5 replies to this topic

[trwmini]

hi everyone, im a newby on here and would appreciate your advice, i'll try offer my experience where possible too

For 3 years now my big fat solid bar of a steering lock has kept joy riders off my mini, earlier this week however thugs tried to nick it, rather unsuccesfully. They got my steering wheel lock off with a big struggle, they must have put a massive amount of pressure on the steering column (to give you an idea, the steering wheel is now square). Anyway, luckily they only got 10 yrds down the road, when the ignition steering lock clicked on and they smashed into the kurb and ran off (idiots).

Anyway I've put my spare steerin wheel on and replaced broken window and the outer column as it needed a new iginition/steering lock, but i'm having issues with the column still.

my problem is that the steering column is now wobbly, because they have knackered the bracket that holds the outer column to the dash. is it this bracket that bears all the load of the column , or should the inner column be rigid anyway?? because with the outer column removed the inner column is free to pivot around, should this be the case? (i've repaced the pinch clamp bolt and nut at the bottom and tightened it right up)

That bracket seems like a nightmare to get at too, if it is the only thing securing the column, how do i replace it/tighten it up? the nuts seem impossible to get at please tell me they are locked and i dont have to get a spanner on them.

i'm also worried that they could have caused some more serious problems to the inner column or possibly the rack putting loads of pressure on it cant be good? ..steering seems to be ok, there arent any weird noises coming from it anyway, anything i should check?

i wish they hadnt have bothered lol
thanks

[Big_Adam]

Right, so the column wobbles. Like up and down play?

Could be the bushes are screwed, seeming as they made the steering wheel square (Hulk stealing mini's now!) then the bushes could have been destoryed. Or did you replace them?

[trwmini]

yeah, the hulk is about lol. i think an alarm is in order now.

the bushes seemed fine, the whole column has play from side to side and up and down, the upper bracket seems loose which i guess is the problem, but i was wondering if there is anything else that holds the column rigid like the inner column itself (should it stand up without the outer column proping it up?) or is the whole thing only supported by the bracket under the dash which fits onto the outer column. hope im making sense

[Big_Adam]

The way the steering column is made there isn;t anything to hold them together. Outer column is just a tube really with the inner column held in place with a plastic and felt bush.

You you got play up and down (I'm assuming you mean, grab the steering wheel and wiggle up and down not pulling) then its the bushes, the bottom felt one wears out fairly quick. If your getting play in and out (pulling the wheel towards self) then the bottom splines and clamp might have gotten a bit wrecked. Check the splines on the rack and in the column. Wouldn't think so tho as most of the force must have been on the steering wheels.

[Dan]

The outer column holds the inner column up, it has no ability to support itself on its own. You don't need the pinch bolt to be severely tightened, the actual presence of the bolt stops the column coming off the spline and the pinching action is only to take up the slop in the spline. Even if they did really wrench the thing about, the slight play in that joint should have saved the pinion. As they weren't actually steering the car while forcing the column about it is probably fine, it is only really when the steering is being turned that force on the rack can damage the pinion and spline. You should check that the rack is properly aligned still as if they have managed to rotate the rack around there will be load against the pinion still. When you removed the pinch bolt and the inner column from the pinion you should have been able to tell if the two were properly aligned to each other, if not you may need to rotate the rack some.

As for replacing the clamp, the two shear bolts on the clamp are threaded into a long nut plate placed inside the dash rail so a spanner isn't needed on the other side. The assembly clamps both the column clamp and the pedal box to the dash rail. There are some spacer components that you need to keep track of and put back in the correct sequence when re-assembling including a yellow steel safety plate. All parts are available but the nut plate and safety plate are hard to track down so hopefully they aren't damaged.

[trwmini]

ok, thanks for your replies. should be fairly simple to sort out then.. its nice to know the inner column and rack are ok.