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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Discuss problems you have had or are having with your Z4
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Spriteracer
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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by Spriteracer » Sat Jun 19, 2021 4:15 pm

Wonkeydonkey Thank you so much for the response. I guess I wasn't moving it far enough in each direction to feel the effect. Only 20-30mm or so. I've currently set at about 12mm now (upwards as you face it from the seat which I believe is looser). I'm heading for Wiveliscombe and back tomorrow - approx 350 mls, so will see how it is. I can change it back en-route if it's horrible. If no real change then it's the tyres which I'm stuck with for a bit.
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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by BostonJohn » Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:50 pm

Just a quick update, I checked my tyre pressures and the fronts were at 30psi and rears 33 psi I upped to 33 front 36 rear. Since then the car seems very different I have been up to about 80/90 on a private road of course and have not had any twitchyness. In saying that I have not left my car out in the hot sun all day and then tested. Fingers crossed when we get a sunny day to test out fully.
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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by wonkydonkey » Sun Jun 20, 2021 7:14 pm

Spriteracer I've only just seen your reply, sorry. I live not too far from Wiveliscombe! How was the car? Some of the Z4s I've worked on have needed really big adjustments (circa 25-30 mm or so, at a guess), whereas some are only 10-15 mm away from being acceptable.
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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by Spriteracer » Mon Jun 21, 2021 9:44 am

Wonkeydonkey: James ? Sorry, just seen your bottom line. Got back quite late yesterday. Thanks again. Car seemed better going, but not so much improvement coming back for some reason. No idea why but maybe just subjective and it feels worse the more you think about it. It is still nowhere near as a relaxed (safe) feel as just about every other vehicle I have had E21, E30, E34, E39, E61, Peugeot 504, Volvo XC70, LDV Convoy van ! - including the Sprite racer. In the light of your last comment I will try a bit more movement and see what that does. Mark.
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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by wonkydonkey » Mon Jun 21, 2021 10:05 am

Spriteracer It's not my favourite steering system in the world either, but hopefully you can at least get it performing as well as it's able. I'd recommend getting the wheels off the ground, exploring the effects of rotating the ring a long way either way (i.e. identifying the feeling of free play at one extreme, and stiction at the other extreme), and then backing it off just enough to get rid of the stiction. The UK isn't very warm today, so if you set it up today, you may find that it becomes a smidge tight on a hot day. If that happens, you'll know to back it off a touch.
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~2003 3.0i E85 in Sterling Grey

Click here for the Sticky Steering thread
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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by m4rky_z4 » Mon Jul 19, 2021 12:24 pm

Hi,

I have been lucky to borrow my dads 2007 z4 3.0si whilst I am between cars.
Its a really nice car to drive and I am thinking of buying it from him.

However, I think it has this "sticky" steering issue?
But only slightly, so I am not sure if its the same problem or something else.

When driving along it sometimes feels like the steering is slow to react. Its not all the time, more noticeable above 30mph and when doing small steering movements, like changing lanes or avoiding grids/potholes.
Its more of a feeling through the steering wheel than the car does not do what it is supposed to.

Does any of this make sense??

Thanks,

Mark

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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by Joycey » Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:51 am

m4rky_z4 wrote: Mon Jul 19, 2021 12:24 pm Hi,

I have been lucky to borrow my dads 2007 z4 3.0si whilst I am between cars.
Its a really nice car to drive and I am thinking of buying it from him.

However, I think it has this "sticky" steering issue?
But only slightly, so I am not sure if its the same problem or something else.

When driving along it sometimes feels like the steering is slow to react. Its not all the time, more noticeable above 30mph and when doing small steering movements, like changing lanes or avoiding grids/potholes.
Its more of a feeling through the steering wheel than the car does not do what it is supposed to.

Does any of this make sense??

Thanks,

Mark
Hi Mark, makes total sense this is quite a common side effect of it needing adjustment or re-greasing.

If you start with backing off the locking ring around 1mm you might find it makes a world of difference.
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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by m4rky_z4 » Wed Aug 04, 2021 10:53 am

@joycey thanks for the reply. I’ll take the steering column plastic off and take a look 👍

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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by Barty » Thu Sep 09, 2021 12:58 pm

Another day, another case of "why is my Z4 trying to do its own thing?!". Symptoms:

- Wandering sensation above 70 kph;
- Input from the road surface can sometimes translate into minute actions from the steering motor;
- A slight sensation of free play when dead straight.

This morning my trusty specialist set about adjusting the excentric ring. Why have them do it? So I don't have to worm my way into that position, and they've done loads of adjustments to remedy sticky steering.

