Steering hub splines too loose

[philrock]

The splines on the steering wheel hub and shaft on my Hartman are too loose. I put on a new hub and it was better at first, but after 5 or 10 laps it got loose again. Tightening the 1/2-20 nut does not help - it just gets loose again. There's really not much to tighten the nut against.

I'm thinking green Loctite would firm up the connection real nice, but make it almost impossible to take apart. Can anyone think of a way to get the Loctite to fill the gaps, but not adhere to the surfaces?

Back in the day, we used a steering shaft and hub with a tapered fit and a Woodruff key. Is this still available? I don't see it on my suppliers' web sites.

[Rob Voska]

Taper & key were outlawed. Azusa sells blank shafts so you can start from new.

[Jeff Brown]

Do you have a slot below the spline with a snap ring in it?

[philrock]

Rob, do you know why taper and key were outlawed? Seems to me like a more secure setup.

Jeff, there's a snap ring groove below the splines, but it's in bad shape. I tried the snap ring, but it just got pushed out of the groove when I tightened the nut.

[robert jackson]

phil, in the past we have taken a one piece shaft collor with a set screw-drilled a second screw on the opposite side so it has two set screws and install it around the area below the steering hub-then install the hub then the nut.you should have enough room on the hartman............hope this helps bo

[Rob Voska]

Not sure, but think it was because they could not prove there was a key in place. With the spline there was no choice in the matter.

I've made a spacer washer and pushed the hub down past the spline a little to start in on the round part of the shaft. It tightens up and seemed to work fine. Don't tighten so tight you split the hub.

[mike branham]

we always leave our hubs a bit loose, takes a lot of the fatiquing vibration out of your arms.

[Clifford Bliffert]

And a through bolt was deemed illegal because?

[philrock]

Clifford,

Not sure where your comment about through bolts came from. Through bolts are not mentioned anywhere else in this thread.

Through bolts and a 3/4" or 20 mm tubular shaft are the standard on modern karts, and I think they work fine. My steering shaft is 5/8" solid, and I think a hole for a 1/4" bolt would weaken it too much.

[Clifford Bliffert]

Back in the day, the Xterminator used a through bolt, just like modern karts. These were outlawed, just like the tapered shaft with key, in favor of the splined shaft, which seemed to always come loose. It just seemed unsafe if the bub can crack, or the whole thing can slide down the shaft in a collision.