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Lower Steering Column Bearing?! Where to get one?

1K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  Saaby 
#1 ·
So i've made a few calls around and haven't had much luck. I'm looking for the lower bearing on the steering shaft. I'm really not sure how it failed but it was making it quite difficult to steer. Here's some pics hopefully someones had the same prob as me. Thanks



 
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#3 ·
you may be able to fix that up and down motion. Undo the plastic cover around the steering wheel. It comes apart in two halves. Under the wheel you can see some bolts which can be tightened, which should fix that up and down wobble. At least, it did for my car.
 
#4 ·
theres one bolt that keeps the shaft and everything tight and there are 3 screws that keep the assembly for the wipers/directionals tight and for mine both were a little bit loose so that could have been what caused the bearing to go or could have happened because i had to try so much harder to turn the steering wheel. who knows
 
#5 ·
vnv727 said:
you may be able to fix that up and down motion. Undo the plastic cover around the steering wheel. It comes apart in two halves. Under the wheel you can see some bolts which can be tightened, which should fix that up and down wobble. At least, it did for my car.
Do you mean the column and switch covers? If so I tightened the column bolt, that made it better but this is more like inside the column itself. If you pull the wheel toward you the play is gone, push it in and it's sloppy from top to bottom and side to side. Like I said it's like it is missing a washer or a shim. Either that or I have the same problem with a bearing. The Saab part number for the needle bearing in the housing in the pictures is 89 56 104. Hope that helps in your search. The bearing comes out of that housing.

BTW in 52 years of my life and over 40 of my own vehicles and dozens I have repaired I have NEVER seen a column bearing go out. Usually they can get dry, require lube and a shim and they are fine. Most I have seen like that are from tilt columns. As for the Saab I do not know, that's why I asked.
 
#7 ·
faceplant44 said:
So i've made a few calls around and haven't had much luck. I'm looking for the lower bearing on the steering shaft. I'm really not sure how it failed but it was making it quite difficult to steer. Here's some pics hopefully someones had the same prob as me. Thanks



I took my wrecked 94cs almost completely apart. I don't remember seeing this part.
 
#9 ·
I took the entire steering linkage apart from the steering wheel to the rack and pinion connection on two 94's in separate occasions. The first one is a 94cs. And a 94cde a few years later. I have not seen this part. Perhaps yours is a different model year?
 
#11 ·
faceplant44 said:
hmm, well i'm not really sure how much it changed but here's another picture of it's orientation.

The splined shaft definitely is the same. But I can't remember the bracket with the bushing. Maybe I am getting old. Then again maybe my memory held up well.
 
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