Hi guys (and girls!), I have excessive movement in the steering wheel (up and down, there is no movement left or right). Did not know what it is, took the steering wheel off and found out the plastic bushing from the upper shaft bearing is completelly gone (some tiny plastic bits left). There is no mention in Bently of this problem or how to repair it. I found the part and a technical tip on page 55 of the Parts and Technical Reference Catalog, item 7, P/N 911 347 771 02, Upper steering shaft bearing. The question is do I have to replace the entire bearing or is that plastic bushing separate, the bearing seems OK? and how do I do it, hope it's a DIY job. Thanks all,

George
'79 911 SC

 

Hi George,

For you fellows with the "modern" 911's, this tech article is just the ticket: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...ng_bushing.htm.

FWIW, Wayne Dempsey's book "101 Projects for Your Porsche"is a great DIY Guide. That plus a Bentley Manual you can do just about anything. For REbuilding, Mr. Densey's book "How to Rebuild You 911 Engine" is quite helpful too.

 

Mine is exactly the same George, and I was pondering whether to get into the replacing bush scenario.
could you do the job first, and report back!
(or fly over to /uk and also repair mine while your at it
richard

 

Essentially, you take the steering wheel off, push what's left of the plastic bushing down into the column, and tap in the new, metal bushing.

 

Harry, thank you very, very much, the link leading to the article is just what the doctor ordered, I was hoping this solution exists (aka replace only the bushing). I'll call Pelican and order the bushing. Bill, there is nothing left of the plastic bushing, it's been like this for a while and I was driving with a certain unease not knowing what the problem was. Richard, after you read that article I bet you won't need my help or anybody's else, it's really simple. Thank you guys, Harry, Bill, this was as always great help and lightning fast!

George

 

Just did mine a month ago. ~$US20.00 and 15 minutes to tap the new steel bushing in. Piece of cake. On the beer difficulty scale, you will only get the cap off one.

 

Wow, the timing of this thread is perfect! I pulled into the garage last night, and noticed the exact same thing (for the first time). I have no 'play' in my steering whatsoever, so I was shocked to discover this. I was going to search here and on Pelican this morning, but saw this thread first . I don't know what I'd do without these boards....thanks guys!

Keith
'88 CE coupe

 

I've got a followup question... Of course, I'm going to fix the problem, but is there any 'potential danger' or chance of doing damage if I drive the car until the parts arrive? Thanks!

Keith

 

I just did mine yesterday strangely enough ! . There is no danger driving around with it more than just a sloppy wheel .

1. Pop off horn assembly with good tug
2. 27 mm wrench to undo wheel ( i scibed the shaft and wheel for alignment )
3. Take out remnants of original plastic bushing, and remnants of replacment plastic bushing
4. drop in metal replacement bushing .. ( got mine at autohausaz.com )
5. Clean around all those areas on the dash since you have the wheel off !
6. put the wheel back on
7 go back in house as commercial break is almost over !!!

 

Why does it cost $100.00 to do the same fix on a pre-72 911?

Gary

 

Just a little word of caution. I bought my car with the same problem as stated above. I assumed that the plastic bushing was gone also and drove the car for almost a month before getting the part in and having the opportunity to install it. When I finally sat down to install the bushing and pulled my horn pad out, I noticed the the 27mm nut could be backed out completely with the ease of my finger tips, with no effort whatsoever. It made me think a little about what could have happened if I neglected the fix any later than I already did. Eighty miles an hour through a tight corner with no steering wheel isn't a good thing! After tighening the nut with a wratchet I concluded that the bushing wasn't required at all. I will save it for when I do need it. In other words, pull your pad off and check the nut before continuing to drive the car without the fix. It is good insurance in trade for about 2 minutes worth of time.

On another note, at what mileage are you guys seeing the problem occur?

Thanks,

Lee

 

The broken plastic bushing knows no mileage. I had a 69 911T with 195,000 miles that never failed. I had to replace the one in my 88 Carrera after 72,000 miles. I think heat and other factors cuse them to wear differently.

 

Thanks guys! I've been driving her the past few days waiting for the replacement bushing to arrive. In my case, mine is a '88 in mint condition with 56K miles on her. I know my 27mm nut is tight (I torqued it myself) as I put a Momo steering wheel on a few years ago.

Keith
'88 CE coupe

 

Whoops! forgot the follow-up on here,
Pop off horn with hands
un-do the 27mm nut (not stupidly tight)
push little top-hat bush over steering column
reverse the above procedure
takes all of 5 Minutes

 

Careful NOT to use the keyed wheel lock to hold the steering wheel as you loosen and tighten the nut. You can break the mechanism. Also watch your winshield with your braekerbar, long socket, torque wrench, etc.
regards,
Steve