Hi, I am new to this site. I have a 2001 Sebring convertible. I am in process of replacing the rack and pinion on it. The store manual says to remove the steering intermediate shaft pinch bolt at the bottom of steering column. Convertible is supposed to have a nut and bolt. Mine, a convertible, has just the bolt. It is difficult to get to the head, to unscrew it What I am wondering is what tool do I use to get the bolt loose? The head looks like it takes a torx or allen wrench. I have tried both, but nothing has worked. Any help is greatly appreciated as I am trying to finish everything tomorrow. Wow, these cars are amazing. This car was hit 6 years ago and sat. After 6 years, tank cleaning, new fuel pump, gas, and banrand ran perfect. Sent it to the body shop for a gorgeousnew red paint job and now replacing rubber parts and suspension parts and with only 110,000 miles it is like having a new car. The engineering was really good. The only thing I keep the oil changed and Rislone in the crankcase so as not to develop sludge. Thanks for the help and sorry for the long post. George3405

 

The Chrysler shop manual shows this operation being performed from inside the car but shows only a bolt, no nut. It gives no detail about the nature of the head of the bolt or what tool is required. You might be able to go to a dealership and ask the parts guy if he has or can get a pinch bolt so you can get a good look at it and figure out what kind of tool will be required. Maybe you can use a small mirror to get a better look at it in place. If it's an allen wrench, it will be a metric size. Make sure your allen wrenches are metric and not SAE sizes.

 

Ok, I am going to answer my own question. The way to remove the pinch bolt for the steering intermediate shaft to the rack and pinion gear is by using a Torx T40 bit that will fit into the head of the bolt. Because of the grommet and flooring you have to angle the torx bit into the head of the bolt and make sure it is fully seated. The torx bit had a small 1/4" shaft which I put in a 1/4" socket that was also 1/4" drive. Then used an adapter to bring it up to use a 3/8" ratched. The bolt is supposed to be torqued to 32 foot pound so you need the 3/8" ratchet to break it loose. Also, I am in the process of replacing the rack & pinion, as well as the ball joints, upper/lower control arms, hub bearings, and outer tie rod ends. It is a time consuming job, but not that hard to do. I did not think I would be able to do this job, but here I am. For the most part, the '01 Sebring convertible was engineered with a lot of good common sense. I really like this car! I hope this will be of help to others. If you have any questions in the future, contact me and I will try to answer questions. Thanks, George3405

 

Hey Geroge3405. I'm doing what appears to be the same job on my sebring conv. The steering's intermediate shaft is bad. I think it's rusted out on thew inside of it. So what I'm wanting to do is remove and replace it with one from the pull a part place here where I live.

Did you have a pin with a cotter pin at the end of it? Or was yours the other style, if you know what I mean?

I know this is an older thread, just trying to jog georges memory a little or get ANY new guidance with the intermediate shaft replacement. Mine is the 00 sebring conv. I think nthe 98's and earlier are different. Those have the pin with the cotter pin in the end of it. The newer style shafts dont have that cotter pin, I think anyway(99, 00, and up)

Thanks for any guidance/advice here!

 

As I remember there was no cotter pin. I had to buy a short torx bit and use a 1/4 inch drive ratchet and appropriate socket I do not remember the torx size, but I think I bought a set of torx bits at Autozone for about $10. It is a challenge to get the bolt out as it is so close to the firewall and is in there really tight. I may have pulled back the carpet to get more room. I hope this helps and let me know how it goes or you need more help. George

 

I just saw my original post which describes using a T40 bit with 1/4" drive socket adapted up to 3/8" ratchet to get leverage cause the bolt is torqued in tight. To get more space remove steering column back out of the way. Disregard the post I sent before this post. Thanks, George