[DML] play in the steering gone...cheap

["Elvis Nocita" <elvisnocita@xxxxxx>]

I had this play in the steering for several years now,
it wasn't that bad so I decided to wait until I had some
money left for it or until I found another solution to fix it.

2 weeks ago I found a U-joint that looked very similar to
the lower one we have one our cars. One side fit - it fit
on both ends - steering rack and steering column.
All I needed was something to connect two of theses U-joints
to each other. Here's what me and some other German guys found
and installed:


U-Joints that fit our cars:

Ford Fiesta 3 or Ford Ka, 7257202 or 89FB3B734A2D

See ebay # 350177503589
or 270337033536
or just look for "kreuzgelenk fiesta", I am not sure if these cars
were sold in the US, but you see that these parts are cheap as dirt !
Original parts from Ford are around 30 Euros, those have better seals.

You need two of those U-Joints and a 280mm long 17mm hexagon bar
(is this the correct name ?) 

Pics:
http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/6299/img0238m.jpg
http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/3485/img0240lmo.jpg
http://img38.imageshack.us/i/657701.jpg/
http://img38.imageshack.us/i/setm.jpg/


source for the bar (just as an example):

http://cgi.ebay.de/Edelstahl-Sechskant-1-4305-DIN-176-SW-17-mm-Zuschnitt_W0Q
QitemZ350162226634QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRohstoffe_Materialien?hash=item51874b8d
ca&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1229|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318
|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50


We had to grind down the edges of the bar to make them 
fit in the U-Joints, but this was no problem. 

I paid 4 Euros for the 280mm (11") stainless steel bar,
and around 25Euros for the two U-Joints including shipping,
I had black paint at home...
15-30 minutes to make the bar fit / grind down the edges and
paint it black.
(the original Ford part was harder to fit, the aftermarket 
parts were done in 5 minutes.)

I'm not sure if theses joints are available in the US,
but compare less than 50$ to the prices you saw so far.

3-5 cars are already equipped with it here in Germany, including
mine. Yes it is a difference when the play is gone :-)

Let me know if you need more details.

Elvis & 6548 




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