Steering stabilizer question? (1 Viewer)

[mooker82]

So after getting my ignition unstuck I decided I would put my OME stabilizer on. Followed the instructions in the FAQ but no luck. Ive tried a pickle fork, gear puller, and a big hammer all with no luck. I think Im gonna have to get it torched off. This brings up my problem. I wont be able to mess with it again until Monday but need my GF has to use my car for a 3 hour trip. Some how when wacking away at it with a hammer i must have hit the thread and damaged it so that the nut no longer fits back on it. I put a cotter pin in the hole on the bolt that holds it on. Will this be sufficient or safe for the trip? I figure it would be ok since I can not get it to budge. Even if it does it will not fall off (it may rattle a bit)

 

[wb1948]

I could be 150% wrong, but I think you can safely drive your car with out a steering stabilizer, as long as you are accustomed to the difference. It just makes the steering not so jolty.

(This is just what I would hypothesize.)

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

correct. You do not NEED a steering stabilizer to drive safely. However the steering will be much more sensitive to input from the road. For example if you hit a curb, it is much more likely for the steering wheel to be ripped out of your hands as the wheels turn into the curb. I drove my old Jeep for 6 months with no steering stabilizer and it was fine, it will just handle a little differently.

I would be concerned about that cotter pin holding the stabilizer in place though if it were to come loose. I would put a wire tie or something around the body of the stabilizer to catch it in the event that it comes loose.

Ary

 

[mooker82]

The bolt that holds the stabilizer is in there goood...I mean stuck...the cotter pin would just act to stop the stabilizer body from falling off the bolt .....good suggestion on the wire to hold it in place...i will give it one more go at taking it loose with the pickle fork and if no luck just zip tie it up

 

[elmariachi]

The bolt that holds the stabilizer is in there goood...I mean stuck...the cotter pin would just act to stop the stabilizer body from falling off the bolt .....good suggestion on the wire to hold it in place...i will give it one more go at taking it loose with the pickle fork and if no luck just zip tie it up

Get the steel on the rod hot, not the bolt on the stabilizer stud. After you heat it up, hit the bar where the stud goes through, not the stabilizer stud. It'll pop out if you finally find the right spot, even without the pickle on it.

 

[Trapper]

When you try with the pickle fork again make sure you are using an adequate BFH to pound on it. I had to purchase a baby sledge hammer to remove mine. A couple of whacks to the pickle fork and it came right off. Regular hammer was useless - no mass.

 

[brent]

I might be wrong here but I thought that it was two tie-rod end types that held the stabilizer in place, if so rent /buy a tie-rod end puller from a Autozone what have you.........I tried a pickle fork and everything else I had in the box when I redid my front end but couldn't get it to go, the specialized puller about $20 worked in about 2 minutes............................please disregard if I am way off here

 

[alstaz]

I had a heck of a time with even with my pickle fork, I was about to give up for the night when I decided to use heat. 30 sec - 1 min later it basically fell out. My suggestion.... Use heat.

 

[corbs]

It took me 4 hours worth of beating with and without a pickle fork, a whole lot of PB, a gear puller and an air ratchet to get the damn thing off.

I actually didn't have a nut on the end (nor a cotter pin) on it for almost a year, it never moved the whole time.