Seering shaft UJ Repairs

460 type Steering Column UJ's A 460 460 51 57 x2 No Longer Available - No Price

460 type Steering Column Complete A460 460 73 09 No Longer Available - No Price

460 type Steering Column Supersedes to the early 463 type Steering Column

463 type early Steering Column Complete A463 460 01 09 £489 + VAT MB Germany

463 type early Steering Column UJ's A000 460 02 57 x2 £67 each + VAT MB Germany

The UJ's are not interchangable...

The later 463's use a different lower Column.

These are for the collapsable type safety lower Steering Column as fitted on all UK spec 460's and most others.

They do list a solid lower Column also...

Gav

oh....do they service propshafts or the front CV joints. I think both are shot and time to fix up£££??

Gentlemen there is a some unspecific talk of loose steering boxes noisy C V 's and prop. shaft issues. 

Not to sound alarmist, do be careful on your diagnoses of components. Do your basic checks, check power steering reservoir levels and check the power steering belt is correctly tight and not loose.

Talking steering boxes, some of the most important parts and smallest and important components of the steering box are no longer in supply. Ordinarily, I would advice this job be left to specialists. Re-conditioned boxes from dealers is currently running at some £2500 or so and these; when I last checked a few months ago these were in short circulation too. 

Propsahfts and  UJ's can be replaced by specialists, however, if the sliding spline is excessively worn, you will have to have these replaced which the specialist can do, finishing off by balancing the shaft. 

CV can be re-conditioned by there is good supply of replacement CV's available on the market before considering re-manufacturing the CV. CV become noisy at full locks and make a clicking noise. Prop.shaft UJs cause vibrational problems and this all depends on the extent of wear on the joint.

Cracked anti-roll bar mounting brackets can cause knocking noises on bumps, as can loose connections in steering column shaft or its sliding joint. Check the steering box is tighten to 200Nm torque on the chassis. UJ on the steering column can seize. To check this, disconnect from the steering box end, marking the shaft and steering box spindle so the shaft goes to its same position re-fitting it. Once removed, spin he shaft holding it from the UJ and any seizing can be easily felt eliminating the steering box.

Jack the front axle and support the axle with stands. Turn the wheels lock to lock from the wheel its self to notice if the wheel turns freely or locks up at places, this will eliminate problems largely with the steering box but remember some seizing may be caused at the king pins, you will have to deceiver this for your self or contact me with more information when you get to that stage of diagnoses. If you have excessive front wheel bearing play, it is ajob that requires renewal of the front hub and king-pin bearings. This job is 5.5 hrs per side. 

No there is not, that I know of. You may try ORC (may be they do one as part of the height raising kit) or can have one commissioned. I feel the standard one does the job adequately

Why do feel the need for a stiffer one?

Just to make the distinction, anti-roll bar quality or performance comes into effect on road bends and when braking. Pitching on tarmac roads can be trimmed by stiffer springs. Harder springs does not constitute a comfortable ride so a balance has to struck. Your venture can only be a result of trail and error. It may be, to achieve what you want is to shorten the spring height. As you do not off road much, a small price to pay.

If you fit stiffer anti-roll bar just to the fronts, you will alter the vehicle handling characteristics. The vehicle may at oversteer, making it potentially difficult to handle especially in wet conditions. Your vehicle design is by design of compromises, you alter one design it affects another aspect of handling which also has to be consider as a whole and part of your concept. 

As an offroader you have the best possible as a compromise for onroad, offroad driving. As you want more bias as an onroader you will have to sacrifice off road qualities of the vehicle, the balance is your to make. There are companies you can approach who can manufacturer be-spoke anti-roll bar(s) I may have asked you before what part of the country or world you are from? I do not hold any records of these hence, my repeating myself. If you want, I can look for any manufacturer nearer to you.

The type of tyre you choose for road use can be part of your formula in improving your ride qualities.

Great comments. Yes I understand that altering one thing changes another. I will probably just change the front springs as it does seem to crash down on road on pot holes so i think they dont have much strength left. I am thinking about fitting Koni Heavy Track Raid version shocks. They look beefier than the Bilstein and I've seen some good posts on here. I'm also impressed with the adjustable sport Koni's on another car I own. They can be adjusted in about 5 mins while part on the car if needed. I'm sure this will work really well (hope). I'm selling the KYB's. Any takers?

Will aslo fit poly bushes to the  front 'trailing ' control arms (think they are called this).

D

As long as you can you can replicate the staking (crimping) you can do this at home. 

Does this staking hold the Uj's into the shaft?

REPLY TO THREAD No: 16 onwards 

Hello montreal,

Yes the the staking holds the UJ in place in the shaft. A small amount of material from the shaft body is folded over the UJ cup around the eye of the shaft which acts in place of a circlip to secure the UJ. 

The steering column UJ could cause stiffness if caked on with mud and steam cleaning can cure this aspect, but the UJ's cannot be greased instead, lubricate with penetrating oil and finish off by applying oil. Apply oil every six months or so to keep in good condition.  

I will get back to you latter with possibilities of reconditioners in your area.

The G-Wagen steering does have inherent steering wheel (s/wheel) play, I would say up to one inches of play is acceptable. Should you want to adjust, make small adjustments only; no more than a 1/8th to 1/4 turns only. Note: adjusting the steering box play may induce a leak at the seal.

BEFORE you attempt any adjustments check the rest of the steering system for any causes of stiffness firstly.

We have touched the UJ on the steering column which visible in the engine compartment but check the UJ's in the top half as well - under the dash. Disconnect one end and turn by hand to feel for any stiffness in these UJ's. Mark the UJ and shaft so you can put back the UJ in the same place otherwise the s/wheel will be out of alignment. Next, jack the front axle, support with axle stands ad investigate the front  wheels. Turn the front wheel lock to lock, at the wheel and sense the for free movement for any stiffness. 

Should there be any stiffness the next step is to ascertain if it is the steering box or the from the hubs. Comparing the turns lock to lock with engine started and turning at the wheel but don't expect the wheel to self center in this condition. Self centering occurs only with the vehicle load on and whilst in motion. 

To eliminate the steering box as the source of stiffness if you are satisfied that the steering column bears no blame, disconnect the front bar of the axle (drag link) from one end and repeat the lock to lock turn. If the stiffness is apparent then the cause lies with the steering box if not then it could lie with the wheel hubs, maybe the king pin bearings are stiff or one to the ball joints either in the drag link (front axle bar) or tie-rod (rear axle bar).

Any excessive CV joint play has no bearing in steering stiffness, you are more likely to be having a clicking noise on locks under these circumstances.

Less obvious reasons could be tyre wear pattern suggesting steering geometry issues, in which case rotate wheel fronts to rear and retest. Do not over look tyre pressures. 

If all these check out then turn your attention to control arm bushes, broken coil springs fronts and rears.  

If you still have a problem provide more feed back and we'll take it from there on.

Good luck,

Thanks. I'm going to loosen the box adjustment top nut (19mm spanner and 6mm allen key) 1st as it might be set too tight.

Are there any other adjustments nuts on the box?