[Spridgets] I Lost my ability to steer

[Frank]

Peter Caldwell wrote:
> Pants-filling feeling, isn't it?
>
> I had it happen to me, but it was the pinch bolt at the lower end of 
> the column to the rack's pinion. The bolt fits in a groove in the 
> pinion shaft. The bolt pinches the split column tube with its splines 
> onto the pinion shaft which is also splined. The pinch bolt had worn 
> enough that  it allowed the column to pull out.
>
> Check those bolts! Better yet, replace them with a hardened bolt.
>
What Peter said!
Check that bolt at every oil change or twice a year.
And I mean check it. Not just look at it, put a wrench on it (7/16) make 
sure it's tight.
Pull it out once a year and look at it.
I know of a few Spridgets where this bolt came loose, it hits the frame 
and the car does not steer.



-- 
Frank Clarici
Toms River, NJ
My own Fleet of Sprites