Steering column play

[Blaine0002]

Ive got a wierd issue with what seems to be my steering column, it steers fine (besides needing a new rack) but it clunks when i go over bumps, and im able to 'lift' the steering wheel about a cm or two (up and down, not towards me), and drop it back down. steering wheel is on tight (obv) anyone else have this issue and how do i fix it? searched a bit and didnt find anything.

[Bearmw]

Are the 2 hex bolts that secure the steering collumn tight? Sounds like you may have a loose collumn and bad tie rod ends or other worn/loose parts in the front end. I would lift the front end onto jack stands and inspect and test the tie rods, ball joints, control arm bushings, steering rack mounts. look for extra play in these areas. It doesn't take a lot to be bad.
While your there also chech the wheel bearings by grabbing the tire at 12 and 6 oclock and trying to move forward and back. Having a partner turn the steering whell is helpful and a big pry bar is good for moving things around to.

If the car has a worn out suspension I would systematically go through all front end components (from upper strut mounts all the way to the control arm bushings and to the rack mounts). With a partner and some very basic tools you can inspect it in a short period of time.

Bavarianautosport had a spring 2009 news letter which is on their website which was a nice tutorial on inspecting front suspensions.

[Sagaris]

Snug down the 32mm collar nut that connects the two pieces of the steering shaft. Remove the lower kick panel and you will see it:


Put some serious muscle into it , snug it down, and your problem should be solved

[Bearmw]

Cool. Another use for the 32mm wrench beside the clutch fan.

[Sagaris]

precisely, I used a mallet with mine because of how much pressure your hand gets from the skinny wrench.

[Blaine0002]

damn! never removed the fan clutch with a skinny wrench so i dont have one of those. i might need to pick one up.

Yeah the front end suspensions prettttty shot, and will be getting replaced, but i dont think this would cause the extra play at the steering wheel.

[Sagaris]

Blaine, check your PM

[Blaine0002]

I have an 87 model vert. the kind of inbetween models, and mine doesnt look like that. its a long metal pipe. do I have to remove this?

[Blaine0002]

Bumping my old thread because this never got solved. Did a little more research and apparently theres a difference between airbag and non airbag models, apparently airbag models use a different kind of steering column and have the nut, while non airbags dont.
I have a non airbag and this is what mine looks like (jacked from another thread)


If its not the nut, what else could it be? (keep in mind i can actually move the steering wheel up and down like half an inch)

Thanks!

[Bearmw]

are the 2 bolts that hold the collumn to the car body tight?

[Blaine0002]

are those located in the engine bay?

[E30_fiend]

no, they are under the column covers and under the dash. You should see two bolts that hold the column up to the frame underneath the dash. I'll see if I can find a picture for you.


Taylor

[E30_fiend]

You can see in this pic that there is a colar/clamp kinda thing about 4-5 inches from the key switch. You'll see a little gold head in the picture. The two bolts are directly behind that bolt and the heads of the bolts point down toward the floor.

Hope that helps


Taylor

[Blaine0002]

Thanks a ton! ill let you know how it works out as soon as i get out of class.

[E30_fiend]

not a problem man. Good luck


Taylor