squeeky steering wheel

On Thu, 29 Mar 2007 16:57:11 GMT, "paul craig" waffled on about something:

You don't mention the model, but from my experiences with the E36, it's the spring and washer assembly at the bottom of the steering column (under the bonnet).

No I'm not kidding! The steering column is hollow, and the squeak comes up the middle and sounds like it's in the steering wheel. Drove me nuts for weeks before I found it.

Assuming E36 here, might be the same on other models.

Open the bonnet, look where the steering column comes through the bulkhead. At the end of the steer column shaft you'll see a big spiral spring and some washers holding it in place, this is probably your squeak. Give it some lube!

WD40 might work for a bit, but I found the best cure was spray on wax based motorcycle chain oil. It comes out as thin as WD40, but then the solvent evaporates and leaves the grease well penetrated into all the gaps.

Hope this helps.

Dodgy.

Remember the VW advert on TV where the girlfriend had big ear-rings that squeaked.................?

Kick the squeaky girl out the car and get a new one.

Sir Hugh of Bognor

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it!

Hugh Gundersen snipped-for-privacy@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK

I have had to chase squeaky steering wheel issues on two separate cars. A

1988 Audi 90, and a 1993 Volvo 850. Both VERY VERY frustrating. Steering wheels should simply not squeak.

In both cases, the solution was to tighten up the brackets that hold the steering column to the chassis. I had to remove all the plastic covers from around the indicator stalk/wiper stalk housing, as well as the knee bolster and lower dashboard covers, so as to reveal the whole steering column before it went thru the firewall.

I even spent some time squirting WD40 in various places until I noticed a reduction in squeaking, then tightened the bolts. In your case, it may actually be a bearing sleeve where the steering wheel shaft goes thru, rather than just a loose bracket. I would think that as long as you have all the various plastic covers removed, you should be able to shoot some lube into the bearings that hold the actual steering shaft. Once you hit the right place, the squeak should disappear.

I hope this works out for you. Squeaks like that drive me even more crazy than a negative clearance valvetrain (the engines that self-destruct when the timing belt breaks). So I feel your pain.

Good luck.

Mike

If the steering column cover has ever been removed it might have been replaced too close to the back of the steering wheel.