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ok guys here it is.
Tilt steering swapover..
The*swap*was pretty simple to do and basically allows you to add the option to tilt your steering (approximately 1 inch) which may not seem like much and well what is the point you say, i would think it's to accomodate for different height drivers. me personally i have only found one benefit/deficit which is it blocks my speedo when it's low.
What you'll need:-
21mm socket and extension bar with rachet (steering wheel)
10mm socket or ring-spanner (steering wheel bar-brace)
12mm socket (steering wheel column nuts)
anyways, moving along.*
my mate and i decided to do this (thanks ben) as i had bought it and wanted it in as it was another "feature" to add to the beast.
- Firstly we removed the steering wheel by using a 21mm socket and extension.*
- With the steering wheel removed, there was the naked steering shaft with steering shroud covering the indicator and wiper sticks and just undid that with a standard Phillips head screwdriver (5 standard screws directly under the steeering wheel. 4 in my case due to a broken thread that has long been broken).*
- After that, the indicator and wiper stick needed to be removed. Behind the sticks there was a screw tightener (it was present on mine, so i'm not sure if this actually part of the setup or if it was added as a "precaution". once this was removed, the sticks basically slid off and there were also 4 cables to unplug also (all key-coded so you can't muck it up).
- The next part was the ignition "security" one-way bolts. i took the advice of a fellow festivian (search in forum 'one way nuts' and decided to go with the chisel and they undid with very little effort. We ended up replacing them with standard 12mm threaded bolts and cut some space to do them up with a ring spanner. once the bolts were removed, we removed the ignition barrel that was attached with a single phillips-head screw. once that was removed, the barrel simply slid out.
- Next, there are 5 bolts that need to be removed in order to remove the original shaft, which are located as follows:- 2 x at the firewall, 2 x at the top, just under the dash and 1 x for the steering shaft to connect to the steering knuckle (2x if you count the one connected to the steering rack) These, i'm pretty certain were 10mm nuts.
- Underneath the dash is also the steering column brace which simply unbolted with a 10mm (either that or it was 12mm) with 2 x nuts.
- After the brace was removed, the steering column simply dropped down and we removed it and went "shit, that was simple"
Now for the confusing and somewhat of a small heart-stopper until we worked it out. The tilt-column came from a US model festiva, which as you probably know is a left-hand drive car. my mate and i were perplexed as to why the new column sat about an inch to the left and would fit onto the steering knuckle at all. i said to him that "the new shaft came from a left-hand drive".. he looked at me and said "well there's your problem.. it's not going to fit mate." i was a bit disheartened for a small moment, then i came up with this bright idea.. i asked him if he had a vice and he said "why?" i said simply "twist the column a complete 180o.. i was in luck.. it worked.
we then fitted the new column and it fit like a glove, or so we thought. The forks that attach to the firewall were a little bit too short and i was perplexed as we checked them against the original and they were both the same length (well what i could compare) and he said to me to grind out a small amount (1-2mm).
after we grinded and filed the forks, we reattempted the fit again and voila, it worked. we were both pleased. also we noticed while we had the chance, the steering columns were a little bit different. the Australian shaft (the end that connects to the knuckle, was a little shorter on the 2nd part of the thread, the US was a little bit longer on the 2nd part of the shaft). we fitted the column anyway.
we worked in reverse and connected everything back up and tested the steering.. everything was ok except for the knuckle bolt that was rubbing against the firewall and making a slight "Grinding noise". i got my mate to push the firewall back towards the*engine*bay and it smoothed out 90% of the "grinding" as the other 10% is behind the knuckle which is unreachable.
The overall time for us to unfit and refit the new one was approx 4 hours (may have been due to the fact that we hadn't undertaken this sort of work before and the small amount of time the grinding and filing took as well.)
overall, it was kind of a buzzkill to find that the tilt was so miminal but so relieving to know it fits. however, it does hold the column up much stiffer to the dashboard and gives a better sense of strength, however this could be simply a noticeable thing of perception.
