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1098696

The above is the rubber coupler between the steering shaft and the steering box.  Do most of your cars use a VW steering shaft/column/box?  And if so, do you have the rubber coupler installed to isolate the ground for the horn button?  I am trying to decide if I need to install a rubber/urethane coupler when building a steering shaft.

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  • 1098696
Alan Merklin posted:

Yes. The rubber absorbs some of the road , isolates ground for the horn, it also corrects for slight difference in column to steering box shaft alignment

Guess you could also use the knuckle joints used on later VW Super beetle and the Porsche 914 (see #1).  Late VW has a collision crush cage in the column but pre '68 uses a solid skewer you in the chest steel shaft.  

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  • mceclip0
Last edited by WOLFGANG
Lane Anderson posted:

I may have the whole assembly including slave saver and slave, Todd.  I’m out in San Diego (what the hell happened to the weather?!) on bid’ness but can check when I get back home.

That is kind of you.  And I already ordered the slave along with pedals and masters from Wilwood, and I ordered the slave saver from Amazon.  But, thanks for consideration.

Just curious, what did you use it on previously?

This morning it amazed me that everyone can travel at 65 mph during heavy rainfall without more accidents.  Last week, I was doing 70 when myself and the car in front me went through a puddle on the 405 in the fast lane.  Couldn't see a thing for about 3 seconds, and yet everyone just went straight and didn't panic; amazing.

The purpose of the slave saver is to align shaft movement precisely, so that the shaft has little or no side play, enabling the seals and washers to outlive their ungrateful installers. 

The brackets have various shapes, depending on the transmission type.  They usually bolt to the case and accept a heim joint for the true believers, who understand that a leaf falling from a tree in Baltimore affects the melting of the polar ice caps.

Now, I hope that answers your question, young Master Edward.

Last edited by Jim Kelly

 

Ed, thanks so much for asking this.

I was raised to believe that clutches should be worked by cables, that God gave us each a cable, and that cables can wander around a little as they do their work without causing any big problems.

Every once in a while, these dudes in white shirts and black ties come through our neighborhood, stopping at every house, and asking us if our clutch cylinders are saved.

I never know what to say.

 

I too am one of the great unwashed, struggling along with a mere cable (the horror) to engage my clutch. I know it's unduly simple for a man clearly drawn to Rube Goldberg solutions to elementary problems, but I guess I just never found the act of pushing on a pedal to be particularly taxing on my left leg.

Perhaps it is my desire to make straightforward considerations into complex conclusions at war with my higher order ape physiology. When one has a physique not unlike an orangutan, devising a more complicated way to pull a clutch doesn't really enter my sloped forehead. 

I promise to do better, and will be calling OK Go to help me engineer a more complex solution. 

 

Stan Galat posted:

I too am one of the great unwashed, struggling along with a mere cable (the horror) to engage my clutch. I know it's unduly simple for a man clearly drawn to Rube Goldberg solutions to elementary problems, but I guess I just never found the act of pushing on a pedal to be particularly taxing on my left leg.

Perhaps it is my desire to make straightforward considerations into complex conclusions at war with my higher order ape physiology. When one has a physique not unlike an orangutan, devising a more complicated way to pull a clutch doesn't really enter my sloped forehead. 

I promise to do better, and will be calling OK Go to help me engineer a more complex solution. 

 

I did not think of it being more complex.  I only saw that it was more expensive.  And so I thought it must be better.  And now that I reflect on my reasoning, I realize how dumb that rationale is.  Oh well, the parts arrived this evening, so I will use what I got.

WOLFGANG posted:

Guess you could also use the knuckle joints used on later VW Super beetle and the Porsche 914 (see #1).  Late VW has a collision crush cage in the column but pre '68 uses a solid skewer you in the chest steel shaft.  

Based on the location of the steering box, (not VW), I will have to use two u-joints/knuckle joints to position the steering column.  I am posting this because I want to know if there is any safety reason one can not use two knuckle/u-joints on a steering column?

Todd wrote: " I want to know if there is any safety reason one can not use two knuckle/u-joints on a steering column?"

