HELP! Steering Shaft too Short? - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

SicBastard · 06-11-2012, 09:57 AM

I'm trying to get my steering hooked up so I can get the car on the trailer. The universal joint had a notchy feel to it so at $80

I bought a new OEM Nissan universal joint, only to find that it too is notchy

. I've had everything apart multiple times. But now I can't get the steering shaft to slide far enough into the universal joint. I've triple checked everything I can think of. This car/chassis has never been raced or crashed.

1. The steering shaft is solidly bolted to the firewall
2. The steering rack bushings are in and look good.
3. The front crossmember is not spaced and bolted in solidly

It looks like I need the shaft/column to come another full inch towards the rack!

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps I inadvertantly collapsed the steering shaft; I had it standing on end while it was out of the car. But I pulled on it as hard as I could (no jokes plz

) and couldn't get it to come out. I pulled down that white rubber looking seal and it looks like there are some splines there. Is that where the column collapses? Any other ideas?

Just a side note. I weighed the steering shaft while it was out of the car and it is surprisingly heavy at 24 lbs. I'd love to replace it with an aluminum racing shaft, but that isn't in the budget right now.

jr_ss · 06-11-2012, 10:58 AM

You should be able to pull the shaft out more, I know, I know, you've pulled as hard as possible but, it should come out... See if you can slide it back up into the sleeve more, perhaps pushing up and pulling down, will break it loose.

SicBastard · 06-11-2012, 11:00 PM

thanx, i think you're probably right. I'm going to shoot a little pentrating oil in there, then grab the end with some vice grips and go to work with a hammer to the vice grips. If that doesn't work, then maybe a little heat. It'll be a week or two till I can get back out to the garage, but I'll update the thread with what goes down.

PureRush · 06-11-2012, 11:08 PM

Yeah dude pull it out more. Steering shafts are weird trust me. I had to unbolt mine to re seal my oil pan

06-11-2012, 09:57 AM	#1
SicBastard Zilvia Addict Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 803 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	HELP! Steering Shaft too Short? I'm trying to get my steering hooked up so I can get the car on the trailer. The universal joint had a notchy feel to it so at $80 I bought a new OEM Nissan universal joint, only to find that it too is notchy . I've had everything apart multiple times. But now I can't get the steering shaft to slide far enough into the universal joint. I've triple checked everything I can think of. This car/chassis has never been raced or crashed. 1. The steering shaft is solidly bolted to the firewall 2. The steering rack bushings are in and look good. 3. The front crossmember is not spaced and bolted in solidly It looks like I need the shaft/column to come another full inch towards the rack! The only thing I can think of is that perhaps I inadvertantly collapsed the steering shaft; I had it standing on end while it was out of the car. But I pulled on it as hard as I could (no jokes plz) and couldn't get it to come out. I pulled down that white rubber looking seal and it looks like there are some splines there. Is that where the column collapses? Any other ideas? Just a side note. I weighed the steering shaft while it was out of the car and it is surprisingly heavy at 24 lbs. I'd love to replace it with an aluminum racing shaft, but that isn't in the budget right now. __________________ BURN OUT IN YOUR FACE! 1998 S14 LS7/T56 swap in progress, build thread: http://zilvia.net/f/tech-talk/147301...d-gto-pan.html Last edited by SicBastard; 06-11-2012 at 11:20 AM..

06-11-2012, 10:58 AM	#2
jr_ss Post Whore! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Pa Posts: 6,052 Trader Rating: (34) Feedback Score: 34 reviews	You should be able to pull the shaft out more, I know, I know, you've pulled as hard as possible but, it should come out... See if you can slide it back up into the sleeve more, perhaps pushing up and pulling down, will break it loose. __________________ My SR20VET

06-11-2012, 11:00 PM	#3
SicBastard Zilvia Addict Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 803 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	thanx, i think you're probably right. I'm going to shoot a little pentrating oil in there, then grab the end with some vice grips and go to work with a hammer to the vice grips. If that doesn't work, then maybe a little heat. It'll be a week or two till I can get back out to the garage, but I'll update the thread with what goes down. __________________ BURN OUT IN YOUR FACE! 1998 S14 LS7/T56 swap in progress, build thread: http://zilvia.net/f/tech-talk/147301...d-gto-pan.html

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06-11-2012, 11:08 PM	#4
PureRush Zilvia Addict Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Orange County Posts: 893 Trader Rating: (15) Feedback Score: 15 reviews	Yeah dude pull it out more. Steering shafts are weird trust me. I had to unbolt mine to re seal my oil pan