lagonda 41 Posted December 5, 2006 Still finding things to fix before I put the head back on. Whilst changing driveshaft I noticed there were tight spots in the steering whilst turning from lock to lock. I'd already noticed some rust streaks on the column lower universal joint, so thought I'd have a look at that. To remove it you need to remove the steering column lower cowling & trim panel. Then undo & remove the nut & bolt for the upper u/j. After that undo the 4 11mm nuts holding the steering column/wheel assembly. Once that is lowered, you will be able to pull the whole assembly away from the column intermediate shaft ... I found there was just enough length in the wiring to do this without disconnecting anything, but it's best to leave the wheel/column assembly supported so that the wiring isn't under strain. Now you need to get to the lower u/j fixing bolt & remove that. My car has the square pinion, so once the bolt is removed, you need to turn the u/j so the area where the bolt passed through is facing you. Spread the legs of the spring clip at the base of the u/j with your fingers, & push the u/j away from the rack spigot. Don't try pulling it upwards! Once it's hanging clear, you can pull the intermediate column down through the bulkead grommet. Needless to say, the u/j moved sweetly in one plane & hardly at all in the other, explaing why the steering felt tight & loose as it was turned. There are tiny "v"section seals on the u/j, you can't just oil them. I found forcing a small penknife blade point first down the outer edge of the seals, then levering back carefully, gave enough access to the bearings to dribble drops of freeing oil, followed by 3in 1 oil, eventually worked its way in. You need to dribble oil in, manipulate the affected joint, then more oil, & so on. Mine freed off quite suddenly & the whole joint now moves freely, although inevitably now with some slight play. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hengti 2 Posted December 5, 2006 had this problem until recently too - didn't figure it out until i'd already replaced the rack and the upper column though! didn't realise you could re-lubricate them - might be able to ressurect the one i took off. it was also fine in one direction and almost solid in the other! i thought it quite alarming. Pug sell this part for about £60 if you're still worried about the play in the joint by the way Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lagonda 41 Posted December 5, 2006 Yes, & also apparently Eurocarparts have them at around £30. The play in mine is minimal, but I appreciate this will be magnified at the wheel. Only way to find out is try it, & hope it's OK for the MoT. It's possible also that the play might increase if the stiffness resulted from rust as opposed to hardened grease, as that will grind things up! I should have added that reassembly is a reversal, etc, also that the bulkhead grommet also houses a bearing area that should be cleaned & greased before the intermediate shaft is replaced. Care may also need to be taken to make sure the steering wheel centres OK. On mine, the upper u/j splines will only match in one position. I marked the lower one & rack spigot before parting them to be on the safe side. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PumaRacing 1 Posted December 6, 2006 Strangest case of tight steering I ever came across was on a Fiesta XR2i I had several years ago. It was fine for a while and then gradually the steering became very heavy. Turned out to be a well known problem on Mk3 festers where the lower steering column joint seizes because it's such a crappy design. Fitted a new one and all was well for what I hoped would be many more years than I would own the rusting pile of poo. Then one day I turned out of the drive and set off down a single track country lane near my house. Came to the first sharp right bend and the steering locked solid and I couldn't turn the wheel enough to make it round the corner. Luckily travelling at only a few mph I nailed the brakes on and slid to a halt before saying hello to the trees alongside the road. I struggled with the wheel for a while until I had recovered a bit of lock and drove back home. Back on the drive I started to investigate the problem which turned out to be nothing to do with the actual steering components and everything to do with the aftermarket ignition immobiliser theft prevention system fitted by some previous owner. In fact I've just decided to leave this as a puzzle for readers. How could the immobiliser stop the steering working instead of the ignition system? I'll post the answer after you've had a try at solving it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackherer 543 Posted December 6, 2006 How could the immobiliser stop the steering working instead of the ignition system? I'll post the answer after you've had a try at solving it. immobiliser wiring wrapped round the steering column? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cybernck 400 1 Cars Posted December 6, 2006 what happens to my steering (power assisted though) is that when i brake to stop and turn left at the same time (to do a 3 point turn), the steering becomes "powerless" and difficult to turn until it gets "unstuck"... pugnut once mentioned that he had the same problem and that it was down to some bushes...? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PumaRacing 1 Posted December 7, 2006 immobiliser wiring wrapped round the steering column? Indeed. The immobiliser had apparently come with enough spare wire to enable it to be fitted to anything from a mini to a supertanker. The fitter had just shoved all this behind the dashboard instead of cutting it to length and over time it had got snagged by the bolts and knuckles sticking out of the steering column. Just a good job it didn't lock up when I was travelling at any speed. The bird's nest round the column was of such proportions I couldn't disentangle it and had to cut the whole thing out and remove the immobiliser. It was a redundant item anyway. No one with a brain would steal an XR2i. I'm not sure what that says about me who actually paid good money for one which shortly afterwards failed its MOT due to rust. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BrainFluid Posted December 7, 2006 I'm not sure what that says about me who actually paid good money for one which shortly afterwards failed its MOT due to rust. Ha. I'm sure thats just one of those things that helped your own innate wisdom out into the open though eh? Man I bet theres not a single one of us here that has not made a bad bad buy in our past Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
