Steering box bolt - SOLVED!

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aopisa
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Steering box bolt - SOLVED!

Post by aopisa » Mon Oct 25, 2010 1:31 pm

I was looking under the front end of my bus today and noticed a missing bolt from the steering box. It must have fallen out recently by the looks of how clean the threads are. Where can I get a replacement? The steering box is still immovably attached to the frame. Can I drive it this way until I can find a replacement bolt?

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1977 Westy 2.0L F.I.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. - Chuang Tzu

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Amskeptic
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Re: Steering box bolt

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Oct 25, 2010 2:22 pm

aopisa wrote:I was looking under the front end of my bus today and noticed a missing bolt from the steering box. It must have fallen out.
Consult your Bentley. It will have bolt specifications and tightening torque. Buy a bolt. Install. Now. Oh, and check the torques on the other bolts. That is weird.
Colin :cyclopsani:
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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aopisa
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Post by aopisa » Mon Oct 25, 2010 2:37 pm

I thought it might be in the Bentley, but did not see it. I will go back and scour through it. Thanks.
1977 Westy 2.0L F.I.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. - Chuang Tzu

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aopisa
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Post by aopisa » Mon Oct 25, 2010 2:41 pm

Oh, and you were the last one to touch the steering box. Just saying. :blackeye:
1977 Westy 2.0L F.I.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. - Chuang Tzu

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Post by Amskeptic » Mon Oct 25, 2010 2:43 pm

aopisa wrote:I thought it might be in the Bentley, but did not see it. I will go back and scour through it. Thanks.
If you do not find it in the specifications table at the end of the front end chapter, look in the text around steering box removal and installation. If still no, perhaps take one of the other bolts off at the store. Be sure to reinstall.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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aopisa
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Post by aopisa » Mon Oct 25, 2010 3:41 pm

Will do, thanks. I was afraid of just blindly replacing with a store replacement because I did not want to mess up the threads in case they were different. Or is that being too paranoid?
1977 Westy 2.0L F.I.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. - Chuang Tzu

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Post by RussellK » Tue Oct 26, 2010 6:48 am

Thats not being paranoid you must be sure the diameter and the pitch is correct or you will damage the threads. If you're not absolutely positive take the other bolt out and take it with you

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Post by sped372 » Tue Oct 26, 2010 7:25 am

Maybe I'm not looking at the photo right but it seems strange that you can see threads in the hole. If that's the steering box, and I assume it's bolted into the frame, shouldn't it be a through hole with threads in the frame? Or does the bolt come from the backside?
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

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Post by aopisa » Tue Oct 26, 2010 7:26 am

RussellK wrote:Thats not being paranoid you must be sure the diameter and the pitch is correct or you will damage the threads. If you're not absolutely positive take the other bolt out and take it with you
Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. Something as simple a bolt can really cause a big problem. The Bentley doesn't seem to have a spec on it. I hope the other one is easy to get to.

I know this is a dumb question,but if I'm going to be unbolting my steering box in a parking lot would my best option be a FLAPS or a hardware store? A junkyard would be best, 30 seconds and done. Finding a bus in a junkyard around here is a needle in a haystack type operation.
1977 Westy 2.0L F.I.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. - Chuang Tzu

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aopisa
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Post by aopisa » Tue Oct 26, 2010 7:29 am

sped372 wrote:Maybe I'm not looking at the photo right but it seems strange that you can see threads in the hole. If that's the steering box, and I assume it's bolted into the frame, shouldn't it be a through hole with threads in the frame? Or does the bolt come from the backside?
I have to go look at it again, but I think the Bentley shows it going from the frame side through to the gearbox, p30, fig. 9-17?
1977 Westy 2.0L F.I.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. - Chuang Tzu

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SOLVED

Post by aopisa » Tue Oct 26, 2010 8:27 am

False alarm. The "weird" comment from Colin kind of tipped me off as well as sped372 noticing that the bolt probably came through the other side.

Indeed the steering box is bolted through the frame first. The PO had a receiver hitch installed for a custom bike rack. It appears that at least one of the mount points for that hitch uses the same frame hole as the steering box. The bolt passes through the receiver then the frame and finally into the steering box. Close inspection with a flashlight reveals that there is a bolt in there. They must have used the same bolt so it comes up a few mm shy of being flush with the steering box. Perhaps there was some kind of cap that recently fell out and is now exposing shiny threads?

Thanks to everyone that helped trouble shoot this issue.
1977 Westy 2.0L F.I.

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. - Chuang Tzu

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sped372
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Post by sped372 » Mon Nov 01, 2010 2:25 pm

Still might be a good idea to get a longer bolt that uses up all the threads. Or at least plug the exposed hole with something to prevent those threads from getting corroded in case you ever remove the rack etc.
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

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