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help with steering wheel

1K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  rigsby 
#1 ·
basically ive been trying to trace a knock i have coming from the steering wheel area.

ive fitted 2 new steering column's and has not cured the problem.

holding the wheel at 9 and 3 o clock and push up and down it clicks(not solid)and when pulling on to my drive there is a loud knock which comes from the steering wheel

when i fitted the last one i noticed that the steering wheel doesnt seat right on the column shaft- you push it on as far as it will go and it doesnt fit tight ie there is play, also on removing it, once i had undone the nut the wheel basically fell off:confused:
ive read lost of threads about using a wheel puller, hitting it with a hammer.

so in my mind ive replaced everything that it could be but the steering wheel

please help
 
#2 ·
I figure you have an OE steering shaft and OE wheel? So it's not an aftermarket MOMO wheel or boss or anything? And you are using a torque wrench to tighten the nut to the specified torque.

Is there any sign of the splines being stripped?

Perhaps you need to use a thin spacer (washer)? Either between the steering wheel and shaft, or for the nut?

:)
 
#3 · (Edited)
Last week I fitted a steering wheel off a 2005 156 to my 2003 156 and to my surprise, it didn't fit.

The problem was that the newer steering wheel had three 'master splines' (flats without grooves) in the centre hole. These did not fit over the splines of my steering column. My older steering wheel had no master splines - that is, it just had splines evenly-spaced all round.

I considered changing my steering column (as you have) but decided to modify the steering wheel instead by using a hacksaw blade to add three more splines. Then it pushed on. It wasn't actually very difficult in the end despite feeling like a horrible bodge at the time.

I wonder if you have the reverse situation of the steering column having master splines and your steering wheel not having those master splines. Maybe that explains why the steering wheel is not fitting on properly. I guess you have a different two options - get another steering wheel, or change the column back again.

I think the wheel centre is a magnesium alloy intended for impact absorbance - it seems an unusually soft material (easily cut with a hacksaw blade), so perhaps the nut worked loose and the wheel splines became chewed (as shiny_car asked).

As for the original knock - have you checked the column height adjuster clamp for cracks? Could be that a crack opens up only when it's tightened up (lever pushed up).

-Alex
 
#4 ·
thanks for your replys...........ive tried all the diffrent settings with the rake adjustments, plus fitted the whole unit the second time round(so its had two rake adjustments)

intresting what you say about the centre of the wheel being made of soft material, cause when i had the nut as tight as it will go, i pushed on the steering wheel and im sure were the centre spline is moulded to the wheel, im sure there was abit of movement, looked as though it had slightly cracked???

think i might try and drive up my drive without the wheel on:lol:as it cant be the column now, ive had effin 3:lol:

i will not be defeated
 
#5 ·
Good idea to test without the steering wheel in closely-controlled conditions...

Crikey - sounds pretty dangerous to have a cracked or stripped steering wheel doesn't it :lol: Must be well worth replacing that before it causes a nasty moment...

-Alex
 
#6 ·
right i managed to solve the clicking steering wheel with a large washer, but the knock is still there.

i think ive traced were it is coming from, right at the bottom of the steering column were its connected to the steering rack.

can anyone help me and do a little test for me

if you grab the very bottom of the column ( by the clutch pedal) and push pull on it mine knocks, its as if the rack or a joint is loose

does yours do this????
 
#8 ·
It's a shame that no-one else has replied - this forum can be a strange place, obviously dozens of active users...!

I went out and tugged, pushed, pulled on my steering column every which-way within the limited confines of the pedal box (even though I don't have a clutch pedal :)) and I can't produce a clonk. I think the next thing for you to do is to take out the pinch bolt and get the lower UJ (universal joint) off the rack. If it isn't a tight fit, try squeezing it in a vice to make it so. I find that sometimes on other cars the UJ becomes a tapered shape and just needs to be made parallel again.

-Alex
 
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