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Title: Support Bearing for Steering Shaft
Problem: A street rod owner says that there is a squeaking noise coming from the center of the steering wheel as the steering wheel is turned. The driver indicated that when the street rod was run in a rain storm, the squeaking noise stopped for awhile, but then returned. The upper steering column was checked to make sure there were no lubrication problems. What could be the problem?
Solution: Often such a squeaking noise could be transmitted from the steering shafts in the engine compartment, directly up to the steering wheel. Possibly the sound is coming from the steering shafts, steering shaft U joints, or the support bearing used to secure the steering shafts. The easiest component to check is the support bearing, normally placed near the middle of the steering shafts. See arrow on photo. This support bearing is used where steering shafts make a slight turn before connecting to the rack and pinion gear box. In this particular vehicle the support bearing uses a swivel ball bearing as shown by the arrow in the photo. This is a photo of the bearing from under the vehicle, looking up. A small amount of grease was placed on the bearing swivel ball to make sure there was enough lubrication available. After checking, the driver noticed that the squeaking was completely gone. The reason the squeaking stopped after driving in the rain was that the water temporarily acted as a lubricant. Once the water dried, the squeaking came back and the support bearing still lacked adequate lubrication.
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Problem: A street rod owner says that there is a squeaking noise coming from the center of the steering wheel as the steering wheel is turned. The driver indicated that when the street rod was run in a rain storm, the squeaking noise stopped for awhile, but then returned. The upper steering column was checked to make sure there were no lubrication problems. What could be the problem?
Solution: Often such a squeaking noise could be transmitted from the steering shafts in the engine compartment, directly up to the steering wheel. Possibly the sound is coming from the steering shafts, steering shaft U joints, or the support bearing used to secure the steering shafts. The easiest component to check is the support bearing, normally placed near the middle of the steering shafts. See arrow on photo. This support bearing is used where steering shafts make a slight turn before connecting to the rack and pinion gear box. In this particular vehicle the support bearing uses a swivel ball bearing as shown by the arrow in the photo. This is a photo of the bearing from under the vehicle, looking up. A small amount of grease was placed on the bearing swivel ball to make sure there was enough lubrication available. After checking, the driver noticed that the squeaking was completely gone. The reason the squeaking stopped after driving in the rain was that the water temporarily acted as a lubricant. Once the water dried, the squeaking came back and the support bearing still lacked adequate lubrication.
Back to Troubleshooting Clinics
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