ctuinstra
Goblin Guru
I too was one that had troubles compressing the steering shaft. In the videos it showed the shaft moving in and out freely so I knew the shaft should. There is some discussion on the dimple on the shaft and how it some removed it trying to free the shaft.
The truth is the grease inside has simply hardened some or turned waxy. I was able to free mine up by allowing paint thinner to seep down inside by holding it upright and pouring just a bit inside and allowing it to work it's way down. I also tried penetrating oil and heat.
I did carefully drill out the dimple to allow me to pull the two apart so I could do a better job of cleaning inside. I repeated using spray cleaner, paint thinner and soap/water. And finally the two just slide in and out without little resistance. In the video, there is still some penetrating oil inside giving it the sucking sound. The tolerances are very tight and the slightest bit of grease/oil to solidify and they are stuck like glue.
I never hammered directly on the u-joints bearings. I used a adjustable wrench adjusted around the shaft and up against the u-joint. Again I used the adjustable wrench on the steering wheel side after folding over the u-joint and using the wrench as u-shaped spacer so I could tap on the end of the shaft to compress it.
I'll coat it with a slight coating of lithium or silicone grease after painting and then press another dimple in it.
The truth is the grease inside has simply hardened some or turned waxy. I was able to free mine up by allowing paint thinner to seep down inside by holding it upright and pouring just a bit inside and allowing it to work it's way down. I also tried penetrating oil and heat.
I did carefully drill out the dimple to allow me to pull the two apart so I could do a better job of cleaning inside. I repeated using spray cleaner, paint thinner and soap/water. And finally the two just slide in and out without little resistance. In the video, there is still some penetrating oil inside giving it the sucking sound. The tolerances are very tight and the slightest bit of grease/oil to solidify and they are stuck like glue.
I never hammered directly on the u-joints bearings. I used a adjustable wrench adjusted around the shaft and up against the u-joint. Again I used the adjustable wrench on the steering wheel side after folding over the u-joint and using the wrench as u-shaped spacer so I could tap on the end of the shaft to compress it.
I'll coat it with a slight coating of lithium or silicone grease after painting and then press another dimple in it.
