Power steering light

[enuff_zed]

I've given up on mine, the new used column I got has sticky steering so I'm weighing up scrapping the thing or putting hydraulic steering in. The amound of posts that have appeared in the last year or two on this topic shows these cars have a BIG problem with this, and it's only going to get worse.

About £600 to send your complete column, with motor, to BBA Reman for a complete overhaul with lifetime warranty. But their turn-round time is 3-4 weeks atm!

In the OP's case it is an EPS ECU fail though, not sticky steering.

[thecremeegg]

I've given up on mine, the new used column I got has sticky steering so I'm weighing up scrapping the thing or putting hydraulic steering in. The amound of posts that have appeared in the last year or two on this topic shows these cars have a BIG problem with this, and it's only going to get worse.

About £600 to send your complete column, with motor, to BBA Reman for a complete overhaul with lifetime warranty. But their turn-round time is 3-4 weeks atm!

In the OP's case it is an EPS ECU fail though, not sticky steering.

For £600 I can get all the parts for Hydraulic steering and won't have to deal with this crap again. I can't be doing with risking another repair that doesn't work OP's column is starting to fail, it's just a matter of time sadly.

[enuff_zed]

I've given up on mine, the new used column I got has sticky steering so I'm weighing up scrapping the thing or putting hydraulic steering in. The amound of posts that have appeared in the last year or two on this topic shows these cars have a BIG problem with this, and it's only going to get worse.

About £600 to send your complete column, with motor, to BBA Reman for a complete overhaul with lifetime warranty. But their turn-round time is 3-4 weeks atm!

In the OP's case it is an EPS ECU fail though, not sticky steering.

For £600 I can get all the parts for Hydraulic steering and won't have to deal with this crap again. OP's column is starting to fail, it's just a matter of time sadly.

The motor ecu is not actually part of the column though. It is an issue with cheap components within that ecu failing.
I don’t see how this can be construed as the column starting to fail?

[Joez4]

Quick update I've managed to get the motor out of the car I thought the hard bit would be getting the two bolts undone but it was actually unscrewing them whilst lose, took me a long time especially the one nearest to the steering wheel, couldn't get anything on that bar two small screwdrivers one to tension the bolt and the other to turn it, similar to cracking a safe I'd imagine.

I only removed the seat which gave me plenty of access but I'm only 5ft 8 so that helps, I did break a tab on the second connector I just couldn't get my finger and thumb to push the two tabs in so using a screwdriver to push the tab I couldn't with my finger I thought it was loose but it actually snapped off, I'm hoping that with only a tab on one side that it'll still stay in place

I can see why it would fail tho, bolting a sensitive electrical component onto a motor that I imagine must get pretty hot doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

With regards to the steering on my car it's never felt great but it's a 20 year old car with 100,000 miles on it so I never expected it to be perfect, i just want my power steering back because believe me the car is undriveable without it.

Is it OK to leave the car with the battery disconnected whilst I await the motor to be repaired or is it best to reconnect it?

[enuff_zed]

Don’t reconnect it with the seat out or you’ll get airbag lights on. Is ok to leave it. Should have the motor back by next weekend.
I usually keep easing the motor out a little bit to keep tension on the bolts as I undo them.

[enuff_zed]

If there are any tips missing from my instructions let me know for the next person

[thecremeegg]

About £600 to send your complete column, with motor, to BBA Reman for a complete overhaul with lifetime warranty. But their turn-round time is 3-4 weeks atm!

In the OP's case it is an EPS ECU fail though, not sticky steering.

For £600 I can get all the parts for Hydraulic steering and won't have to deal with this crap again. OP's column is starting to fail, it's just a matter of time sadly.

The motor ecu is not actually part of the column though. It is an issue with cheap components within that ecu failing.
I don’t see how this can be construed as the column starting to fail?

The EPS motor is part of the column for all intents and purposes in my world - the sticky steering is usually caused by the syncing of the motor and the column. I've got all the parts for the swap now, bar 1 so getting it booked in to be done in a few weeks. £450 in parts + £180 labour is a no brainer

[Joez4]

My motor is now on its way back I can only assume its been repaired as I had no phone call to confirm it was broken or not.

With regards to fitting do I need to grease the shaft of the motor before fitting and if so what type of grease do I use?

