to find someone hopefully in the Suffolk area to refurb it for me.
Changed the air filter to as it looked like the one that the factory had fitted 21 years ago as it basically disintegrated in my hands.
KEVINTHEGERBIL said:
As for the UJ's I could not get the buggers off the splined shaft's,
This may be a silly question but you did fully remove the securing and tightening bolts didn't you? These sit in a recess in the shaft and even if full slack hold the UJs on the shaft they don't just clamp.Mark
ps I'd never have made that mistake for 20 minutes before I realised would I
OT slightly but referring to the fancy black propshaft thingie I don't think that rotational inertia is too much of an issue with a standard undamaged propshaft so I guess the improvements in braking and acceleration are down to the 1.8 kg weight saving.
....now shall I spend a grand or thereabouts on the carbon prop or perhaps leave my bottle of flavoured water at home and achieve the same performance advantage - coming to think of it I could go on a diet, lose a couple of stone and turn my S3 into a Veyron-beater...
....now shall I spend a grand or thereabouts on the carbon prop or perhaps leave my bottle of flavoured water at home and achieve the same performance advantage - coming to think of it I could go on a diet, lose a couple of stone and turn my S3 into a Veyron-beater...
Before you get the spanners out, paint/mark the upper column and upper UJ to show where they fit in relation to each other, then do the same with the lower UJ and the rack input shaft. For the lower UJ try to place your mark where the UJ slot is, since this will enable you to match it up against the replacement UJ. Also check how well centered the steering wheel is in the straight ahead position. Otherwise it's easy to convince yourself it's out of alignment as a result of your work, when really it's been like that all along.
To remove the column you need to separate the top UJ from the upper column, then the lower UJ from the rack. This gives you the intermediate shaft with the two UJs attached, which you can take away and replace the UJs on the bench. Disconnect the top UJ first. It's a simple triangular clamp and when the steering wheel is in the correct orientation you can just slacken off the retaining bolt, slide the clamping plate back and lift the intermediate shaft away. It can only be removed when the wheel is in the right position though, so if you find you're struggling, move the wheel so that the bulkhead doesn't get in your way.
To remove the lower UJ you need to slacken and fully remove the pinch bolt. The UJ will still probably be tight on the shaft, and if so I find it helps to drive a wedge into the slotted end of the UJ to open it a fraction - I use a chisel. Be very careful not to mark the splines, also don't try to open them far because the splined engagement will stop the UJ from opening up - all you're really trying to do is release the tension where the UJ was clamped. Then using a drift you can gently drive the lower UJ up off the rack input shaft, turning the column so that you can work your way round the UJ to prevent it jamming. It may need quite a bit of encouragement to get it started, but remember there's just a thin casting you're hammering against and use lots of small taps rather than wellying it.
When you come to reassemble you will need to drive it back down onto the rack and it will be just reluctant. You'll need to drift it, and that'll mean hammering on your new UJ, but make sure you protect it using a block of wood and tap rather than welly.
The UJs suffer from heat and dirt, especially the top one, and you'll find they both last a lot longer if you fit a dust seal. A generic steering rack end gater does the job perfectly - slide the narrow ends onto the intermediate shaft, fit the steering column, then slide the wide ends out over the UJs and secure with cable ties. Make sure the gater/ties don't interfere with the bottom hose, or any oil hoses you might have in the area. With gaters on, the new UJs will most likely outlast the rest of the car. (Mine were still as good as new after about 100,000 miles.)
You will find you have to remove the top UJ first and fit it last, since the lower UJ won't slide up far enough to come off the splines otherwise. The top UJ fitting
And you will find it's very dependant on the position of the steering wheel to position the top UJ where the
The top UJ is easy to remove and refit, the bottom one is a pita since it is a tight fit on the splines. It's physically impossible to fit/remove the lower UJ with the top one fitted, so you will inevitably do the
To remove the column you need to separate the top UJ from the upper column, then the lower UJ from the rack. This gives you the intermediate shaft with the two UJs attached, which you can take away and replace the UJs on the bench. Disconnect the top UJ first. It's a simple triangular clamp and when the steering wheel is in the correct orientation you can just slacken off the retaining bolt, slide the clamping plate back and lift the intermediate shaft away. It can only be removed when the wheel is in the right position though, so if you find you're struggling, move the wheel so that the bulkhead doesn't get in your way.
To remove the lower UJ you need to slacken and fully remove the pinch bolt. The UJ will still probably be tight on the shaft, and if so I find it helps to drive a wedge into the slotted end of the UJ to open it a fraction - I use a chisel. Be very careful not to mark the splines, also don't try to open them far because the splined engagement will stop the UJ from opening up - all you're really trying to do is release the tension where the UJ was clamped. Then using a drift you can gently drive the lower UJ up off the rack input shaft, turning the column so that you can work your way round the UJ to prevent it jamming. It may need quite a bit of encouragement to get it started, but remember there's just a thin casting you're hammering against and use lots of small taps rather than wellying it.
When you come to reassemble you will need to drive it back down onto the rack and it will be just reluctant. You'll need to drift it, and that'll mean hammering on your new UJ, but make sure you protect it using a block of wood and tap rather than welly.
The UJs suffer from heat and dirt, especially the top one, and you'll find they both last a lot longer if you fit a dust seal. A generic steering rack end gater does the job perfectly - slide the narrow ends onto the intermediate shaft, fit the steering column, then slide the wide ends out over the UJs and secure with cable ties. Make sure the gater/ties don't interfere with the bottom hose, or any oil hoses you might have in the area. With gaters on, the new UJs will most likely outlast the rest of the car. (Mine were still as good as new after about 100,000 miles.)
You will find you have to remove the top UJ first and fit it last, since the lower UJ won't slide up far enough to come off the splines otherwise. The top UJ fitting
And you will find it's very dependant on the position of the steering wheel to position the top UJ where the
The top UJ is easy to remove and refit, the bottom one is a pita since it is a tight fit on the splines. It's physically impossible to fit/remove the lower UJ with the top one fitted, so you will inevitably do the
Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff