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Is the steering wheel supposed to move?

V

vandale

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11 June 2009
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227
Location
New Zealand
Hello, Please advise if my steering wheel is supposed to have minimal movement left and right, I have removed the bottom dash panel and narrowed it down to the mounting point as photographed. I have tightened the nuts and it took a little out but it still has slight movement, about 3mm either way.

Here are pics of the nuts:
dyu7fl.jpg


2ia7hua.jpg
 
I think I understand your problem. Your steering wheel should not move left or right. It should be solid. Make sure that all of the nuts that mount the steering column to the body are tight. A picture that was taken farther away would be helpfull in leading us up to your problem.
Brad
 
your actual problem are cracked plastic rings that fit over the steering column in the vincinity of the universal joint. said plastic inserts fit in the brackets that actually hold the column in place- since they are cracked/broken, they slipped out of place and give you free play. the movement at the bolts is a secondary issue and will go away once the rings are replaced (unless the plastic inserts in the bracket for the top bolts are worn out too).
 
Swerve is correct. The fix lies at the bottom of the steering column in the form of the plastic fitting rings. I had the same issues and thought the top screws were loose. No matter how tight I made them ...it still moved. It the top fitment is cracked, it may have to be replaced
 
Yup, its them rings on the bottom of your steeringcolumn. Been there, done that.
 
it is easy to fix but do yourself a huge favor and remove the seat and steering wheel first (you have to lie on your back to get to the brackets). once you do that, remove the plastic cover below the knee bolster and you are there- few bolts and done.

edit: number 4 on the picture.
 
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OLDMNSX said:
I think I understand your problem. Your steering wheel should not move left or right. It should be solid. Make sure that all of the nuts that mount the steering column to the body are tight. A picture that was taken farther away would be helpfull in leading us up to your problem.
Brad
Click to expand...

Are you saying it moves while driving (slight shimmy left/right), or you can move it around while parked?

I have been going crazy trying to eliminate a slight steering wheel shimmy in my 1994, checked front suspension, wheel balance, replaced tires, etc.
 
The steering wheel on my 92 NSX w/ 207,000 miles moves right and left
Using the info in this thread I was able to determine that the plastic column retainer rings are intact but have slipped down and out of that 1/2 round clamp allowing that Rt to left movement
Question: I'll loosen the clamp and move that plastic ring back into position, what about using some kind of adhesive to hold it in place so this does not happen again??
Something like gorilla glue or liquid nails??
 
I changed steering wheel last week and mine does that too. At first I thought it was the fact my car has 70 000 Km's or the new steering wheel. It really is the column moving slightly as a whole. Will order part #4 and more if you guys decide we need more than that.
 
Adding some photos for clarity,

The plasitc rings have a locating tab that fits into a hole in the colum. If it has slipped, the tab might be broken off or was not correctly installed the last time around.

I removed my steering colum because it has some side to side play, but it is not the plastic ring/bushing at the bottom. it seems the upper aluminum mounts have broken away from the steel colum portion. they are a tapered fit with what looks like a nylon bonding agent injected into three small holes that go thru both pieces. I am still thinking about how to correct this.
I have read another thread about a loose colum, and it recommended pulling on the colum prior go tightening the mounting bolts. But the way this colum is assembled and attached this will not work. My thinking is to fill the block taper with epoxy, that way in a big impact the colum will still move forward. Anyone have any better idea that maintains the collapsibility of the steering colum? It really isn't the best design.

PS, the last photo, I have the block rotated 180* , the three dots align with each other.
 

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Thanks for the reply and photos
I slid those plastic rings back up under the 1/2 round clamp and that totally eliminated my right to left play
However I did not see nor feel that hole for the plastic tab so it may drop down again
Question, when driving the car, what is the orientaion of that hole on that metal tube? 12 o'clock?
 
SMYLDOC said:
Thanks for the reply and photos
I slid those plastic rings back up under the 1/2 round clamp and that totally eliminated my right to left play
However I did not see nor feel that hole for the plastic tab so it may drop down again
Question, when driving the car, what is the orientation of that hole on that metal tube? 12 o'clock?
Click to expand...

the hole is about 2:00 as viewed from the drivers seat, the inner plastic ring have a large peg that goes into the column (not the steering shaft) and the outer plastic ring has a smaller peg that goes int a small hole in the inner ring. you can see it in the first and second photo, zoom in.

so your aluminum blocks don't have any side to side plat at all?
 
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When I got under the steering column and saw those plastic rings had slipped down out of that clamp I stopped looking for other problems, and since repositioning those rings, it totally took care of the problem I had.
I cannot say those aluminum blocks are intact, as I did not investigate any further
I'm enjoying having the preciseness back in the steering.
Note I did the knock bush about 6 mo ago
Good luck to you
 
this maybe my issue and i've had two alignments.
did everybody remove the seat and steering wheel to fix it or can we get to it without removing the wheel?
 
I did not remove the steering wheel nor seat
I slid the seat back as far as it would go
From the footwell,
I removed the panel under the dash below the steering wheel
I removed the U clamp held on with 2 ea I believe 10 mm bolts
That gave me access to that plastic ring
I hope that helps, good luck
 
In graemed post, I think those alloy wedge things are supposed to be attached to the column with 3 rivets. His are loose and rotated 180. It seems the idea is that the wedge "gives " a few mm if the car has a crash, and shears those rivets, and take some shock out of the steering wheel to drivers wrist junction! The photo below shows the wedges in position and riveted. The LH side shows the restraining strap in position. RH side shows strap moved forward so you can see the wedge in the correct position. If those wedges are not riveted you will get sideways column movement when cornering hard. I guess the rivets are Aluminium Alloy so they give, you will see what material they are made of when you drill them out.



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The colomn comes as a assembly, no seperate part no for rivets. You would have to source the rivets from a hardware store, as I said above they could be Aluminum but might be iconel, or thin steel. They look like Aluminum to me but check when you drill them out.
 

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