E85/E86 Steering Problems (Solved)

Further to my post yesterday I have a query which may also benefit others in future as well as myself should I need to make any more adjustments.

When you remove the footwell cover to access the steering column you have to disconnect three wires; one from the courtesy light and two from ' whatever it is', I'm not sure!!

Not wanting to have to put everything back until I'd tested the adjustment by driving the car, I carefully removed the two components from the cover and reattached the the three wires prior to turning on the ignition. Having read so many stories of dashboard warning lights and error codes I didn't want to trigger anything.

Is it necessary to reconnect the wires in this scenario or is it OK to leave them 'hanging' as it were?

Many thanks in advance :D
 
[ref]BostonJohn[/ref] Your approach sounds good and logical. Checking tyres and suspension components before a thorough wheel alignment is a good starting point. If your steering is becoming sticky with rising ambient temperatures, that would certainly indicate that sticky steering is adding to/responsible for your woes. Drilling and lubricating the column is not advised.
 
[ref]Bluebogartlabel[/ref] It sounds like it's going well for you! There's no need to keep the wires connected to the footwell bulb and the speaker (that's what emits your warning beeps for "lights on with door open" etc).
 
Thanks Wonkydonkey, I will,if all goes to plan get my car back from the bodyshop tomorrow, with a matching front bumper! So I can start investigating the steering. I had thought pumping grease into the steering column might be counter productive.
I will keep everyone posted as to how I get on as hopefully it will help others on the forum.
 
Just found this thread and i think it might be the answer to my problems!

The car has just had all its suspension done along with various bushes etc followed by a 4WA. When i drove it to the garage it was definitely difficult to keep in a straight line so i just thought the 4WA would sort this but alas it hasnt so Im guessing i need to tighten the slipring as mentioned.
But, on top of the wandering about on the dual carriage way, the steering wheel definitely seemed to kick to one side every now and again. It didnt feel like it was coming through the road and i did wonder if the power steering was at fault. Is this also a symptom of slack steering ring or do i have another problem i need to investigate?
 
[ref]Ratcatcher[/ref] I would just get in there and see what improvements you can make by adjusting the ring on the column. I always recommend that people make these adjustments with the front wheels off the ground, though I'm not sure many people follow that advice, instead opting for numerous "finger in the air" adjustments and multiple road tests afterwards. If you follow my recommendation, it will allow you to feel what level of slop (or tightness) you have in your steering system before you make any adjustments. You will then be able to feel what effect your adjustments have before you go out for the test drive.
 
wonkydonkey said:
I would just get in there and see what improvements you can make by adjusting the ring on the column.
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Agreed. Just been on the dual carriage way and when i touched the ton, the car became a bit scary tbh.
 
Hi. A question for Wonkeydonkey if I may. I have done the adjustment on the steering motor ring and moved it upwards about 6-7mm. This gave an improvement but not as much as I had hoped. The car still feels twitchy and not confidence inspiring at speed on the motorway. OK I thought, try again with wheels in the air as your recommendation. Trouble is I can't feel any difference as ring moved up or down, with or with ignition on or off or with engine on or off. There is increased assistance but no difference in the "tightness or looseness" and I can't hear any rattles. How obvious should the difference be ?

Car is a late 06 E86 regrettably still on runflats. All the bushes and joints have been replaced within the last couple of years or so. Alignment done as an "M" and I am running the offset front wishbone rear bushes, rosejointed adjustable rear camber arms and ball joints at top and bottom of the rear hubs. Is this now likely to be just the runflat effect, or am I missing something ? Many thanks for any insight.
 
I'm going to quote a post of mine from a while ago, since there seem to be a few people chasing fidgety steering at this moment in time. I have resolved sticky steering issues for quite a few forum members (and on my own E85 initially), but my fidgety steering remained, even with new tyres, wheel alignment and new lollipop bushes up front. See below for my results. Night and day difference, and the car was finally predictable and enjoyable!

wonky donkey said:
It's entirely possible that your tyres are the cause of your issue. I had some (non-run-flat) tyres on the front of my Z4 that it didn't enjoy. The front end was constantly changing its mind. Swapping the front wheels to the rear (and vice versa) instantly cured the issue (my car had different tyres on the front and rear ends). This of course requires you to have the same size of wheel and tyre on all four corners of your car, which mine did, but I assume all of your tyres of run flats? Not many people leave run flats on their Z4s, as I'm sure you're aware.
Click to expand...
 
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.
 
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.
 
[ref]Spriteracer[/ref] 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.
 
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.
 
[ref]Spriteracer[/ref] 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.
 
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
 
m4rky_z4 said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
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?
 
[ref]Barty[/ref] 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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