Hey ppl, just been doing the rounds of the parts shops in sydney, and it seems no-one has a new german steering box!!
not even an aftermarket one, like TRW for that matter. i've been quoted $440 for a reco one, but am dubious of getting my money's worth. wreckers have some 'working' ones from 200 bucks, but hell, i have a working one, it's just that i have about two inches of play in my steering wheel, and when the slide kicks in it takes a jolt to correct it, screwing up the nice slide. dang.
ive been online seraching... $110 USD from autohaus (plus $60USD postage) which comes to about seven million australian pesos, and customspeedparts or something is willing to sell me a german one for something like $625 AUD, plus posting. they won't tell me if the "1302/03" box is the right one for my superbug, and as such I'm sorta not keen on forking out the readies. especially as if it's wrong, I'm gonna be looking at paying 20 percent restocking fee. also not sure if the german one is good enough to justify the expense, although having been the cheap "she'll be right' route before, I'm more inclined to pay for the good stuff.
Anyone been this route before? do i bother with a new steering box? anyone done it? did it make you happier than you've ever been? has anyone seen my pen? aaaaaaagghhhh:jesus
let sleeping dubs lie
i've had the 'box tightened and adjusted and stuff before, and it feels nice and grindy for about ten minutes... then back to sloppy. i understand this means "worn".
😀
let sleeping dubs lie
I have no clues Pete.
I have a 71 standard - well as standard as a Baja can be and my steering box is as sloppy as, well anyhow I put up with it. It's only dangerious when the wifes driving it and then I'm not in it anyhow, I follow in the Ford with the kids.
Worn Steering boxes are great in the sand though - stops the jarring of your wrists.
Sell you old one to the Manx club.
Bronze.
Rathmines, Lake Macquarie, NSW.
Ta bronze 🙁
It's not dangerous per se, but if I want to get past the scrutineers, and have some fun putting around a track, is it gonna cut it? I'm just not sure it'll follow whatever line I'd like to follow when it comes to sudden direction changes.. anyone fitted a new steering box? OEM or TRW? thoughts? soapboxes?
let sleeping dubs lie
Peter
I thought mine was a gonna, so I rang around all the people I knew here in NZ and a lot of them had a spare... but they wanted to keep them, as they are rare. Especially good ones.
In the end I took mine to a steering box reco person, who took one look and said "it's fine". He just openned it up cleaned it all up and replace the oil. Now it's great 🙂
That and the urethane bushes were the best money I've spent so far on my car... made it feel like a new car.
Jeremy
......random gibberish for today.......
Mine was starting to get sloppy a few months ago, and the scruitineers weren't to happy with it. I got it reco'ed at fulcrum for $450 including a wheel allingment, but within 2 onths it needed re adjusting again took it to fulcrum and they said it was fine, so I adjusted it myself , buts since then its been great. Well worth the money to get it reco'd. makes the car so much easier to drive on the track!!
S bug steering boxes have been very hard to find in good condition for about 10 years or more.
No one had or has bits for them any more
try Mick Motors he had new ones a while back.
Hi
If you buy one OS make sures its RHD, they are different. I fitted a 75 rack to my 72, a bit of work but very direct & light steering, they are also getting hard to find. There was an old bloke around Fairfield fitting Passat racks to Superbugs. VVDS was able to get repair parts some time ago, might be worth a try.
1302Steve
I have a second hand one the guy said it was in good nick?
any way to tell?
marcel
Ta muchly peoples, much appreciated... thank god for mentioning the obvious RHD thing I just 're'mailed the germans about it. How does one clean it out and stuff? can uyour just pull it to pieces and chuck in some engine oil? or mebbe thicker gearbox oil? if they're as rare as they say, it might be worth hardfacing the teeth with manganese steel and recoing the buggers for other poor bastards like myself. hmmm
will keep u all posted. if u give a stuff. 😀
let sleeping dubs lie
crap. just got an answer.. they're LHD only from germany. CRAP!
let sleeping dubs lie
Not sure that anybody gives a stuff right this minute, but someone is bound to need the info sooner or later and will appreciate your effort. :thumb
Kruizin Kol
Peter
i have 2 "spares"
one is good and the other was rebuilt by Lou at A1 regents park about 3 years ago. That one is in Blue at the moment but will be pulled soon. The other is in my garage on a shelf.
If you are interested give us a u2u
Futue te ipsum!!!
Am also interested in information - as my steering box has bad play at lock, but funnily enough, not at straight ahead....
The steering boxes take grease. Apparently the earlier ones have gearbox oil in them ???
So do i take it by the TRW comments that someone makes aftermarket steering boxes for the S bugs ? Does anyone have one ? Heard any stories, good or bad ?
Also, Steve made a comment about someone that was converting Passat racks into beetles - any details, or ideas about what was involved ?
Cheers 🙂
might have found a new supplier, just waiting on confirmation via e'mail as to what sort it is...
from the UK!
RHD!!
*bites fingernails*
also keen to know if anyone has had any experience with trw or aftermarket 'new' boxes....
let sleeping dubs lie
I have a couple of strt front end boxes kicking around if you want a 2nd hand one. Let me know
I've got a TRW standard beetle steering box and it seems pretty good.
