AW11 MR2 Steering column clamp

thingiverse

The intermediate shaft of the steering column on AW11 MR2s was designed as two pieces that are held together by a rubber bushing. After 30+ years (or in my case a quick ratio steering rack install) the rubber bushing disintegrates and you are left with mushy or loose steering. The common solution to this issue is to weld the shafts together, but there are mixed messages about this making disassembly of the steering column harder in the future. I was also out of gas for my TIG, so I designed this clamp to fit around the two shafts and hold them in alignment. The two halves are just bolted together with some 1/4-20 bolts with lock nuts. One side of the two pieces should meet flat together, and the other has a small gap in an effort to make fit up a little easier, and perhaps provide a little bit of preload. This has been working pretty well so far, and while I haven't done much aggressive driving, I also have driven it in Brooklyn on our terrible roads with sticky tires and a Quaife quick ratio rack and pinion.