Here's what your steering coupler might look like. This is a dangerous situation. If this coupler fails completely, you will lose steering control.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jby5O7lTa1Y

By now almost all of them are probably bad from rubber degradation with age.

Those rag joints suck too, are they on all 914's?

If my 75 has one, I'm getting that fucker out and replacing it with a u joint somehow someway.

I replaced mine last year with an aluminum billet biscuit. No more rubber donut for me!

Eric Read

Edit: Here's a stock photo:

Click to view attachment

I still have the rubber in but have the billet sitting on the shelf. My rubber is fine though....that other is down right scarey.

Where can you purchase the billet one?

Dam you. First the master cylinder flex now this. I'm afraid to drive home now!

I replaced mine with a hockey puck (not kidding)
Its easy to find, cheap to buy and simple to drill.
I will use a bruins puck on the next one so the new owner will have a bit of Boston to take with them.

I reused the steel inserts that are (were) in the rubber donut and put them in the hockey puck.
I ground them down a little to make them flush..

There is enough play in the system to loose the 1/8 inch.

Rich

That works fine.

I make engine mounts for 3rd gen watercooled VW's out of hockey pucks.

Buck a puck, can not beat that.

They have held up to 500+hp as well before.



You know on second thought i can see it working but I worry about the torsional force they would be subjected to. They are very stiff, like polyurethane bushings when they disintegrate instead of wear like rubber since rubber can absorb impact........


IDK. I'd rock it for a while but would go metal or to a u joint. But it looks like metal would be ok, does not need to articulate much.

Would a later model 911 coupler work? They sure look the same ...

As for "down right scarey", it's basically just a Hardy-Disk. Commonly used on a huge amount of automobiles for various applications.

My 280SE Mercedes used one to couple the driveshaft front to the rear. They are used to reduce vibrations.


I'm almost certain a 911 unit would fit and they're probably still available brand new ...
Andy

A hockey puck is rubber or some sort.
Its not brittle...it closes up on the drill when you are doing it and it smells like rubber.

In the original unit there are steel sleeves for the bolts to go through so you are clamping down on those steel tubes.
I used those, had to grind off a bit to get them flush with the puck...works fine.
The bolts are dealing with the force, not the puck...its just a spacer so you wont feel bumps...

Rich

Just looking at it again...I only used two bolts so its directly bolted right through the hockey puck...simple.

Rich

Holy cow! That's not my car, is it?

Bwahahaha! I took your gas tank out without telling you!

No, it's a car you probably didn't even notice cause you were drooling on the Limo.

I have Delrin couplers in stock, just haven't gotten them on the website yet.

Part: 901.347.201.02
Steering Rack Coupler

Fits:
Porsche 914 1970-76
Porsche 911 1974-89
Porsche 930 Turbo 1975-89


Around $90, i'm sure you can find it for less if you look around ...
Andy

Apparently, the 996 uses it too ...

Andy

Huh, how 'bout that.

Can the rubber coupler be replaced without dropping the whole steering rack?

I just put my front end back together and reused the coupler. It didn't look too bad except for some gaps around the metal sleeves. I'm now thinking maybe I should've replaced it while I was in there (except the Porsche dealer wanted $145 for a new one!).

The plastic cover (missing in my first pic) is in the way. You'll have to pull the rack to get to the coupler. If the plastic is gone (cut it?) you might be able to do it with the rack in place.

I wonder if two beetle steering discs together would work, or does it have to be a single piece?

That's what Wes V did with his and it works, but is slightly shorter than stock.

I have drilled through them as well to make engine mounts, and have subjected them to a fair amount of power tugging up on them, as well as pushing down on them under acceleration/launching.

Think a shear mount, like body on frame for a truck/car. Same sort of up/down forces, just captured in a housing, rotation limited by the design. (Accounting for a transverse motors tendency to rotate fore/aft under accel/decel)

I am not sure of a hockey pucks exact properties, but they always felt much closer to polyurethane, perhaps simply due to the durometer rating of the rubber.


But what I do know is I have destroyed poly bushings, because they are too stiff to take certain impacts, and over time they start to tear, especially from torsional forces.

It would be a bad thing to have that happen here over time.

Whether or not a hockey puck would do it I do not know, but it is still better than an ancient factory rag joint.

I had one of those on my modified E30 and you had to drive around it at times, such as 9/10 of the limit. Flexible rubber disc between your wheel and the rack & pinion. That was a car from 1987, I can only imagine how bad a lot of them are on vehicles over 10 years older.

the link you need..

http://www.tangerineracing.com/SteeringUpgrades.htm

$46.95 shipped

jim

When I saw this thread I ordered the above coupler from Chris. I decided to tackle this today and then take a drive.

I just got done installing it and can assure you you dont need to remove the suspension. The only down side is you'll need to cut the plastic cover that is hiding the coupler.

Remove plactic cover. Bend back the tabs that hold the two 13mm bolts in. Make sure you mark the steering rod so you know what side needs to be facing you. Then remove the retaining plate for the steering rod, #27 in the diagram. Remove the two 13mm bolts on top of the coupler and manipulate the coupler up and above the sway bar (if you have one). Repeat the process with the tabs and bolts on the underside.

Reassembly is just the opposite. Just make sure you're not 180 out with the rack.

The stock coupler I removed was in great shape, still soft too. But the amount of slop between the metal shafts the bolts went through and the bushing was at least 3-4mm. For a sports car that seems excessive.

Onto new sway bar bushings, then a drive....

No--I think it may be a certain light ivory 73.