As for more play at lock than in the center, I am pretty sure that is how they are machined from new. I think it's so the as the middle wears (cos it gets the most use) it will increase the play in the middle to match the play at lock. That way you can adjust the play in the middle without it going tight at lock.
All the steering boxes I have pulled apart and cleaned out have been full of grease.
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
o well
what's the story with A1 recoing?
also, is there a way to tell if a steering box is cactus with it OUT of the car?
just had some expert mechanic guy put SIX turns on the adjuster on my steering box after i told him it was not the way to go. took the slop out of it ... but also needs a breaker bar to turn the frikken steering wheel now.
jeeez
let sleeping dubs lie
peter, if you haven't already, wind the adjuster back a few turns. adjusted like it is your steering box will be really tight for a little while, nice for a little while, then RS when the over tightening kills what is left of the bushings/grinds out the worm bit etc.
[Edited on 20-5-2003 by whatnow]
the way i have checked 60's beetle steering boxes in the past (not sure if this will relate to super boxes as i have never played with supers before) is a follows.
btw. the boxes all had thier pitman arms on them.
hold the box and arm in one hand, then twist the steering shaft to see how much play there was in box to start with (ie before the arm moved)
then holding the box wind it from lock to lock to "feel" what it was like inside. did it go from loose to tight to loose or vise versa, did it feel crunchy, did it feel really tight/loose in any spot/s, smooth etc.
look at how much adjustment was left on the adjuster.
grab the pitman arm and wiggle it, does it wiggle on the shaft, does the shaft wiggle in the box.
once you have done this, adjust the box till the play is out of it then wind from side to side again to feel what it is like now. too tight, still loose in spots, crunchy/crunchier, not smooth etc. fiddle with the adjustment untill you find the best feel.
now make your decision.
i chose the box (of several i had) that was smooth through out it's travel, still had a fair amount of adjustment left, not crunchy, it still got a little looser on the outer edges, but all in all it was the best box that i had (plus no cash at the time to get one rebuilt)
i was told with the early boxes the seals go, but to solve this make up a 50/50 mix of gearbox oil and grease (can't remember what type), this doesn't leak out and keeps it well lubricated.
and now another supplier in UK (machine7 automotive) who said he could do the boxes has just buckled at crunchtime. I quote:
"We have been trying to obtain stock, but unfortuneatly we can no longer supply the steering box that you require. Sorry."
apart from his unfortunate spelling, this did not make me smile joyfully. and even the spelling wasn't THAT funny.
thanks muchly whatnow, appreciate your help 🙂
anyone know what reco people DO to the steering boxes?
*keeps plugging away*
let sleeping dubs lie
Check this out he had similar problem,damn nice photos too.
http://bugman.50megs.com/SummerPart3.html :thumb
theres a steering specialist that recoed the steering box on my crown a few years back and did a good job. I cant remember the name but they are in meadowbank just around the corner from MRT performance
Alternatively, I have a good tested second hand one I paid $90 for before discovering it was the steering uni joint that was stuffed. you can have it for what I paid for it if you like. 🙂
If it aint broke,
Make it go faster!!
thanks secoh, u have u2u
i had some specialists go over the front end, and the universal joint is sposed to be okay.... but then the same guys over tightened the crap out of my box🙁
any way to tell?
once it WAS mega tight tho, there didn't seem to be any play.. not that i could realllly tell cos i was too busy straining to turn the wheel to note that...
let sleeping dubs lie
Where abouts are you Peter?
Futue te ipsum!!!
my money is on the steering uni joints. spray some WD40 from under the car or spray grease all over the uni joints. if it changes the way it feels, then thats the problem. 🙂
If it aint broke,
Make it go faster!!
Peter Leonard wrote:i had some specialists go over the front end, and the universal joint is sposed to be okay.... but then the same guys over tightened the crap out of my box🙁
any way to tell? once it WAS mega tight tho, there didn't seem to be any play.. not that i could realllly tell cos i was too busy straining to turn the wheel to note that...
Thats half the problem... Experts on NON VWs... What was said earlier is how to tell how a box is OK when its out of the car... its simple - I have just had My box out of the car and its easy to feel if its OK... I also Agree that You should have a small portion of OIL plus Lithium grease in Your steering box... the grease will hold the oil in if the seal isn't too good... The Boxes MUST be adjusted at the straight ahead position ONLY... Go for a good used one Peter and make sure You can return it if its Not Perfect... Oil does make a difference.. but I put a mixture of Nulon & Oil in Mine...[on top of the lithium grease] I want mine to last forever...
:thumb:bounce:bounce:bounce:bounce:thumb
[Edited on 21-5-2003 by 68AutoBug]
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
In November 2003 VW trends there was an article on rebuilding your S bug steering box. They used a rebuild kit i guess from the states somewhere.
Vassy has that mag on loan so i cant check the details for you.
no info on where kits are left or right hand drive or both
Thats a nice site. Im looking for the bushes too, but for a Kombi box. I have a 'good' box with worn bushes that knock a little when I shake the wheel at standstill.
I remember a post from (I think) Splitbus himself about reconditioning bits rather than just replacing with less worn ones. Bits are getting harder and harder to get.
kkk
