E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

wonkydonkey · Post by **wonkydonkey** » Sat May 12, 2018 8:25 pm

BB16 STU wrote: ↑Sat May 12, 2018 2:47 pm I am pleased to report another success story.

Fantastic news. I think a few of us are left feeling "I should've adjusted it a bit further" but once the initial grabbing has been dialled out, any further improvements are merely a bonus. Very happy for you!

b19rak · Post by **b19rak** » Fri May 18, 2018 8:45 pm

Managed to get the covers off and locate the screws/nuts. Haven't got the right spanner so waiting for it from ebay. I won't be able to walk tomorrow with all the bending i've being doing earlier. I'm dreading putting all the trim back on.

firebobby · Post by **firebobby** » Fri May 18, 2018 9:07 pm

b19rak wrote: ↑Fri May 18, 2018 8:45 pm Managed to get the covers off and locate the screws/nuts. Haven't got the right spanner so waiting for it from ebay. I won't be able to walk tomorrow with all the bending i've being doing earlier. I'm dreading putting all the trim back on.

You think removing the trim was bad, wait till you have spent time in the foot well, upside down for a while. I suffer with my back, but find that doing stretching exercises really helps before going into battle. Good luck

Ducklakeview · Post by **Ducklakeview** » Fri May 18, 2018 11:35 pm

Did the torque sensor connector repair on an E85 today, took about 2 hours but worked a treat.

Mike

LittleZ4 · Post by **LittleZ4** » Sun May 20, 2018 8:19 am

Definitely having a go at this, always thought the steering was a bit twitchy at speed. So just to clarify, head in the footwell looking up, it's an ACW adjustment........

firebobby · Post by **firebobby** » Sun May 20, 2018 8:50 am

Remove the under dash and I removed the lower steering wheel cowl too. Push your seat back as far as poss. I use a small 8mm socket and ratchet to undo the torx bolts

: IMG_1394.JPG (254.55 KiB) Viewed 1954 times

I also removed the 2 bolts that hol the steering column on, nearest the front torx bolt (nearest the driver) this I found gave me more room to get onto the torx bolt.

: IMG_1389.JPG (163.57 KiB) Viewed 1954 times

Also release the tension arm under the steering column and lower the steering wheel down.
Once you release the 2 torx bolts, you need to turn the ring, mark the ring and the column body before you do this, I used a marker pen. When laying on your back, you need to move the ring clockwise to make the steering lighter. Did mine yesterday and the car feels much more connected.

Joycey · Post by **Joycey** » Sun May 20, 2018 9:13 am

firebobby wrote: ↑Sun May 20, 2018 8:50 am Remove the under dash and I removed the lower steering wheel cowl too. Push your seat back as far as poss. I use a small 8mm socket and ratchet to undo the torx bolts
IMG_1394.JPG
I also removed the 2 bolts that hol the steering column on, nearest the front torx bolt (nearest the driver) this I found gave me more room to get onto the torx bolt.
IMG_1389.JPG
Also release the tension arm under the steering column and lower the steering wheel down.
Once you release the 2 torx bolts, you need to turn the ring, mark the ring and the column body before you do this, I used a marker pen. When laying on your back, you need to move the ring clockwise to make the steering lighter. Did mine yesterday and the car feels much more connected.

Niceone man, good to keep this thread alive so people can see its a simple fix.

wonkydonkey · Post by **wonkydonkey** » Sun May 20, 2018 9:17 am

Personally, all I removed was the one trim panel held on with three Philips head screws. This is the panel that slots into the bulkhead soundproofing/carpet down at the pedals. I didn't touch any bolts apart from loosening the two Torx bolts.

wonkydonkey wrote: ↑Tue May 08, 2018 8:14 pm All you have to do is push your seat right back, adjust the steering wheel towards the driver as far as possible and as low as possible and an 8 mm ringkey spanner drops onto the two star drive clamping bolts.

b19rak · Post by **b19rak** » Mon May 21, 2018 3:40 pm

After much bending and flexing i've got it done. The bolt at the front is pretty easy to get to with an 8mm socket and small extension. The one at the back is a little b*stard and requires being on your back in the footwell in crab formation. I found that a previous owner has already done this as pencil marks showed it had been moved about 5mm. I did another 7mm. The ring was tight so i had to use a screwdriver and hammer to tap it CW. Has made a really positive difference straight away. The steering feels nice and positive now but a little floaty at higher speeds. Not sure if i should tighten a bit more or leave it. What do you guys think?

MACK · Post by **MACK** » Mon May 21, 2018 4:22 pm

b19rak wrote: ↑Mon May 21, 2018 3:40 pm After much bending and flexing i've got it done. The bolt at the front is pretty easy to get to with an 8mm socket and small extension. The one at the back is a little b*stard and requires being on your back in the footwell in crab formation. I found that a previous owner has already done this as pencil marks showed it had been moved about 5mm. I did another 7mm. The ring was tight so i had to use a screwdriver and hammer to tap it CW. Has made a really positive difference straight away. The steering feels nice and positive now but a little floaty at higher speeds. Not sure if i should tighten a bit more or leave it. What do you guys think?

It might be worth backing it of 2-3mm just to see if its better at speed. Personally I know it would do my head in if I didn't try it to see if made all the difference.

b19rak · Post by **b19rak** » Mon May 21, 2018 8:09 pm

MACK wrote: ↑Mon May 21, 2018 4:22 pm
b19rak wrote: ↑Mon May 21, 2018 3:40 pm After much bending and flexing i've got it done. The bolt at the front is pretty easy to get to with an 8mm socket and small extension. The one at the back is a little b*stard and requires being on your back in the footwell in crab formation. I found that a previous owner has already done this as pencil marks showed it had been moved about 5mm. I did another 7mm. The ring was tight so i had to use a screwdriver and hammer to tap it CW. Has made a really positive difference straight away. The steering feels nice and positive now but a little floaty at higher speeds. Not sure if i should tighten a bit more or leave it. What do you guys think?
It might be worth backing it of 2-3mm just to see if its better at speed. Personally I know it would do my head in if I didn't try it to see if made all the difference.

Thanks for the reply. When you say backing it off do you mean move it back 2-3mm? Wouldn't the looseness i had before come back?

wonkydonkey · Post by **wonkydonkey** » Mon May 21, 2018 8:17 pm

b19rak He meant adjust it back 2-3 mm, as in, rotate it 2-3 mm in the opposite direction to your original 7 mm adjustment

MACK · Post by **MACK** » Mon May 21, 2018 8:43 pm

wonkydonkey wrote: ↑Mon May 21, 2018 8:17 pm b19rak He meant adjust it back 2-3 mm, as in, rotate it 2-3 mm in the opposite direction to your original 7 mm adjustment

wonkydonkey · Post by **wonkydonkey** » Tue May 22, 2018 7:18 pm

Well my steering didn't enjoy baking in 25 °C heat all day today, so it seems my adjustments haven't removed the issue. Guess I'll be employing the column drilling/greasing strategy as well when I can get round to it

Edit: I have since found that I had adjusted the wrong way. Looking up from the footwell (RHD car), rotating the adjustor anticlockwise makes the steering tighter, clockwise makes it looser. Some descriptions in this thread may be back-to-front.

b19rak · Post by **b19rak** » Wed May 23, 2018 10:58 pm

After a good motorway trip today I decided to leave as it is. It's so much better before. Quite happy with it. It did have a funny turn though today, started the engine and the steering lost all power assistance. Turned the engine off/on and it was fine again.

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