Short answer - No.  But there's a yes involved, too.

Longer answer:  Sometime around 1972 and after car manufacturers started going to transverse (crosswise) engines in the front of cars, various governments started testing them for crash-worthiness and found that, on front impact, the engine would be forced rearward and often rotate, shoving the steering column straight back into the driver's chest and killing them.  This was especially true with the original Austin Mini.  That's what started the "crush cage" that VW went to on the beetle around 1968.

Other manufacturers used a shorter, centered steering column and an off-set steering rack and pinion, all connected by a short shaft with two universal joints, thereby providing for movement of the engine/transaxle/frame in case of frontal crash.  If you look closely at Wolfgang's photo just above, you can see how it works.  this method also allows for easier placement of the rack because it no longer needed to be directly inline with the steering column.

So, yes...  There is a safety issue with using two knuckles to connect the steering column to the rack.  It was done to improve driver safety in case of a frontal crash.  

It is currently the preferred method provided that the two shafts are off-set enough to never allow them to line up and become a spear in a crash. 

Gordon Nichols posted:

Todd wrote: " I want to know if there is any safety reason one can not use two knuckle/u-joints on a steering column?"

Short answer - No.  But there's a yes involved, too.

Longer answer:  Sometime around 1972 and after car manufacturers started going to transverse (crosswise) engines in the front of cars, various governments started testing them for crash-worthiness and found that, on front impact, the engine would be forced rearward and often rotate, shoving the steering column straight back into the driver's chest and killing them.  This was especially true with the original Austin Mini.  That's what started the "crush cage" that VW went to on the beetle around 1968.

Other manufacturers used a shorter, centered steering column and an off-set steering rack and pinion, all connected by a short shaft with two universal joints, thereby providing for movement of the engine/transaxle/frame in case of frontal crash.  If you look closely at Wolfgang's photo just above, you can see how it works.  this method also allows for easier placement of the rack because it no longer needed to be directly inline with the steering column.

So, yes...  There is a safety issue with using two knuckles to connect the steering column to the rack.  It was done to improve driver safety in case of a frontal crash.  

It is currently the preferred method provided that the two shafts are off-set enough to never allow them to line up and become a spear in a crash. 

Doggone THANKS!  Your explanation couldn't have been better with photos.  I understand exactly what you are saying.  And now I understand WHY the previous owner/builder planned on using 2 u-joints.  Unlike a VW or 356, the rack and pinion steering is located behind the centerline of the front wheels and close to the firewall.  The steering box is not on center with the steering column and the arm from the steering box is angled.

VW-CHROME-STEERING-BOX-AND-SHAFT-COUPLER-17-2584

Above is the VW steering coupler I purchased to isolate the ground for the horn.  It did not fit the u-joint I am using because there are 48 splines on the steering coupler and 36 splines on my u-joint.  Both are 5/8" in diameter.  I went looking for some way to go from 48 splines to 36 splines, but did not find anything.  I can't find anything else that is 5/8" in diameter with 48 splines.  In my search, I ran across a thread on "The Samba" where someone was saying that the splines are not supposed to be an exact fit, but rather the splines are there for friction.  Is this true?  I assumed that if you had 36 splines on the male end, you have to use 36 splines on the female end.

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  • VW-CHROME-STEERING-BOX-AND-SHAFT-COUPLER-17-2584

I concur with the Samba Dude.  While it would be nice to have them match spline count for spline count, when the clamping bolt is tightened to the proper torque (18 - 20 ft. lbs.) it clamps down on the splines, distorting them slightly and making a slip-proof connection.   You may have to spread the jaws open with a screw driver to get it on, then just assemble the clamping bolt according to Hoyle, making the bolt line up with the flat on the shaft.

edsnova posted:

Cable clutch all the way (until you flip the whole engine/transaxle thingie around and need a pulley for your clutch cable....). 

Thanks for the response, Jim. Maybe I'll dig out the bracket and install it.

Not really Ed, some trannies have a pull lever or a push lever so no need to have a pulley just use the right one. 

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