Loose steering column

[whitenviro]

It's clear cold and dry here lately, so I've had the car out. In the cold there is a symphony of new squeaks and rattles that weren't there in warmer weather! But the biggest surprise was the entire steering column slid to the side on a hard turn. The bracket where it mounts to the dash is too loose and it is held in place with shear-head bolts. The manual gives a pretty bad description of how to get the bolts out, and no idea if you can tighten them more. Any suggestions?


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1980 Pageant Blue DHC with removable hardtop.

[PeterTR7V8]

You can tighten them but in my experience they are likely to become loose again because the very shallow notch makes it is difficult to get them really tight. After a while I got tired of this & replaced them with normal bolts & haven't had a problem since. I'll probably regret it next time I have a big smash. [:0]



The map: http://tinyurl.com/wedgemap . The blog: http://www.forum.triumphtr7.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8548

[Beans]

Difficult to retighten them properly, best to remove them with a hammer and a centre punch.
Adapt some Allan head bolts on a lathe and use these instead ...



<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1980 TR7 DHC (my first car, now restored and back on the road)
1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)</font id="blue">
<b>[url="http://www.tr7beans.blogspot.com/"]<u><b><font size="2"><font color="red">My Weblog</font id="red"></font id="size2"></b></u>[/url]</b></i></center>

[staningrimsby]

I'm with Peter,

when mine got on my nerves i replaced them with normal bolts and a touch of thread lock.[:)]



1980 2.0 DHC (soon to be 16v) - Polly.

[FI Spyder]

To take them out and put them back in I just put a slot in them with a Dremel. Tightened them up and no problems. I probably used some Locktite as I usually use it.


TR7 Spider - 1978 Spitfire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT

[whitenviro]

I finally got around to this today; thanks for all the suggestions. The dremel and a small cutting wheel did a nice job putting a notch in them, and they came out easier than I ever expected. Replaced them with new cap screws that fit nicely. Firmed things right up!


[/img]
1980 Pageant Blue DHC with removable hardtop.

[PeterTR7V8]

At our age that's got to be a good thing. [:)]



The map: http://tinyurl.com/wedgemap . The blog: http://www.forum.triumphtr7.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8548