Steering column weeping.

[Jamie25]

So instead of slackening off the adjustment ring on the steering column as most people seem to in efforts to combat sticky steering, I thought I'd tighten mine up. This was in an effort to overcome slightly wayward steering. Felt similar to when I got the car with eleven year old run flats on.

As adjusting this ring his is quick and free I thought I'd do that first to be sure before I start replacing suspension components, none of which have any obvious play.

Anyway when I origami'd myself into position I found the column had been leaking oil. Despite having read a fair few thread I can't get my head around what's what under there. At 6'5” it's not the most comfortable place to be upsidedown. Is this loss of lubrication causing my issue and if not is it likely to cause one in the future?

 

[mjennings23]

Looks to be grease at the point where the column is adjustable, I assume you have the wheel pulled back towards the seat?

 

[john-e89]

Take the seat out J if you’re that big, trust me it’s a pig under there unless you do.

Your pic doesn’t show the eccentric ring you need to adjust, the two torx bolts pictured here are the ones. You can get to them with extension bars on a 1/4” drive ratchet but it’s quite fiddly. Make sure you mark where ring sits before moving it so you know where the start point is if you need to turn it back. It only requires a small amount of turning, start with approx 5mm and see how it feels.

Best of luck.

 

[firebobby]

I didn't remove the seat, then I'm quite trim I suppose
I did remove part of the under dash panel and slid the seat as far back as possible (5.6) and Found it quite easy to work in there. I had to remove the electric motor and that is a squeeze to get out.
I turned the ring towards the front if I remember rightly and my steering is so much better now.