Does that mean removing the serpentine belt and just spinning the PS pump by hand? Probably should right?
Progress Thread Komo's 1990 GT - Parts Gathering Purgatory & Home Remodel
- Thread starter gkomo
- Start date
Got the upper shaft nut/bolt off tonight (and fiddled with the louvers some more). It was a game of wrench Tetris doing it by yourself. ‘Broke’ it loose with a breaker bar even though both bolt and nut spun together. Then ended up using one socket on top and wedged the handle next to the firewall, crawled under the car and used another with 2 extensions to loosen the nut while the top socket kept the bolt from spinning.
Shaft wouldn’t slide out with my hand strength so I’m preparing for a fight with that. Left it soaking in penetrating oil and maybe will try again tomorrow.
Super bummed about MM just because I have Monday off, but my kid has school and wife works (which is like twice a year rare!)… could have been a whole day of wrenching but not much I can do without that shaft.
Shaft wouldn’t slide out with my hand strength so I’m preparing for a fight with that. Left it soaking in penetrating oil and maybe will try again tomorrow.
Super bummed about MM just because I have Monday off, but my kid has school and wife works (which is like twice a year rare!)… could have been a whole day of wrenching but not much I can do without that shaft.
There is a CT in the last sentence.
Any tips/tricks to separate the upper shaft from the shaft that goes through the firewall? I’ve been trying to separate the two and it seems to just be pulling the shaft out of the firewall? It’s still connected thankfully when I turn the shaft the steering wheel still turns but I really don’t want it to get disconnected.
All that cleaner gray looking area used to be up inside the car…?
All that cleaner gray looking area used to be up inside the car…?
This is gonna sound ridiculous,but I tied a 3# sledge with some paracord to mine and literally threw the sledge to dislodge it. YRMV
I guess what I’m asking is whether I use a pry bar or slide hammer or anything else, how do I prevent the shaft coming out of the firewall to not keep coming out? I really don’t want to have to mess with the interior side of the column.
I will tap tap tap the connection point and keep trying to separate the two pieces while trying to keep that firewall shaft from coming out any further.
I will tap tap tap the connection point and keep trying to separate the two pieces while trying to keep that firewall shaft from coming out any further.
Knock it back in and clamp a set of vise grips on the steering shaft on the inside of the car as close to the firewall as you can. I did this on both cars and then just tapped the old rag joint shaft out of it. Disassembling the rag joint seemed to help from what I remember. Just made a more room and gave me something to do while I cussed the whole car.
You also need to restrain the steering wheel from turning as it will fubar the clockspring if you do not and it turns to many times.
You also need to restrain the steering wheel from turning as it will fubar the clockspring if you do not and it turns to many times.
Ok great I didn’t know if the interior side of the column was readily accessible. I have the wheel tied down currently so I won’t move on its own.
Ok got that F’r out!
@AeroCoupe your suggestions worked flawlessly. When I hammered both the intermediate shaft (which is still connected to the column) rearward to push the column back in, I think that really broke loose the intermediate shaft connection. I actually pushed the intermediate shaft too far up where the set screw hole almost disappeared inward (another problem that I had to overcome). Then I used vice grips on the inside of the car to hold the column, then pry bar’d the intermediate shaft off. Took a few tries of what I just described but that’s how it worked.
For anyone wondering a good place to hammer your column shaft back up into the cabin, this angle worked really well with like a 2 foot crow bar:
I’m laying on my back with my head under the battery area looking rearward towards the column shaft. Just snaked the crow bar through there then hammered away.
@AeroCoupe your suggestions worked flawlessly. When I hammered both the intermediate shaft (which is still connected to the column) rearward to push the column back in, I think that really broke loose the intermediate shaft connection. I actually pushed the intermediate shaft too far up where the set screw hole almost disappeared inward (another problem that I had to overcome). Then I used vice grips on the inside of the car to hold the column, then pry bar’d the intermediate shaft off. Took a few tries of what I just described but that’s how it worked.
For anyone wondering a good place to hammer your column shaft back up into the cabin, this angle worked really well with like a 2 foot crow bar:
I’m laying on my back with my head under the battery area looking rearward towards the column shaft. Just snaked the crow bar through there then hammered away.
Well, tried calling MM a few different times and could never get through.
I'm on like day 15 of the previous "7-10 days all ready to ship" status update i last received. The POC is still emailing me but I've lost all confidence in him. First it was "checking on it" last Friday, yesterday was "let me look into this"... like bro, you are a small shop, walk out to the production floor and get back to me in 15 minutes, what is the issue here.
I think what's frustrating is this is basically what I do for work (Program Manager) so it's boggling my mind how someone / a business can operate like this.
I'm on like day 15 of the previous "7-10 days all ready to ship" status update i last received. The POC is still emailing me but I've lost all confidence in him. First it was "checking on it" last Friday, yesterday was "let me look into this"... like bro, you are a small shop, walk out to the production floor and get back to me in 15 minutes, what is the issue here.
I think what's frustrating is this is basically what I do for work (Program Manager) so it's boggling my mind how someone / a business can operate like this.
I was thinking the same thing. Someone like LMR orders 100 and they could care less what I want. TBH honest moving forward i will just order from LMR, their prices match MM's website pricing anyways and both provide free shipping on orders over a certain amount.
To be fair, even LMR has these steering shafts listed as out of stock.
Just give me a damn accurate status update, that's all i ask. Tell me its going to be 2 months if thats what it is. Dont string me along "a few days", "7-10 days", "by the end of the week", etc. Drives me crazy.
A Kmember brace ordered on 7/1/25 and "is going out to powder coating" on 8/1/25 is still no where to be found. Unacceptable.
Just give me a damn accurate status update, that's all i ask. Tell me its going to be 2 months if thats what it is. Dont string me along "a few days", "7-10 days", "by the end of the week", etc. Drives me crazy.
A Kmember brace ordered on 7/1/25 and "is going out to powder coating" on 8/1/25 is still no where to be found. Unacceptable.
Well i went the backdoor way of trying to find out since MM isn't being helpful at all. I emailed LMR asking if they had any indication of when the hybrid shafts would be available (to purchase from them). What do you know, same day i get a response from LMR:
"I spoke with Maximum Motorsports Representative and we should actually have them sooner than the expected ETA of November 5th. He estimated they should be available on October 31st"
Never once have i heard November 5th or October 31st... glad they provide real updates to the big dogs.
So, now i can hopefully expect to receive the shaft just in time for child #2 to be born and have even more limited time to work on it!
"I spoke with Maximum Motorsports Representative and we should actually have them sooner than the expected ETA of November 5th. He estimated they should be available on October 31st"
Never once have i heard November 5th or October 31st... glad they provide real updates to the big dogs.
So, now i can hopefully expect to receive the shaft just in time for child #2 to be born and have even more limited time to work on it!
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