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Triumph TR6 - STEERING COLUMN BUSHINGS

Does anyone have any tricks for removing stubborn steering column bushings. I did one several years ago and they slid right out. I am now in the midst of re-bushing a spare column to replace the one currently in the '75. These rascals just will not budge.

Thanks,

DOn
Yellowdog

Hey Yellowdog,
There are some good archives on this subject but here it is in a bullet. You have to have the steering column out of the car for this. Take a utility knife and cut away the rubber stubs on either side of the outer casing of the steering shaft assembely( four in total) Spray the whole thing with WD40 and pound with a rubber mallet as hard as you can. If a bigger hammer is needed then you need to protect the ends with tape so they are not damaged. Getting the new ones in can be a litte tricky
but it sounds like you have been there before.
Good luck
Chris
Christopher T.

When I removed my bushings they were also really in there. I think they were from the factory. I cut the nibs that hold the bushings in place with a utility knife and then sprayed with good penetrating oil. I'm not a big fan of WD-40) Then I got a socket that just fit into the steering column and a long extension, tapped it through with a mallet and they were out. This was done with the steering column out of course. I havent gotten around to rebuiding it yet as I'm doing a total restoration but that was the eventual and best method I found. Regards John
John O'Meara

I have been putting off this column bushing R&R for some time now for fear that it would be worse than the horrendous throttle cross-shaft bushings install. Please tell me my fear is irrational!!

Rick O.
72 TR6
Rick Orthen

Rick O, your fear is irrational, but it is still a pain somewhat removed from the neck.
SteveP

Indiana,

I just did this job about three weeks ago, WD40-yes, out of car-required, cut the nubs first, then with the rod still in, I held on real good, and used the steering rod as a battering ram. That works because it has a "larger" diameter bulge due to steering lock feature. It took some real physical jolting, but those things finally came out.
New ones, better be sure you line them up exactly. rubber hammer, then socket to set them into place.

Then a nice new coat of paint for you new column.

Good luck.

Walter
Walter Dobbins

Rick, fear with any job like this is very rational. Those who do not fear their TR6s are the irrational ones. These cars will tease us, tempt us, enthrall us and then treat us like a pair of old shoes with holes in the bottoms. When they are nice, they are very, very nice. When they are not, they are a major pain in the rear end. But all in all, they'e fun and they're fairly unique, so its worth it!

John
JL Bryan

Now that I am at home, a quick dig of the box of sparks and up came a write up from when I did mine some time back. I can say with great confidence that this is not the absolute and only way to do the job, but can tell you that it worked for me. So here goes:

First the Bentley book sends you on a wild goose chase to several different locations all over the book. This is what you need to do based on my experience:

1) disconnect the battery
2) remove the Speedo and Tach
3) remove the wire cover on the lower side of the column and disconnect the wires to the column switches and horn slip ring
4) disconnect the ignition switch (for steering lock cars, more on this later)
5) clamp onto the domed nuts with vise grips or channel locks and loosen but do not completely remove, the column mount nuts near the dash panel and near the firewall
6) disconnect the flange at the rubber coupling from the splined steering column or undo the clamp at the flat on the upper steering column
7) Rotate column and drill out shear bolts holding steering lock in place on steering lock cars, remove column mount fasteners. (If replacing the steering lock, you can just cut it off, be careful not to get the column if cutting)
8) withdraw the column toward the interior (easier if you have some help from someone guiding in the engine compartment until you clear the firewall)
9) remove the horn cover and pad, remove steering wheel, switch escuteons, switches and horn slip ring (you have to carefully bend up a retaining tab to remove the slip ring. I am repainting the column, if you are not, you may not have to remove the switches)
10) NOW THE THING I WISH I HAD KNOWN. The Bentley book states that you are to depress the tabs that retain the bushing in place and withdraw the steering shaft from the bottom of the column. Not knowing what they looked like on the inside, I dutifully tried and eventually after much struggle and the use of a third and fourth hand managed to extract the lower bushing and shaft.

It turns out that the places you are to depress on the bushings are nothing more than molded rubber knobs that protrude out into side holes on the column and do nothing to release any sort of a mechanism or relieve any spring pressure. All they are there for is to hold the bushings in place by sticking out of those holes.

Now knowing this, here is my recommendation for the bushing removal.
A) get out you handy dandy Dremel and grind away those little rubber knobs
B) spray some penetrating oil onto the lower bushing from the lower end of the column
C) let the shaft drop down until it stops
D) clamp the shaft into a vise with a couple of inches between the vise and the column
E) let the knot on the shaft for the steering lock act as a slide hammer and knock that bushing out
F) reverse shaft in the column and repeat the slide hammer process for the upper bushing, taking it out from the top of the column (the shaft is reversed so you are not clamping on threads/splines where the steering wheel mounts)

To reinstall, I used a piece of pipe that is a larger ID than the OD of the steering shaft and smaller OD than the ID of the column housing. Dip the bushing in some soapy water and slide/drift the upper bushing into place. Then the shaft is inserted and the lower bushing will be dipped and slid/drifted into place. Now to go into shop manual mode; assembly is the reverse process so start putting all those other bits back in place.

When you go to reinstall, suggest that you use an allen head fastener to remount the steering lock. If you ever have to remove it again, you'll be glad you did. If you send the car off to a new home, the new owner will also be glad you did also and just might decide you weren’t such a DPO after all. Same thing if you replace the steering lock, ditch those shear bolts and use something that you can remove without having to drill out.


SteveP

Steve
Thank you lad.
You have given me encouragement to do mine this winter.
When I bought my "toy in a box"...battery not included:) I did not have to deal with the "anti-theft" shear bolts and normal nut and bolts there now. I have had 2 new bushings in the spares bin for a year.

Hope you do not mind but just did a cut and past of your post. Now part of my TR6CD on the hard drive.
Good explanation Steve.
Rick C
Rick Crawford

Thanks to all.

As stated, I did one of these YEARS ago and it slid apart very easily as described in Bentley. The one I am working on now is a spare that I am going to put in the '75 over the winter. The skin friction between the column and the rubber sleeve is so high that it first appeared there was something else holding it it. After cutting out the 'buttons' and using the slide-hammer / battering ram technique, all is well. I just could not believe how tightly these were held in place.

Don
Yellowdog

I'm trying to get the steering column out of the car right now. The manual shows everything but how to get the ignition switch off the column so I can pull it out through the metal dash support. I'm in the midsts of installing a new harness and decided to take care of the steering column while I was at it. Any ips for ignition switch would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
John Z
John Z

You have to rotate the column and drill out the shear bolts. See post above from 23 September, 0447 hrs for more detailed information.
SteveP

This is a time-consuming job and I've just been putting up with a wobbly steering shaft. A long time ago I did this repair to my TR4 (same set-up) and after being unable to get the bushing out, I noticed the only part of the bushing that wore was the white plastic inner band. Since it had a split in it (they had to manufacture it somehow), I carefully extracted the old one with a dental pick and replaced it with the plastic inner band from the new bearing (which took a little fiddling). I was able to do the top one this way too because the cowl for the horn ring had come loose and seperated from the outer column.
I remember seeing a TR4 one that someone had put a section of a sort of very thick PCV pipe in - OD to fit into the outer column and ID to snugly fit the shaft. Is this a possibility?

Jeff
'74 CF13816U
JB Fetner

This thread was discussed between 21/09/2005 and 05/10/2005

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