Steering shaft boot/bushing and/or adjustment question, ...need some advice/direction Options

[naro914]

For a long time, steering in Huey has been difficult - VERY hard to turn like something was always fighting you. I knew the boot that covers the shaft under the gas tank was never installed so I thought maybe the problem was that the tank was sitting on the shaft or bushings or something.

So today I took out the gas tank and sat looking at it. First....I have no clue how to put the boot on (do I have to drop the rack for that?) but I think the real problem is different. I undid the two allen bolts that hold the U bracket on and slid the rubber bushings out of the was to asses things. Immediately the shaft moved right up against the sides of the hole where it comes through the firewall and relieved the pressure it was under. (see picture) In other words, the shaft was NOT centered at all in that hole, so with the bushings trying to center the shaft, they were putting an immense amount of pressure on the shaft, thus making it hard to turn. (at least this is my theory). In fact, sometimes you can hear a squeaking/creaking type sound when turning the wheel, like metal moving tightly on rubber...

I thought "ok, adjust the U-joints to allow the shaft to be centered". no dice since you can't lengthen/shorten the shaft in the U Joints because of the notch they have where the tightening bolt goes through.

So....questions for the 914world brain trust:

1) how can I adjust things to get that shaft centered through the firewall hole?
2) how do I get the boot on?
3) where can I get new versions of all those bushings? there seems to be two (1 & 2 in my picture) and I guess a bearing (3)?

thoughts?
TIA

[iankarr]

2 and 3 are actually one piece...steering shaft bearing. Looks like the rubber outer part has separated from the bearing part. 914rubber has a high quality replacement. And they have a great refurbished/swap deal for the rack, too.

#1 can be reused. It's more of a weather insulator than anything. As for the difficulty steering, my guess is that the separted bushing or the rack itself is the problem. The "hockey puck" above the rack has a fair amount of give, so things would have to be pretty far off for the shaft to bind as much as you describe...though I guess it is possible. The rack ties in to the auxilliary support behind the belly pan. And, yes...nothing can be removed or replaced without dropping the rack. The boot goes on before the bearing and rubber collar before short column is inserted through the bulkhead.

Separating (and re-inserting) the u-joint where the short column passes through the bulkhead is the hardest part of the job. Best to have a helper pull the rack down while you hold the U-joint tabs apart with a prybar or large screwdriver.

Here's a video I made which includes most of the process. Hope it helps!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnuYLbZ89y8