Broke steering column bolt

[mr_goat]

I HATE MYSELF at the moment

Found the steering column to have a lot of play both side to side and up and down after reinstalling. Found a few threads that covered the topic and the solution. Solution is apparently to pull the entire column towards you in order to get it to "clip" into place in the V-shaped holders, then tighten the bolts.

Did that, and when tightening the right bolt, it SNAPPED! My heart fell to the floor... Bottomless shame. I didn't even tighten it that hard, not even near anything that could even strip the bolt, but broke it right off! My column is hanging on loosely on just one bolt right now... Car is NOT fun to drive.

So two things:

1. Be careful when tightening these bolts
2. HELP??

The bolts appears to be welded to the steel beam behind the dash, which means I need to either replace the beam, or try to repair and weld a new bolt onto place. The beam is discontinued for 91-94's, are the newer one "bolt on" to older cars?

Some part numbers for the beam:

91-93: 61170-SL0-A00ZZ
95-01: 61170-SL0-A10ZZ
05: 61170-SL0-A12ZZ

Help anyone? :frown: #7 in the exploded view below (I think).

 

[Honcho]

That sucks Johan! Unforntuately, the steering column was one of the few areas I left alone during my refresh this year, but, if the bolt was not torqued that hard, you may be able to extract the stem with a screw exctractor drill bit. I would try that first before getting a new #7 beam. It may just spin right out. I broke a bolt on my spool valve a few years back and started to panic. But, when I got to it, I could spin the bolt stem out with my fingers!

 

[shawn110975]

+1 on Honcho

the bolt can be drilled and pushed thru, or pulled out but you can drill it and backwards pull it out.

I say the best would be drill it and the bolt will go totally thru to the other side and fall out. then get another 12mm bolt and be done.

use a drill bit a little less diameter than the 12mm and drill it completly thru during the drilling the bit will get stuck and it will screw the bolt thru to the other side. and you should have enough room to do it while the column is still in the car, if not you can just remove the whole thing and have plenty of room to drill it.

to take the steering column out would take about 30 minutes not hard at all.

good luck

 

[mr_goat]

Thanks for the replies guys! But I think the problem is a lot more complicated. The bolt itself is probably welded to the beam, and I broke a piece off using the nut. Kinda like this, I think (I haven't looked inside that "box" in order to see how it is all pieced together)



http://www.garaget.org/mypage/gallery_image.php?user=156291&image=1677361

If this is how it is configured, it's a dash-out- (again...) -beam out operation, and I have to cut the box open and then cut/grind the welds on the bolt in order to extract it. Then get a new one welded into place.

What do you think? Is it configured this way? Any other solution? :frown:

 

[UnhuZ]

Hi,

you got it right.... you overtight the nut and a piece of the thread came out inside the nut, right??

How long is the thread that is left there??

i had it happen in a friend NSX that had a side to side play and the solution i found was to weld 2 nuts, get one of them round on the outside and screw it in.

With this 2 welded nuts, you are able to use the rest of the threads left in the shorter bolt.

Did you understand?

Nuno

 

[mr_goat]

Hi,

you got it right.... you overtight the nut and a piece of the thread came out inside the nut, right??

How long is the thread that is left there??

i had it happen in a friend NSX that had a side to side play and the solution i found was to weld 2 nuts, get one of them round on the outside and screw it in.

With this 2 welded nuts, you are able to use the rest of the threads left in the shorter bolt.

Did you understand?

Nuno

Well, the threads on the bolt and nut are intact, not a sign of over torquing. The bolt just snapped into two pieces and I think I know why. I used an extension to get to the nut, and when torquing, it slightly bent a little, cracking the bolt and then... Hell... SNAP!

Not much left, but I think it is usable if I can weld some form of extension to the nut (like filed down nuts) and get it to work. Thanks for the tip! I'm gonna have a closer look this weekend. What is the material of the nut? Alu?

It should only be torqued to 16 Nm, which isn't alot. Less than the spark plugs.

Goddamn it I hate when these things happen! Mostly because it was my fault. Things that break due to normal wear is something that happens with cars and those things you just have to accept but this is SO UNNECESSARY! I'm stuck with driving with a loose steering column, making my DD Fiat, which truly is a terrible car, enjoyable in comparison.

Everyone with experience of this problem are more than welcome to share their solutions.

 

[syndicate]

This happened on LoveNSXs' NSX. I just drilled it out and tapped the new hole for a larger bolt and ran the bolt up from the bottom. You can also put a nut on the top side if you use an airsaw to cut the stud that broke. I wish i had some pics to show you. Good luck, but dont panic. This is fixable.

 

[brettowen]

I'm stuck with driving with a loose steering column, making my DD Fiat, which truly is a terrible car, enjoyable in comparison..

Not to get off topic but...I gotta ask. Is your DD a Fiat 500 or one from back in the day (124 Spider, X1/9, etc). I'm a sucker for old Fiats.

 

[mr_goat]

Fixed it!! :biggrin::biggrin:

Thanks to all people who responded with great tips, I could repair this quite simply.

The lump that remained had enough winds left on it and was usable. I got a extension nut, filed it down enough to fit in the hole on the steering column, screwed a bolt onto one end and used shims to adjust the length of the assembly and screwed it in.

Pulled the column as required and replaced the cracked plastic spacer at the bottom bracket and tightened everything. Now it's firm as i should be! Rock on! :smile:

My DD was a Fiat Punto -00, don't ever consider getting one. Crappiest car ever. Made my NSX feel godlike though