Jim:

You are right on the money. I had long discovered these worn
bushings but was afraid that they might be difficult to replace
by myself and it might need a wheel alignment afterwards. So
I have not had the gut to replace mine. I believe these worn
bushings are also responsible for slopy steering when driving
against head wind. Thanks a lot for the tip. I guess I will
order those bushings to replace mine soon.

David

--- On Thu, 9/3/09, Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> From: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: To those concerned with steering wheel sloppiness
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Date: Thursday, September 3, 2009, 6:27 PM
> I have over the years been all
> through my 83 vanagon steering (this
> said because I don't remember if later model vanagons have
> the same
> setup, I think they do) It has been wonderfully correct for
> some time
> but there was always an annoying bump where the wheels
> seemed free to
> roam over a rocky road while the steering wheel sat firmly
> in my
> hands, issuing complaint from somewhere below. On straight
> roads, the
> car floated imperceptibly, though was easily corrected by
> guiding the
> wheel.
>
> The problem was fixed in fifteen minutes with the
> replacement of the
> two rubber bushings that fit into the half of the steering
> column that
> comes up from the floor. You drop the upper shaft (no need
> to remove
> the wheel) and pull out the old bushing with pliers, then
> soap up the
> new bushings and press them in with your fingers.
>
> No more bumping sounds, no more slop.
>
> Jim
>