I've removed the complete suspension, except the rack and pinion. The Hayne's manual says 'Detach the steering shaft from the lower universal joint by removing the self locking nut and bolt'.

Where is the universal joint and how do I get to it?

What are the 2 bolts, that hold the diamond shapped plate (on the bottom) for?

What is the single bolt (on top) for?

Any pics would be helpful. Thanks

Those bolts you mentioned are for the rack itself. *Don't* remove them. You need to remove the pinch bolt bolt from the column inside the car at the u-joint nearest the front bulkhead. The bolt has to come all of the way out, as the shaft has an indent that the bolt goes "through". Hard to explain. I could snap a pic if you need it Rob.

Under your dash toward the front bulkhead. What Mike said take the bolts out. Put something like a used tire under the rack as it comes crashing down (not light) once that u-joint is released. My u-joint was a bit sticky and held up the removal until I dropped back under the dash and just tapped it lightly.

Good luck.

So, I need to go inside the car and remove the bolt nearest to the steering rack and remove it? I wont need to remove the carpet or anything else in the car? Any pics would be helpful.

If I removed any of the bolts on the steering rack, but put them back on, is there any problem I might encounter later?

Thanks guys.

You should be fine. I was trying to communicate that they didn't need to be removed in order to remove the rack. Personally, I don't want to mess with the rack until I'm sure I won't screw it up. I'll get some pics before the sun sets completely, but I won't post 'em until later.

Go to go back to welding!

Grabbed a couple of shots. The last u-joint on the column, nearest the front bulkhead, on the inside of the car:

The rack end. See that notch? If you don't remove (not just loosen) that bolt from the u-joint, the rack will not come out.

I'm not absolutely certain, but you'll probably have to pull that MC before you drop the rack. I don't have a complete 914 on the premises at the moment to look to be sure.

Thanks Gint, I'll check tomorrow, I'm done for today. BTW, what are you welding, I thought your car is at the auto body? I noticed the post with the mommy wagon, but didn't see any welding project.

Did you see that pallet rack with wheels under the lift? That was the top half of a 12' high rack. I had to weld feet on the bottom, a stretcher across the bottom, wheels, and the top stretcher had to be cut off and welded back on, lower. All so it would fit under the lift. Tonight I'm working on my previously started welder cart.

Gint, looks like you were busy today. When you finish your welder cart, post it, I need to build one myself.

The pallet rack and garage cleanup was yesterday. Today was a full day at the sweat factory, and home to finish the cart. I posted a pic of the welding cart in this thread.

Gint, you were correct, I needed to remove the M/C. Here's the shot of the M/C before removal.

I found the universal joint, the Haynes manual refered to, it was in the passenger compartment. Again Gint, you were correct in recommending removal of the lower nut and bolt. After removal, all I had to do was clear the carpet and it fell out. I had placed 2 jack stands underneath the steering rack, so there was no damage.

Here's a shot of the steering rack removed from the car.

Again, thanks to everyone for their suggestions. The project continues.

Mmmm... Rack and Peanut steering......