Z4 Electric power steering motor - Removal

[RobManning]

Hi all,
I think my electric power steering motor has failed so am looking to remove and send off for test and refurb.

My question is, what's the easiest way to get the motor off myself? I've seen some people taking the who steering column out but I was hoping to avoid that.

My main questions are:

1) Can I leave the steering wheel + airbag on and loosen the column enough to twist it round to get to the motor torx bolts?
2) If I have to remove the steering wheel + airbag, can I loosen the column enough to twist it round to get to the motor torx bolts

or am I going to have to face the worst, remove steering wheel, airbag, and disconnect the column from the bottom end rack & pinion...

Is there a quick method??

Any help greatly appreciated please.

Thank you.

Rob.

[owm]

1) No. The steering wheel+airbag has to be removed together with the trim pieces because you will need to disconnect all wiring harnesses and gain access to the 4 upper steering column mounting bolts.

2) You will have to decouple the steering column from the universal joint in the engine bay and make sure the three wire connectors to the EPS is removed before rotating the column.

I used the guide here:
viewtopic.php?t=82880

I did not remove the steering column. I just rotated it 90 degrees so I could remove the EPS motor assembly out from the driver footwell area. I also removed the driver seat so I could lie down on my back whilst fiddling under the dash

[RobManning]

Fantastic thank you.

[RobManning]

Have got a long way through but now a bit stuck on getting the column out from the CV joint.

Are there any tips or tricks? Just can’t seem to get enough grip on the column within the engine bay and the cv joint end budge back.

Any help welcomed please!!

[raymond.harper]

When I removed this shaft, I disconnected it from the bottom, at the steering rack, and was able to pull it downwards with a bit of force.

[Spriteracer]

Just a thought - some columns have a machined depression where the bolt goes through the UJ. To pull the splines out you have to remove the bolt completely. Not sure if Zs have this but if they do it could be the reason the column won't pull out.

[RobManning]

Thank you, I thought of the bolt and I took it out this afternoon, but still no joy. Worth a try though, thanks.

And thanks for the tip underneath, if all else fails I’ll give that a go at the weekend.

Thank you.

[firebobby]

When my EPS failed, I only removed the motor and ECU from under the dashboard. I was able to drop the column enough to be able to do this. I didn't need to remove the column.
When the EPS failed, I lost assisted steering, the sports button and had a light on the dash. If this is your issue, you don't need to remove the whole thing.

[owm]

You have to loosen all 8 steering column mounting bolts behind the dash to provide some free play for you to separate the coupling. A good dose of spray lubricant will also help to make the job easier.

[RobManning]

Thanks all.

Firebobby: yes that’s exactly the same.

Have undone the two torx and managed to wiggle the motor off and out under the dash. It will be on its way to the ecu repair place first thing in the morning.

Thanks again everyone, great forum and great friendly support.

[firebobby]

Thanks all.

Firebobby: yes that’s exactly the same.

Have undone the two torx and managed to wiggle the motor off and out under the dash. It will be on its way to the ecu repair place first thing in the morning.

Thanks again everyone, great forum and great friendly support.

Thanks all.

Firebobby: yes that’s exactly the same.

Have undone the two torx and managed to wiggle the motor off and out under the dash. It will be on its way to the ecu repair place first thing in the morning.

Thanks again everyone, great forum and great friendly support.

Glad you got it removed, ECU testing where fantastic and kept me up to date through out. I managed to get a cheaper deal going through ebay.

[RobManning]

Thought I'd give a quick update and finish the thread, very annoying when things are left open.

Motor was sent off to ECUtesting (via Ebay, which is ££ cheaper than their website), they called me three times to keep me up to date, they found the fault, fixed it and its was back to me within 5 days.

Motor fitted last night, lots of scrapes on my hands as the "reassemble in reverse order" was not quite as easy as I expected, but am pleased to say it's in and seems to have fixed the issue.

So thanks again to everyone who commented, much appreciated.

[owm]

Did they state what went wrong in the ECU and what was replaced? I got pretty poor email service from ECUTesting although I put it down to the pandemic that wrecked havoc throughout 2020 so I wasn't too perturbed/concerned over it.

You are fortunate. I had to ship my unit halfway across the world twice and the time between removal and assembly was 7 months which meant I had a 'fun' time putting it all back together with my spotty memory

[firebobby]

They never say what they did, just that it has been repaired and has a warranty.
Glad that the eBay offer is still working.
Now you can enjoy the Z

[RobManning]

Hi owm,

It’s same as firebobby said, no explanation. It has a void sticker on the unit so if I tried to look it would void the warranty so guess I’ll never find out.