Also I want to have a look at greasing the rack and universal joints as I had creaking sounds from the steering on cold days, what grease is recommended for that job?

thecremeegg you'll have to let us know how your steering conversion goes.

[enuff_zed]

My motor is now on its way back I can only assume its been repaired as I had no phone call to confirm it was broken or not.

With regards to fitting do I need to grease the shaft of the motor before fitting and if so what type of grease do I use?

Also I want to have a look at greasing the rack and universal joints as I had creaking sounds from the steering on cold days, what grease is recommended for that job?

thecremeegg you'll have to let us know how your steering conversion goes.

The three I’ve had returned have all had the very light smear of grease they left me with. Never added any more and they’ve been fine

[Joez4]

So my motor is back in and ista now finds it and four fault codes are in its memory with none currently active.

The one bolt was easy enough to nip up with just my finger and thumb but the one nearest the steering wheel was just as difficult to nip up as it was to get out but I managed it.

I will say if it hasn't been mentioned before that it is far easier to install the ring to the motor before you try to fit the motor to the column as I could not get it to sit right on the motor and had to take it out and start again once I did that the holes lined up and it was straight forward.

Thank you enuff_zed for the info for removing and fitting, I don't think it would have been so straightforward doing it without the knowledge you provided and hopefully the next person with my issue finds this thread just as useful for them.
Just need some decent weather and I can take it out for a test drive.

[enuff_zed]

So my motor is back in and ista now finds it and four fault codes are in its memory with none currently active.

The one bolt was easy enough to nip up with just my finger and thumb but the one nearest the steering wheel was just as difficult to nip up as it was to get out but I managed it.

I will say if it hasn't been mentioned before that it is far easier to install the ring to the motor before you try to fit the motor to the column as I could not get it to sit right on the motor and had to take it out and start again once I did that the holes lined up and it was straight forward.

Thank you enuff_zed for the info for removing and fitting, I don't think it would have been so straightforward doing it without the knowledge you provided and hopefully the next person with my issue finds this thread just as useful for them.
Just need some decent weather and I can take it out for a test drive.

Good news.
Fingers crossed it's all sorted now.
Thanks for adding to the knowledge for future attempts. I usually leave the ring in situ, but at least now you have given people another option.
I'd suggest leaving the bottom panels off for now, just in case you need to tweak the ring, but tbh I've never had to.
When you consider that BMW quote around £2.5k for a complete column, plus a day of labour and VAT, swapping the motor yourself is a huge saving and actually, when you've done one, it's not that difficult.

[Joez4]

So I've been out for a test drive and the steering seems much more responsive at low speeds not sure if this is some sort of placebo effect or not but I have noticed some slight notchiness in the steering at speed it's like the wheel locks at dead centre and it takes a slight tug of the wheel to move it out the notch I guess I've maybe introduced a bit of tightness to the steering, anyway now that I'm well familiar with how to adjust the steering it seems stupid to not try and dial this out.

Which way do I turn the ring to loosen the steering?
Assuming I'm lying with my head on the pedals looking directly up do I rotate it towards the pedals or towards the rear of the car?

[enuff_zed]

So I've been out for a test drive and the steering seems much more responsive at low speeds not sure if this is some sort of placebo effect or not but I have noticed some slight notchiness in the steering at speed it's like the wheel locks at dead centre and it takes a slight tug of the wheel to move it out the notch I guess I've maybe introduced a bit of tightness to the steering, anyway now that I'm well familiar with how to adjust the steering it seems stupid to not try and dial this out.

Which way do I turn the ring to loosen the steering?
Assuming I'm lying with my head on the pedals looking directly up do I rotate it towards the pedals or towards the rear of the car?

About 7-8mm bottom edge towards the pedals.
Mark a datum before you start.

[Joez4]

Quick and final update on my issue, I have moved the ring just over 10mm and I'm happy enough with how the steering feels, there is no notchiness anymore when leaving a roundabout the steering would almost lock and I would have to give it a slight tug to get the wheels to straighten up, the car now does this automatically like it should.

Whilst on this job I removed both steering rack rubber boots and greased the rack with bmw power steering rack grease and I also sprayed ptfe lubricant where the steering column goes through the bulkhead I have now eliminated the groaning noise the steering used to make at low speed maneuvering and cold morning driving. In the year and a half I've owned the car it is the best it's ever steered it actually feels like a sports car now.

I hope that the next person who experiences this issue will find all the help they need in this thread.