Lower/upper steering shaft bearing, for '71 model Options

[r3dplanet]

The lower "deep groove bearing" for the 70-71 914, part #900-052-202, is apparently no longer available. Does anyone knowledgeable about bearings know if there's a suitable cross-reference to another compatible bearing?

Thanks,
Marcus

[r3dplanet]

Perhaps both. The upper bearing is also NLA. I pulled my column because I wanted to resolve an issue with the blinker cancellation, re-key the ignition (I'm doing all the locks), and fix the bearing slop while I was in there.

At first I thought I just needed to replace the lower bearing, but after disassembling the column on my bench I found that the upper bearing was crunchy-crunchy.

The later ''72-'75 bearings are all available, and apparently the later columns are much easier to contend with - wiring, etc. No such luck for early models.

So I need either a whole new column (I have an ad in the classifieds already) or some way to replace the bearings. In the past I've found that what appears to be a specialty bearing is just a correct-sized bearing with a brand name on it. Like "Porsche."

Just curious to see if anyone besides myself ever attempted to rebuild their early column and where/how they found bearings for it.

The upper bearing has a long shaft in its inner diameter, but it looks like maybe its removable.

-m.