Steering Quick Release play

[ArielBob]

I have a little rotational play in my Atom 2 steering wheel that I narrowed down to the quick release (QR) mechanism.  The red QR part on the steering wheel is made by Woodward.  So I ordered a replacement.

The replacement came with the female red QR part that bolts to the wheel, and a male gold spline that bolts or welds to the column.  I took just the new red QR part and fit it over the existing male spline of my Atom 2.

Unfortunately, the play was still there.  So as a test, I took the new male spline and fit it into my old red QR, and there is no play.

This indicates to me that the gold male spline part on the Atom 2 steering column is the culprit, but it does not look replaceable to me.

I called Woodward and sent them a picture of the steering shaft and male spline on my Atom 2, and they claim that they did not make that part.  So Brammo must have either machined them themselves or got them from someone else.  Woodward thinks that maybe it was designed for a different vendor's Quick Release and would fit better if mated with the original vendor's female piece.  I asked them if they could just make me an "oversized" female QR part and they said no because the assembly has to be sold as a set to meet SFI 42.1 specifications.

As a temporary fix, I wrapped some teflon tape around the second set of splines.  Even though most of the teflon tape gets pushed off when I put the steering wheel on, enough stays behind between the teeth to eliminate most of the play.  But after about 5 quick releases, I have to replace the teflon tape.

So I have a couple questions:

1)  Should I be using a different brand Quick Release that fits the existing steering column male spline better?

2)  If Woodward is the correct brand, then how can I replace the old male spline with the new male spline?

Thanks!

[meladdo]

Dont mess about with steering - You need to remove the column and have the old spline removed and the new item welded in place - by a coded welder, please dont let "some guy" do it.

Always best to talk to the factory on things like this imho....

[John Scherrer]

May be different to UK as it's Ex Brammo US Spec ..

[silver]

[quote="ArielBob"]
I have a little rotational play in my Atom 2 steering wheel that I narrowed down to the quick release (QR) mechanism.  The red QR part on the steering wheel is made by Woodward.  So I ordered a replacement.

The replacement came with the female red QR part that bolts to the wheel, and a male gold spline that bolts or welds to the column.  I took just the new red QR part and fit it over the existing male spline of my Atom 2.

Unfortunately, the play was still there.  So as a test, I took the new male spline and fit it into my old red QR, and there is no play.

This indicates to me that the gold male spline part on the Atom 2 steering column is the culprit, but it does not look replaceable to me.

I called Woodward and sent them a picture of the steering shaft and male spline on my Atom 2, and they claim that they did not make that part.  So Brammo must have either machined them themselves or got them from someone else.  Woodward thinks that maybe it was designed for a different vendor's Quick Release and would fit better if mated with the original vendor's female piece.  I asked them if they could just make me an "oversized" female QR part and they said no because the assembly has to be sold as a set to meet SFI 42.1 specifications.

As a temporary fix, I wrapped some teflon tape around the second set of splines.  Even though most of the teflon tape gets pushed off when I put the steering wheel on, enough stays behind between the teeth to eliminate most of the play.  But after about 5 quick releases, I have to replace the teflon tape.

So I have a couple questions:

1)  Should I be using a different brand Quick Release that fits the existing steering column male spline better?

2)  If Woodward is the correct brand, then how can I replace the old male spline with the new male spline?

Thanks!
[/quote]

The common issue with Brammo atoms and maybe all atoms is they used a plastic bushing around the steering rack which allows play in the steering wheel, up, down, left, right or rotationally, it's all diff for each car.

A lot of us took that out and replaced it with a metal bushing, if you search on here for steering it should bring you to the right thread.

Here's a pic of the replacement bushing, it has to be sanded down by hand to fit inside the race, but all the info is in the thread.