So....

The steering column on my '73 has play at the wheel. When this happened on my 911 I bought a plastic sleeve from Mitch that fit in and took care of the problem.

When I search for confirmation of what I need for the 914, I find conflicting info. Some say a similar sleeve, others say that only works on /6 cars, I need real bearings. Or maybe I need to remove the column entirely and rebuild it?

So can someone please confirm what I need to fix this in a 1973 914?

I had a lot of play in my wheel too. I bought a metal sleeve insert (bushing), but found that the steering column wasn't tightly bolted up under the dash. After tightening the bolts, I didn't have to install the sleeve.

If you find that you do need a sleeve, Pelican sells the metal ones (Part #: 928-347-739-02-OEM) ... http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/ksearc...-347-739-02-OEM

... and here's the tech article on replacing it ... http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/9...ing_bushing.htm

Ditto- tightening the bolts holding the steering column up cured mine too.

Who doesn't like a freebie?

-Harry

Unfortunately, that was the first thing I checked. Mine is definitely the shaft moving inside the column.

So Pelican shows the metal sleeves, and also Mitch's nylon bushing. Do they both do the same thing, or is one of them for a different problem?

From what most of the reviewers posted, the metal one replaces the plastic one. Just make sure to dig out all the remnants of the plastic so the new one seats properly.

Further digging shows that a sleeve will not fix my issue.

The sleeves fit between the shaft and the inner bearing race, giving a snug fit for the race on the shaft.

The slop I have is not between the race and the shaft. The race and shaft move together. The movement I have is visibly between the inner and outer bearing races. So I apparently have a failed top bearing in my column.

Anyone have any experience replacing that bearing?

So the bearing is shot?

I couldn't find anything in the Pelican tech articles (except for the bush/sleeve replacement).

There's two bearings in the column, upper and lower. Pelican only lists the lower. I don't know if they're the same as the upper ... maybe a call to them will yield results

Seller on Ebay has German upper and lower bearing sets. Partscontainer is the seller I think. Around $60 shipped. A real bargain. I removed the plastic busing on mine an used the 72-74 steel sleeve.

I did a little research on that ebay vendor ...

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w140-s-cla...scontainer.html

Negative feedback on ebay: https://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...ms=negative_365


OK, found the upper bearing in the 911 section - from a reputable source ... http://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/9113...347-771-02-M100

Mark, that's a lot of neg feedback. But that's a shiteload of sales...

I did my bearing and sleeve years ago. No slop now, unless I'm running over the RR tracks. Then everything is shakin'

Understood, Joe, and I typically try to buy from vendors with 99.5% or more, but still, I don't think I'll ever purchase anything from that particular vendor. Seems like they lost sight of customer satisfaction, especially if they demand positive feedback before correcting an issue

Pelican is a very trusted vendor ... and another plus (for me): they're a short driving distance from here

My bad, I gave you the wrong seller. It is jdmpartsman. $59 for both bearings.

So once you have the bearing in hand, how tough is it to get the bad one out?