Heavy / Sticky steering

[z4all]

this looks seriously complicated. is there anyone around the Watford/Harrow area that does this job?

It isn't complicated really - it seems like an extreme and daunting prospect, but ultimately all you're doing is drilling a hole and spraying in a lubricant.

It looks complicated because of all the photos and detailed descriptions people have uploaded but once you've figured out where to drill and the hole is made the rest is simple - you'd be crazy to pay a garage to do such a straight forward job that can be done with basic tools.

I really don't trust myself lol. Hopefully there is a member nearby that can help. Don't mind paying!

 

[RayM]

Finally got around to doing this today as I was waiting for the lubricant to arrive.

Took off the panel and low and behold there's a hold already been drilled by a previous owner so in the lube went.

Should the effects be instant or does it take a few miles to take effect as there seems little difference?

 

[touring_style]

In my case the effect was instant - which make sense because the lubricant should have reached the area it needs to straight away.

Did you definitely put enough in?

 

[RayM]

Yeah I think so. The hole was 5-6mm round so I could put the nozzle tube extender thing right in in and put loads in until it was running out over my hands and soaking the dust sheet I had put down.

It looks like however did it before used some type of grease as there was signs of it on the outside of the hole. It might take a little while for the lube to work its was around or through this gunk. I've been out in it again since the last post and considering the temperature here today and the mileage I've done its not too bad at all.

 

[gov]

What exactly are the symptoms you are experiencing Ray - I'm now getting paranoid - even comparing the power steering on my DD to the zed . I have RFT's which doesn't help with the feel on the road - my steering is never notchy and you can turn the wheel while driving just using your little finger and it rights itself when you've turned the wheel but now I'm convincing myself it does feel slightly heavier when hot :roll:

 

[RayM]

What exactly are the symptoms you are experiencing Ray - I'm now getting paranoid - even comparing the power steering on my DD to the zed . I have RFT's which doesn't help with the feel on the road - my steering is never notchy and you can turn the wheel while driving just using your little finger and it rights itself when you've turned the wheel but now I'm convincing myself it does feel slightly heavier when hot :roll:

Gov, I thought I was getting a bit paranoid too. I've only noticed this heaviness/stickiness in the last month or two when the ambient temperature has risen. A better description is notchey rather than heavy. Sometimes it seems tricky to make minor adjustments on straight roads. My Indy tried it and just thought the steering was a bit heavy but not much else.

Mine is nothing like as bad has some have described on here though, and I might just be being hyper critical as this car is 13 years old and my daily driver 6 months old. Tech moves on.

Certainly does not effect my driving pleasure too much

 

[gov]

Know where you're coming from Ray - at the end of the day the early cars are getting a bit long in the tooth and perhaps we are getting paranoid - have to remind ourselves it's not like a new or nearly new car worth silly money !

Tony

 

[z4all]

Can anyone in the Watford area help me with this?

 

[BlueBoy]

Here are some links to forum pages that I gleaned information from;

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1896932-DIY-Sticky-Clunky-Steering-Fix/
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=50994&start=90
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=72&t=1411724&i=0

I was quite thorough reading up on it to find out which lubricant would be best for the job.

In the end I went for the Wurth HHS 2000. It was only £10.00 of eBay for a decent sized can.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252042958515

TBH I can't remember the reason that product was my final choice (I made a short list of 5 or 6) but at the time I thought it was the best overall option. :?

Ultimately there's a large plastic cog and worm wheel that you need to get lubricant to. When they get warm they expand and cause the notchy feeling through the steering wheel. The lubricant relieves this.

The casing that holds the large cog is soft metal and easy to drill into to enable a lubricant to be inserted and drench the cog - thus eliminating the friction with the worm wheel.

Some guys mounted a threaded grease nipple onto the steering column to pump in grease, but I opted to do what others had done and drill a hole (which is just left open) and spray a decent amount of lubricant in. The hole sits above when the lubricating oil drips down to so nothing leaks out of the hole.

I did cut the plastic pipe that the lubricant exits the can from at 45 degrees at the end that buts up against the hole you've drilled to enable the lubricant to be fired into the hole a bit better - it was a bit messy spraying the stuff into the casing with drips going everywhere so cover your floor mat!

The photos in those threads will give you a better idea of where to drill than I can explain here.

Spend an hour or so reading up on it and looking under your dash and it'll soon become clear - I'm a bit fik and I managed it!

With a sharp drill bit its a straight forward job. The issue went away for me immediately so I can only assume it was successful and I've had no issues at all as a result of using the Wurth product.

Sorry the above is all a bit long winded! :roll:

Good luck.

Thanks very much for that great write up. I will have a good read through as you have suggested and give it a go.

Thanks again

So I tried to drill to the shaft. Using a 1/8" drill bit, I easily made it to a 5/8" depth but with just a visual inspection it appeared that the bit was not all the way through the housing. Tried again, with less pressure but could feel that the bit was not penetrating any further and was hitting a solid surface. I then looked with a scope to see if there could be a gap between the housing and the shaft to indicate that I may need to drill deeper. Did not notice a gap. Question....are the tolerances between the housing and the shaft in close tolerance so I would not see a gap? And is the 5/8" a max depth? How do you know when you penetrated the housing? Maybe I should follow up with a larger bit so I could see down the hole a bit easier?

Thanks!

 

[M@_]

Adjusting the ring is a BMW approved method to correct sticky steering and it’s easier to do with no risk of damaging the column.

I hope you’ve tried this already. I’ve not you should consider the correct fix.

I feel like this info needs to be posted in all the drilled column threads.




2003 z4 3.0i MT 3.07 ratio