Steering column gear fitment troubles
 

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Hey guys I appreciate anyone who opens this thread.

So my S14 was going through a restoration to the underbody and my steering column wont insert properly into the lower joint. When I re installed the front x member it didnt go in all the way. The column doesnt shift at all and it makes no movement when I push the steering wheel in.

What I have measured is the knurled part that sticks out above the joint. On my brothers 95 S14 he has just under 3 cm exposed.


The only thing I can think of is
-unbolt the steering rack
-attach it to the gear with the proper specs ( 2.80 cm and tightened to 17-22 #)
-Then re install to the x member

The more I look at mine and my brothers S14, my gear doesnt seem like it went in correctly.


Anyone have any suggestions?

Is your car still on jack stands or is it on the ground now?

if its on the ground the reason why it cant reach anymore could be due to flex.

Not to be a dick, but nah fam. The rack is bolted to the subframe which is bolted to the car which is connected to the leg bone which joins to the hip bone. Seriously though if everything is bolted in, it doesn't matter if your car is jumping the grand canyon at full droop, steering column shaft length does not change.

The column is collapsible in the event of an accident that would shorten the front end. Thus keeping you from receiving a steering wheel punch.

Pull the rack out and put the open end of a wrench on the shaft where it is small just before the splined portion. Make sure the wrench is small enough that it will not go over/around the splined portion and hit the wrench with a hammer to pull that section out until it is long enough.

I had to lengthen mine when I moved my rack forward an inch.

Car was on jack stands when I noticed the issue. I haven't dropped it on the ground yet.



Never had this problem before.



All steering components are original.

Thank you NISR20MO for that advice, tonight after work I will

-do exactly what you said

-attach the u joint to the column first

-re install to the cross member last



Does that sound correct?

Sorry I didn't check back last night.

I had removed my column from the inside of the car and pulled it completely out of the car for the shortening/lengthening.

For lining it up, go ahead and put it mostly back in place but pulled back into the cabin a little. It helps to have a friend feed the column through while you line up and slip the u-joint into place. It sucks by yourself, be prepared to excrete foul language. It also took me a few tries to get mine the right length as it had been bumped back in well over 2 inches cause the column was out for awhile, and had been moved around with the car quite a bit.

I did this with the U-Joint on the column already, but only loosely tightened so that it would not come off. The bolt shank rides in the machined area and will not allow the U-Joint to slip fully off. But it would slide up and down a bit which was good for fine tuning length.