74 Super Beetle steering column

Did you check your local VW dealer to see if he can order you one? Or do you want used?

Does the Super Beetle have two, a lower one and an upper one? I think you are talking about the upper one that is near the turn signal switch. I want to say that they all are similar (Rabbits, Golfs, Beetles), except that some might be metal. (remember it has been a long time for me to retain this info) lol

later, dave

I'm fairly certain that the super does have two bearings, but you are correct that the one I am looking for is up at the top. I finally found the bearing, its an SKF bearing that took me 3 months to get, they had to ship the thing from europe. Only cost me 7 bucks. :) Then the plastic ring broke, I tried the dealer and got a courtesy "Get yourself bent" message from them, no surprise there. Then I checked with John @ aircooled since I got all my other front-end parts from him, and he doesn't have it either. I did find one place that says they do have it, but it lists for a 75-79 super beetle. It was 95 cents so I bought one to see if it will fit, I'll let everyone know when it arrives whether it will work or not.

As a side note, I called all the local(Phoenix AZ) Veedub places, they all know of the part but NOBODY has them. Wolfsburg west has the bearing -with- the plastic insert, but they want 45 bucks for it(!!).

I'll scrap the car before I pay 50 bucks for a bearing with a plastic ring in the middle.

Chris

Well if it is not the correct one, I think I should have a used one somewhere in my parts bins. I am sure others have them laying around too!

later, dave Reminder........ Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes. Frieda Norris

Okay here's the good news: The part that Bughaus sells

will fit as a replacement for the upper steering column bearing ring. Their part number is 175419341A, list price is a whopping 95 cents.

It's worth noting that this part is not an identical replacement to the original VW one. The original VW part has a large lip in the back that completely covers the rear of the bearing. It also has a smaller lip in front that kind of 'wraps around' the front of the inner bearing race. This new part does not have the same OD on the rear, it will not cover the open race in the rear of the bearing. It also does not have the lip in the front. In addition, it is slightly longer than the original part. However, I was able to install it by lightly coating the steering shaft with grease and then pushing the entire switch housing with bearing/ring over the shaft. All of the play is gone and it is still possible to use the plastic spacer in front of the bearing and then install your steering wheel, just at the VW Gods would have it.

The bearing itself is another item that I had a hard time tracking down. I finally got the superceded part number from SKF. What you want is a 409544 DB, and it is available from Kaman Industries

They don't stock it, and it has to be shipped from europe. It took me 6 weeks to get my hands on it, but the good news is they didn't charge me for shipping and total cost was about 7 bucks.

So, if you're a patient type you can get a new bearing and the plastic center ring for about 8 bucks. Or you can pay wolfsburg west 45 bucks. Or maybe John @ Aircooled would be so kind as to order a bunch of the bearings and rings and sell them together for less than 45 bucks :)

Chris