Steering play?

[LLVWGL]

I rebuilt my front end on my 73 1303(early), including all of the bushings, tie rods, idler arm bushing, steering U-joints and rebuilt steering box, but I am still encountering a large amount of play at the wheel. I have adjusted the box repeatedly and got it into a driveable state (with bentley procedure). However i am still looking at 1-2.5" of play at the wheel. I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem? Has anyone else had good luck with a rebuilt steering box?
I have been under the car to check every component for play, and have isolated he problem to the box. If i dont figure this out I may just opt for a NEW steering box, or a R&P conversion.

Thanks,
Nick

[NO_H2O]

Have you ckecked the "U" joint on the steering shaft between the steering wheel and the steering box? I would think that there would be some kind of quality control on a rebuilt unit to make sure the lash could be adjusted out.
A R&P conversion would be a nice upgrade if you cant get it worked out. :agree:

[LLVWGL]

Yes, I have replaced the entire shaft, and it is very good. No play. I was looking around for R&P conversions, but it seems that because the steering shaft (with the U-joints) goes almost directly down to the driver's side inner fender, it would be pretty dificult to get it to move toward the center of the car where a R&P would go.

If anyone has a picture of a later R&P car steering mechanism, or a cut away showing the steering, that would help me get an idea how VW did it for the 75+ cars.


Thanks,

Nick