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Triumph TR6 - Steering Column disassembly

If I read all relevant instructions correctly, to get the bushings out of the steering column you have to remove the inner steering rod. To do that the instructions say to depress the detents on either side of hte column and withdraw the bushings for both the upper and lower bushings. Clearly the inner rod is held with these bushings but how the hell do you gdt the little detents depressed? I assume that they are the rubber covered protrusions on either side of the outer steering column and can be depressed enough to relieve the bushing in the column, but I have not been able to do this. Is there some trick or some special tool to achieve getting the things pushed in enough to get the bushings out??? HELP!!!
db
Doug Baker

Check out instruction 10 A thru F...

From 23 September 2005 @ 04:47:30

Now that I am at home, a quick dig of the box of sparks and up came a write up from when I did mine some time back. I can say with great confidence that this is not the absolute and only way to do the job, but can tell you that it worked for me. So here goes:

First the Bentley book sends you on a wild goose chase to several different locations all over the book. This is what you need to do based on my experience:

1) disconnect the battery
2) remove the Speedo and Tach
3) remove the wire cover on the lower side of the column and disconnect the wires to the column switches and horn slip ring
4) disconnect the ignition switch (for steering lock cars, more on this later)
5) clamp onto the domed nuts with vise grips or channel locks and loosen but do not completely remove, the column mount nuts near the dash panel and near the firewall
6) disconnect the flange at the rubber coupling from the splined steering column or undo the clamp at the flat on the upper steering column
7) Rotate column and drill out shear bolts holding steering lock in place on steering lock cars, remove column mount fasteners. (If replacing the steering lock, you can just cut it off, be careful not to get the column if cutting)
8) withdraw the column toward the interior (easier if you have some help from someone guiding in the engine compartment until you clear the firewall)
9) remove the horn cover and pad, remove steering wheel, switch escuteons, switches and horn slip ring (you have to carefully bend up a retaining tab to remove the slip ring. I am repainting the column, if you are not, you may not have to remove the switches)
10) NOW THE THING I WISH I HAD KNOWN. The Bentley book states that you are to depress the tabs that retain the bushing in place and withdraw the steering shaft from the bottom of the column. Not knowing what they looked like on the inside, I dutifully tried and eventually after much struggle and the use of a third and fourth hand managed to extract the lower bushing and shaft.

It turns out that the places you are to depress on the bushings are nothing more than molded rubber knobs that protrude out into side holes on the column and do nothing to release any sort of a mechanism or relieve any spring pressure. All they are there for is to hold the bushings in place by sticking out of those holes.

Now knowing this, here is my recommendation for the bushing removal.
A) get out you handy dandy Dremel and grind away those little rubber knobs
B) spray some penetrating oil onto the lower bushing from the lower end of the column
C) let the shaft drop down until it stops
D) clamp the shaft into a vise with a couple of inches between the vise and the column
E) let the knot on the shaft for the steering lock act as a slide hammer and knock that bushing out
F) reverse shaft in the column and repeat the slide hammer process for the upper bushing, taking it out from the top of the column (the shaft is reversed so you are not clamping on threads/splines where the steering wheel mounts)

To reinstall, I used a piece of pipe that is a larger ID than the OD of the steering shaft and smaller OD than the ID of the column housing. Dip the bushing in some soapy water and slide/drift the upper bushing into place. Then the shaft is inserted and the lower bushing will be dipped and slid/drifted into place. Now to go into shop manual mode; assembly is the reverse process so start putting all those other bits back in place.

When you go to reinstall, suggest that you use an allen head fastener to remount the steering lock. If you ever have to remove it again, you'll be glad you did. If you send the car off to a new home, the new owner will also be glad you did also and just might decide you weren’t such a DPO after all. Same thing if you replace the steering lock, ditch those shear bolts and use something that you can remove without having to drill out.
SteveP1

Steve,
Thanks for detailed instructions. Is there any way to depress the detents w/o destroying the rubber covers? I thought that maybe I need to affixe a large C clamp with something to push in the detent on each side simultaneously. Any merit to the idea? Or did you just "push" em in and the bushing slide out? My column is out of the car and I need to strip the outer and powder coat or repaint and I have new bushings etc. to rebuild the column if ever I get the damn thing out.
db
Doug Baker

Doug,
On the old bushings, just grind the rubber knobs away (See 10 A). There's no point in making it any more painful than it needs to be. As you will find, this is a non-trivial task. First you have to "assume the (LBC) position," i.e. on your back under dash with your legs sticking out of the interior all while working in the mostly dark, restricted space above your head and torso in the footwell. I think I may have caused some new profanity to enter the lexicon (or mine at the very least) during those operations.

The column itself is not so bad to work on out of the car. Grind away at the rubber knobs and steering column "slide hammer" them out. For the new ones, some soapy water and then line up the knobs as close as you can to hole locations with the bushings outside of the column and drift them in as indicated above. Just a quick note, the ID of the column is tight so no powder coat overspray in there or fitting the bushings will likely enhance the lexicon.
SteveP1

This thread was discussed on 15/09/2010

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