Au steering shaft bearing

[GT 276]

I have a 2001 au xr8 ute. I've notcied the steering is very light and there seems to be a bit of play in the steering. IVe found the bearing that sits in firewall is missing, which is also causing engine noise in the cabin.

Does anyone know an easy fix and if I need to buy another one is it an easy fix job ... Also where would one buy this part of that's what needs to happen

Thanks Karl

[mik]

That is a very good question Karl,
i recently did the reco steering rack on mine(AU XR6), i also replaced the rack shaft , and i did want to change the little square block with the uni and bearing on it that connects the rack shaft to the steering column and locates the shaft into the firewall............. but apparently it is no longer available, i did not have any luck at the aftermarket mobs either :(,

mine was still in decent nick, however there is almost no friction on moving the uni through it its movement and the bearing sounds a bit dry of lube, so i suspect in a couple of years it will be showing signs of time for replacement ,

as i was replacing eveything else i thought i would do that one too ..... alas no joy.
i dont know if any other models use that same particular part ? the only thing i can think of is too try an get a low k`s one from a wreckers or getting one made by an engineer if yours is toast.
from memory you can get at the bolt that holds the top uni to the steering column shaft from either in or out of the car , because once the lower steering shaft is disconnected the steering column and uni will slide in and out a bit , there is also a wire type clip that i believe is a safety item above the bolt.... in cabin , this i think is just incase the bolt was to come loose and stop the steering unis from dropping right off.... sod of a job to get that bloody clip back in upon reassembly.
the locating uni firewall bearing also has like a hard plastic seal with barbed fingers on it that pushes into the firewall/ holds it on position.
any job disconecting the steering i would recomend putting it in the straight ahead possi first and tying a bit of rope to the steering wheel to so it cant turn while the linkages are dropped,

if you are unsure that the bearing is toast you might try and gently push the seal up into the firewall with a medium flat screw driver working your way around firmly but gently, if it has come out for some reason other than being rooted or perhaps you did work or had work done on the car recently and its been overstressed / pulled out for some reason???

i might add i replaced the outer tie rod ends even though they had a bit of life in them , they had very little resistance in them upon moving them by hand, upon replacing these with nice neweys.......... it has added a nice extra bit of friction to the steering and taken that bit of twitchiness or the to easy to steer feel away when some steering components get close to the end of their service life.... but not quite,

it has made my henry feel like new in the steering again.

the jobs not that hard, might be a bit tighter with the v8 but shouldnt be too bad,
having said that , any job that requires me to put my fat carcus under the dash or reach around under the brake power booster with no hoist and limited vision , i could think of other jobs id rather do .
if you find someone that sells that top uni please share the info , good luck.

[mik]

the bolt i was referring to was actually behind the firewall not the one missing in the pic, lift the carpet and throw a torch on it , you will see it.

Edit :i just found another pic of the top bearing and it has a c clip on it, so the bearing is no biggy, a bearing joint should be able to fix you up on that one, the seal that holds it into the firewall im not so sure of like wise the unis.