Steering shaft coupler replacement.

The steering coupler is a flexible rubber disc fitted between the lower end of the steering shaft, and the shaft of the steering box on the front beam. The steering in my Ghia had developed a stiff spot on return from a left turn of the front wheels. When reversing out on to the street a little while ago, a section of the coupler was left on the driveway. The original coupler had split and was catching on the tie rod ends until it tore off completely.
Replacement is easy and straight forward.

New coupler from CVD





The section that fell out on the driveway







Original coupler removed



I felt that the job would be easily done with the fuel tank removed. With the front hood up, the fuel tank can be easily accessed. Remove the wire from the fuel sender on the top of the tank.

Fuel sender and fuel gauge wire

 There are four brackets holding the fuel tank in place. Remove all four.

Fuel tank bracket and bolt.

 Lift the front edge of the fuel tank and look underneath it. You will see the fuel feed line coming from the bottom of the tank and passing through the chassis. Remove this fuel line from the bottom of the tank. This is best done with an empty fuel tank, mine was about 1/2 full but still light enough to be lifted out by one person. Some workshop manuals mention a tap situated on the bottom of the tank. If you have one, turn it to the off position, and disconnect the fuel feed line from the tap, leaving the tap connected to the tank. This vehicle had no tap, so a finger was placed over the end of the hard fuel line coming out of the bottom of the tank to prevent unnecessary fuel spillage until tank was out and the hard fuel line could be blocked.

Fuel feed line from fuel tank

With fuel feed line disconnected, remove the fuel tank from the vehicle. I stood my tank up on one end against the fence, this prevented any further fuel spillage. Removal of the tank is easier with 2 people, one either side, but can be done solo, with care. This gives you clear access to the steering box and steering shaft coupler, tie rods and brake master cylinder. 

Broken steering coupler

There are 4 bolts attaching the steering shaft and the steering box through the coupler. Each bolt has a split pin passing though the bolt, securing the nut. Carefully remove each split pin as these pins will need to go back in again. Alternatively, replace with new pins and/or bolts. Remove the four bolts from the coupling assembly.

Split pins in coupler bolts

With the bolts and original coupler removed, the steering shaft can be slid up and away from the steering box. Position the replacement coupling on the steering box and loosely fit 2 bolts. Slide the steering shaft down, and position it on the remaining empty bolt holes on the coupler. Loosely fit remaining bolts.

Tighten all 4 bolts evenly. Insert split pins through nut/bolt end. The nuts will need to be turned until access can be gained to the holes through the bolts. Splay out the ends of the split pins. This secures the nut on the bolt and prevents the nuts from coming loose.

Be sure to reattach the steering shaft grounding wire from the shaft to a bolt in contact with the steering box. (Pictures show that I had this wire on the wrong bolt, so had to redo that bit !! Too busy talking vw's with our postman!!)



Replacement coupler fitted

Reassembly is a reverse of the above procedure.

Be sure that all bolts are tight, that anything you have disconnected has been reconnected.

Place fuel tank in to vehicle. Lift front edge of tank and reconnect fuel feed line. If you have turned a tap to the off position, be sure to turn it on again.
Replace all 4 fuel tank brackets and bolts and tighten evenly.
Replace fuel sender wire to top of fuel tank.
Job done!!

If this post has been useful, let me know by leaving a comment below.