Tilt steering swapover..
The*swap*was pretty simple to do and basically allows you to add the option to tilt your steering (approximately 1 inch) which may not seem like much and well what is the point you say, i would think it's to accomodate for different height drivers. me personally i have only found one benefit/deficit which is it blocks my speedo when it's low.
What you'll need:-
21mm socket and extension bar with rachet (steering wheel)
10mm socket or ring-spanner (steering wheel bar-brace)
12mm socket (steering wheel column nuts)
anyways, moving along.*
my mate and i decided to do this (thanks ben) as i had bought it and wanted it in as it was another "feature" to add to the beast.
- Firstly we removed the steering wheel by using a 21mm socket and extension.*
- With the steering wheel removed, there was the naked steering shaft with steering shroud covering the indicator and wiper sticks and just undid that with a standard Phillips head screwdriver (5 standard screws directly under the steeering wheel. 4 in my case due to a broken thread that has long been broken).*
- After that, the indicator and wiper stick needed to be removed. Behind the sticks there was a screw tightener (it was present on mine, so i'm not sure if this actually part of the setup or if it was added as a "precaution". once this was removed, the sticks basically slid off and there were also 4 cables to unplug also (all key-coded so you can't muck it up).
- The next part was the ignition "security" one-way bolts. i took the advice of a fellow festivian (search in forum 'one way nuts' and decided to go with the chisel and they undid with very little effort. We ended up replacing them with standard 12mm threaded bolts and cut some space to do them up with a ring spanner. once the bolts were removed, we removed the ignition barrel that was attached with a single phillips-head screw. once that was removed, the barrel simply slid out.
- Next, there are 5 bolts that need to be removed in order to remove the original shaft, which are located as follows:- 2 x at the firewall, 2 x at the top, just under the dash and 1 x for the steering shaft to connect to the steering knuckle (2x if you count the one connected to the steering rack) These, i'm pretty certain were 10mm nuts.
- Underneath the dash is also the steering column brace which simply unbolted with a 10mm (either that or it was 12mm) with 2 x nuts.
- After the brace was removed, the steering column simply dropped down and we removed it and went "shit, that was simple"
Now for the confusing and somewhat of a small heart-stopper until we worked it out. The tilt-column came from a US model festiva, which as you probably know is a left-hand drive car. my mate and i were perplexed as to why the new column sat about an inch to the left and would fit onto the steering knuckle at all. i said to him that "the new shaft came from a left-hand drive".. he looked at me and said "well there's your problem.. it's not going to fit mate." i was a bit disheartened for a small moment, then i came up with this bright idea.. i asked him if he had a vice and he said "why?" i said simply "twist the column a complete 180o.. i was in luck.. it worked.
we then fitted the new column and it fit like a glove, or so we thought. The forks that attach to the firewall were a little bit too short and i was perplexed as we checked them against the original and they were both the same length (well what i could compare) and he said to me to grind out a small amount (1-2mm).
after we grinded and filed the forks, we reattempted the fit again and voila, it worked. we were both pleased. also we noticed while we had the chance, the steering columns were a little bit different. the Australian shaft (the end that connects to the knuckle, was a little shorter on the 2nd part of the thread, the US was a little bit longer on the 2nd part of the shaft). we fitted the column anyway.
we worked in reverse and connected everything back up and tested the steering.. everything was ok except for the knuckle bolt that was rubbing against the firewall and making a slight "Grinding noise". i got my mate to push the firewall back towards the*engine*bay and it smoothed out 90% of the "grinding" as the other 10% is behind the knuckle which is unreachable.
The overall time for us to unfit and refit the new one was approx 4 hours (may have been due to the fact that we hadn't undertaken this sort of work before and the small amount of time the grinding and filing took as well.)
overall, it was kind of a buzzkill to find that the tilt was so miminal but so relieving to know it fits. however, it does hold the column up much stiffer to the dashboard and gives a better sense of strength, however this could be simply a noticeable thing of perception.
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