12 replies to this topic

[Jonty]

K this has happned befor i drive my car daily and after a long time the steering coloum at the bottom that gose to the steering rack seems to come loose and start to get alot of play in the steering i hvae tried tightening the pinch bolt and has made no difference this is the second steering colloum i have had it happen to this one i nicked of my dads mini if that made sense and have any ideas they would be appriciated ty

Jaik

[sledgehammer]

could be the bottom bush - can be felt or nylon depending on age

could also be worn splines on the rack pinion - less likely

be carefull with the pinch bolt - I would buy a new one , it's one of the most important bolts in the whole car

torque up correctly

[miniman24]

Have both the columns worn out where they attach to the rack, ie damaged splines? If so, it could be that the rack is meeting the column at the wrong angle and has damaged the splines inside the column, do you have a column drop bracket fitted?

[tiger99]

Please do not give incorrect advice. The problem is always due to the column being misaligned to the rack, and it is very dangerous, as the replacement column will always fail quite soon.

First of all, get rid of any steering column drop brackets, as almost every one of them lacks rigidity and will cause the problem.

The rack U bolts MUST be loose when fitting a new column, with a new pinch bolt, and only when that is tight can the U bolts be tightened.

Miniman, you are correct.

Edited by tiger99, 26 April 2012 - 06:52 PM.

[Jonty]

no i dont have a drop bracket fitted and it was a new bolt that i had put in since the first time it had happened

[Jonty]

just see ur post and i might have gone wrong with not loosening the rack u bolts :S

[sledgehammer]

Please do not give incorrect advice.

who was giving incorrect advice ?

Edited by sledgehammer, 26 April 2012 - 07:24 PM.

[tiger99]

You, because you missed what is always the actual cause of the problem completely.

I do get very concerned about this particular problem because it used to be a real killer, and as proper knowledge of how to install steering columns seems to have been forgotten, and we are seeing many instances of sheared splines on the forum, it is inevitable that someone is going to be killed again soon, if we don't take very great care to ensure that exactly correct advise is given.

[sledgehammer]

Nothing what I said was incorrect -

I gave 2 possibility's

one of which was worn splines on the pinion/column joint area - as you also suspect

the other was the lower bush - which often wears and gives the impression of loose column

both columns were second hand - and didn't have a drop link attached at the time of wear (as you suspected it did)

until you inspect the actual car - you have no clue

that is why my explanation was brief - and the possibilities accurate

I was not giving column fitting instructions - just possible causes of the problem - as was requested

Edited by sledgehammer, 26 April 2012 - 08:33 PM.

[tiger99]

99.99999% of the time, column spline problems are caused by incorrect fitting, which is why it is the most important thing to identify. A worn lower bush is unlikely to allow sufficient angular deflection to damage the splines, and it does not impair the steering significantly, but it will result in a rattling column. And, if the pinch bolt is loose, the column splines, not the harder rack pinion, are rapidly ruined, so your advice to tighten the pinch bolt, even fit a new one, is too little and too late.

[sledgehammer]

Easy Tiger

If you actually read my post - I didn't mention tightening the bolt the OP said he did

I just mentioned - 'be carefull with the pinch bolt - I would buy a new one , it's one of the most important bolts in the whole car'
and when he does - 'torque it correctly'

I didn't have time to write every steering column fault - I was under the car most of the night - just got out to make a cuppa and see the original post ,

If the internal splines are worn - then all advice is too late

and Ive replaced a rack - due to worn / corroded pinion splines (as well as column) - so they do wear / corrode

had the same fault on a triumph toledo - and that was a weak - (but original) pinch bolt - it needed a new rack

Ironically - Ive just removed the column on my project , and it was siezed solid , was a bugger to get off , but the splines look ok

another possibility is rack coming loose - the nylon packing piece crushes making the rack slightly loose

just because I havn't mentioned every possibility - it dosn't make me wrong

Edited by sledgehammer, 27 April 2012 - 01:34 PM.

[sledgehammer]

Anyway - back to OP -

did the rack move when you slackened / tightened it ?

and definitely no drop bracket on the column -

I wonder if previous owner fitted one correctly - then removed it and didn't realign the rack ?

and was there broken splines / iron filings on the pinion shaft / column end - and wear ?

a good blow out / around with an air line , and you should see better

what column did you use on your dads mini ?

Edited by sledgehammer, 27 April 2012 - 01:45 PM.

[jaydee]

To the OP:
I've seen so called professionals, or better, workers at specialist garages, doing this job not the proper way. Resulting in incorrectly fitted columns with slight play even with pinch bolt tight. You can spot this by wheel play and clicking noise while steering.
Best to have you car checked by someone who really knows about minis, this is a straight forward job if you have experience, but a novice can do more harm than good.