2ndgen
Member
I made an appointment to have my custom exhaust done today and scheduled a tow truck to take the car in...
Not wanting to wake/piss off all the neighbors I decide to push the car out instead of starting it; unfortunately the car has power steering so I had to wrestle the steering wheel as I am pushing the car out of the garage. I'm cranking on the wheel and I hear a loud "pop" followed by a very loose steering wheel that now spins with a ratcheting sound and no longer turns the wheels:
:fbomb %$#@&*.
I pop the hood and look in: when I turn the steering wheel I see the rag joint and coupler turning - my heart sinks and I think that I have just broken the steering box that Randy (stangerssite) beautifully restored. I call Randy to see if he has another I can buy and to find out just how badly I have screwed myself. Randy got back to me and was puzzled by the symptoms and said he didn't have another steering box to sell me. Just then the tow truck shows up...
I called the exhaust shop to see if they can handle the car without steering - they said bring it in so we wrestled it on the flatbed.
Later in the afternoon I dropped by the shop (they are a little pissed at having to dolly the car around - but not as upset as I am!!) and I got a little good news:
It looks like my steering box may be alright - it is the steering coupler that broke. The ratcheting noise is the teeth of the coupler riding over the teeth on the steering box input shaft as the coupler expands (at the crack) under load.
I guess the good news is that the coupler did not break while I was driving the car... Anyone have a spare coupler they are willing to sell??? I've just put up an add in the wanted section.
I was looking forward to my first drive (albeit with no glass and a stripped interior) soooo much!!!!
:cry
-Rory
Not wanting to wake/piss off all the neighbors I decide to push the car out instead of starting it; unfortunately the car has power steering so I had to wrestle the steering wheel as I am pushing the car out of the garage. I'm cranking on the wheel and I hear a loud "pop" followed by a very loose steering wheel that now spins with a ratcheting sound and no longer turns the wheels:
:fbomb %$#@&*.
I pop the hood and look in: when I turn the steering wheel I see the rag joint and coupler turning - my heart sinks and I think that I have just broken the steering box that Randy (stangerssite) beautifully restored. I call Randy to see if he has another I can buy and to find out just how badly I have screwed myself. Randy got back to me and was puzzled by the symptoms and said he didn't have another steering box to sell me. Just then the tow truck shows up...
I called the exhaust shop to see if they can handle the car without steering - they said bring it in so we wrestled it on the flatbed.
Later in the afternoon I dropped by the shop (they are a little pissed at having to dolly the car around - but not as upset as I am!!) and I got a little good news:
It looks like my steering box may be alright - it is the steering coupler that broke. The ratcheting noise is the teeth of the coupler riding over the teeth on the steering box input shaft as the coupler expands (at the crack) under load.
I guess the good news is that the coupler did not break while I was driving the car... Anyone have a spare coupler they are willing to sell??? I've just put up an add in the wanted section.
I was looking forward to my first drive (albeit with no glass and a stripped interior) soooo much!!!!
:cry
-Rory
