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more steering stuff

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nevets

nevets

Jedi Knight
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With the car up on jack stands, I began checking for wear in the front end and steering assembly. I discovered that if I grab and push/pull the road wheel/tire on either side (at 9 & 3) I can feel and see a certain amount of mmovement and clunking noise, between the idler shaft and the idler body, which I suppose is an indication of worn bush bearings (see atached pic). If this is the case, I am guessing it will require removal of the steering idler to replace the bush bearings, yes? and if so, do I need to remove the steering box/colmn to do this? Thanks guys.
 

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Yes, remove the idler. Get the bushes, new seal and dust cover (missing in your picture). The bushes need to be reamed or honed to size. Upon reassembly, the top float is adjusted by the thickness/number of top cover gaskets (just enough gasket thickness to keep from binding). Refill with Penrite steering lube, heavy oil, STP oil treatment/etc. No need to remove the steering box (unless you need to rebuild that too!)

Cheers,
John
 
Thanks for the reply John. According to the Bentley Manual, there are a number of service tools required for steering and front suspension work. Are these tools, or the equivalent, available anywhere? Thanks again.
 
Steven,

I think the service tools are like hens teeth but other tools can be adapted. A generic pitman arm puller (avail. very cheap from Harbor Freight) can be machined to fit the idler and steering arms allowing them to be pressed off. Same with tie rod pullers and the like. Front springs can be removed with long bolts or all-thread rod instead of the factory spring compressor. Ask if you run into problems and I'm sure someone here can help out.

Cheers,
John
 
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