Result: about 95% perfect. The sensation of free play is gone, and the handling has much improved. There still is a slight sensation of resistance at dead center, which has us wondering:

Have we adjusted to a point where we've introduced sticky steering ever so slightly (in which case we'll have to back off a little), or is there still a smidge of play left in the worm-gear (in which case we'd need to go up another few mm)? Currently we're at 8mm, and we've gone as far as 12mm. At 12mm we still had the slight resistance at dead centre, causing us to go back down to 10 and then 8mm. It's still there, and we've been fettling for so long that we're not sure which way to go now.

Question, slight resistance at dead centre after having removed excess free play in the steering: back up a little to 6mm or go up even further beyond 12mm and tighten it up even more?
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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by wonkydonkey » Thu Sep 09, 2021 1:22 pm

Barty I think it goes without saying that you need to come back a bit from 8 mm if you originally had free play at dead centre, but it has now tightened up.
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~2006 Z4MR in Silver Grey
~2003 3.0i E85 in Sterling Grey

Click here for the Sticky Steering thread
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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by Barty » Thu Sep 09, 2021 1:40 pm

wonkydonkey wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 1:22 pm Barty I think it goes without saying that you need to come back a bit from 8 mm if you originally had free play at dead centre, but it has now tightened up.
Thanks for the prompt reply, and confirming what we already suspected. Will back off to 5-6 and see how that goes
Four Alfa's and a Ducati later, I've turned to the dark side...
"Drive German, wear Italian, kiss French"

Z4: Tiefgrüen Metallic E86 3.0Si / Insta @bartsbuilds

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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by wonkydonkey » Thu Sep 09, 2021 1:44 pm

Barty I've commented a few times in this thread to advise people to make these adjustments with the front wheels off the ground. It allows you to feel for stiction or free play while moving the eccentric ring to different positions. This makes it easier to fine tune the setting, and minimises the chance of needing to adjust the ring again after the test drive. This method means that I can generally dial out sticky steering with one single adjustment, put the car back on the ground, and then confirm that all is well with a single test drive.
Previous:
~2006 Z4MR in Silver Grey
~2003 3.0i E85 in Sterling Grey

Click here for the Sticky Steering thread
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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by Barty » Thu Sep 09, 2021 2:01 pm

Indeed this would be an ideal solution, however we were unable to do so as they had another Z4 on the ramp for other work, and the second one was occupied by an M5 with its V10 MIA ;) So we had to make do.

We've done 5 runs in total, dialing in the adjustment over each one. We're 95% there and I'm happy as can be with the current result, but I feel there's a little more to be had still. At that point we'd been at it for a while and we figured we'd take a step back and think on how we'd get that last step completed. We'll continue when they've got more time and a ramp available and get it set up "just so".
Four Alfa's and a Ducati later, I've turned to the dark side...
"Drive German, wear Italian, kiss French"

Z4: Tiefgrüen Metallic E86 3.0Si / Insta @bartsbuilds

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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by wonkydonkey » Thu Sep 09, 2021 2:04 pm

Barty It only takes 5 minutes to jack up and support the car using a trolley jack and axle stands, so there is always that option if ramps aren't available. It's also worth bearing in mind that the E85/86 electric powering steering system isn't perfect, so you might find that there isn't a 100% perfect setting for all temperatures. It sounds as though you're almost where you want to be though :)
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~2006 Z4MR in Silver Grey
~2003 3.0i E85 in Sterling Grey

Click here for the Sticky Steering thread
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E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Post by Barty » Thu Sep 09, 2021 2:16 pm

wonkydonkey wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 2:04 pm Barty It only takes 5 minutes to jack up and support the car using a trolley jack and axle stands, so there is always that option if ramps aren't available. It's also worth bearing in mind that the E85/86 electric powering steering system isn't perfect, so you might find that there isn't a 100% perfect setting for all temperatures. It sounds as though you're almost where you want to be though :)
Fair point. It was one of those "ah while I'm here"-type jobs. Happy to have tackled it, and I informed them of your recommendation to have the car off the ground. The mechanic was genuinely interested in your methods and the results posted in this thread. Up to this point he only worked on pre-facelift cars with sticky steering, but has now added this to his list of jobs. We'll take it onto a ramp next time and experiment some more, as my car is also being used for him to learn more about this issue. Win-win then :wink:

Ultimately, it's great that everyone here has discovered this solution and is saved from having a refurb done at great expense. Many thanks to all those who have contributed to the shared knowledge in this thread; it has proven invaluable! :thumbsup:
Four Alfa's and a Ducati later, I've turned to the dark side...
"Drive German, wear Italian, kiss French"

Z4: Tiefgrüen Metallic E86 3.0Si / Insta @bartsbuilds

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