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Thread: DIY Sticky/Clunky Steering Fix

  1. #201
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    France
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    Z4 3.0i E85

    BMW z4 steering fix

    [QUOTE=Stromtech;25132725]Here...compliments of Bmwha[/QUOTE

    Hi I am hoping to do this fix for my z4, I can't seem to see the photos, you think you could send them to me bayly.richard@yahoo.fr

    I would really appreciate it.

    Thanks

  2. #202
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Waikoloa, Hawaii
    Posts
    6
    My Cars
    2005 e85
    yes, first post. This worked so well I want to share it.
    I bought my Z about 2 months ago knowing about the sticky steering, which turned out to be even worse than I thought. I tried the grease fix right away, it helped, but the ultimate cure was adjusting the lash on the worm/spur drive as per the German web site.

    http://www.zroadster.com/forum/index...5#post-1943088

    The German and British guys think that the issue is a combination of lube drying up and too-tight clearance on the worm/spur due to a number of factors, including set too tight at the factory and the slow expansion of the spur as it absorbs moisture (nylon-like plastics grow by a percent or two over their first year.) Since the factory re-design was a change in tolerances and lubes, this seems reasonable. Some of the posters on the German site have several years experience with this fix, and no subsequent problems, so it appears to be a good approach.

    The European cars don't have knee airbags, and are slightly different in other ways, but the general principle applies. Remove the under dash panel, remove the knee air bag, and loosen the two allen head bolts, rotate the eccentric a bit, snug it back down and re-assemble. The biggest problem is getting a wrench on the bolt heads, they're buried and there's not a straight shot. I ended up using a very short stub of 6 mm wrench held in a ¼" drive 6mm socket, with about ⅜" of the allen head protruding; that's all that would fit in the space. A universal joint and a 4" extension and lots of leverage on the ratchet; those bolts are tight. The eccentric has about a 10:1 ratio; a movement of about 10 mm at the outside of the eccentric (called a tension ring or tensioner ring on the German site) changes the lash by about 1 mm or maybe a bit less; hard to tell. The British and German guys end up moving it between 10 and 15 mm; I moved mine 14 mm (just happened that way) and the steering is the way it should be; smooth, good feedback, no binding.

    The British and German guys claim this takes about 20 minutes, which is true for them, since they have less to remove and apparently a straighter shot at the bolts. I took 3 hours, 2 of which were spent trying various combinations of allen wrenches, sockets, and bandaids to get to the bolt heads. A ball end wrench didn't work for me, the bolts were too tight, the key was to get a stub allen wrench bottomed out in the bolt heads and lean on it hard.

    So, zero cost, and so far it works just fine.

    No pics, the German site has plenty and I'm not about to take it apart again.

    I hope this helps.

  3. #203
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    Z4 2.2 2005
    Anyone got a clear guide on that, that's not in German? Google translate doesn't seem precise enough to me....

  4. #204
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Waikoloa, Hawaii
    Posts
    6
    My Cars
    2005 e85
    Well, I'll try. here's another link that has some details, where I first found out about this and got more details.

    http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=78250

    It goes like this.

    Remove the under dash panel; 6 screws, a plastic rivet thing, and the footwell light, which might not cooperate.

    Disconnect the battery, wait 15 minutes, remove the knee air bag; 4 27 Torx screws (a 25 looks like it will fit; it won't), and three clip things that will get lost. Pelican Parts has a tutorial.

    http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

    looking up at the steering column from the footwell, you will see the motor sticking out to the driver's side, attached to a cast in lump in the column. The seam in the "lump" is where the grease fitting goes, for those who have tried that fix. There's about a 3/16" thickness spacer between the column lump and the motor; this is the tension ring.

    Make a witness mark on the motor and on the tension ring, so you can find the original position later if you need to, and so you can gauge how far you move the tension ring.

    See the Allen head screw to the inside, passenger, side of the tension ring, screwed into the motor? That's one you want to loosen. It's tight, you'll need to go straight in with the stub of an Allen wrench, and whatever arrangement of socket, u-joint, and extension you have. I used a 6mm ¼" drive socket, a ¼" universal, and a 4" or so extension, and it took a lot of torque to break the screw loose.

    Now, looking through where the airbag used to be, you can see the other, upper Allen screw. Same deal, get a 6mm Allen wrench on it and heave away. This one has less clearance than the other, lower one for the socket; there's also a wire that wants to get in the way.

    Rotate the tension ring about 5-15mm clockwise as viewed from the steering column end; that is, the bottom of the tension ring moves towards the rear of the car. Try 5mm or so if you have only very mild sticking, 10-15 mm if it's serious. Mine was serious. I used a small punch and smaller mallet to move the tension ring, but I suspect that was overkill, it moved pretty easily once it broke free of the glue or whatever it was stuck on with.

    Snug down the bolts, don't over do it. If you are a belt and suspenders person like me, put a dab of paint where the bolt and casting meet. Another use for touchup paint!

    Re-install the airbag. Re-train your window up-down, reset your radio pre-sets, give it a test drive. Personally, I'd leave the under dash panel off for a while, in case you want to go back in and crank in a bit more lash. Mine was fine the first try (the pitch of the slots in the tension ring is pretty gentle, so a biggish rotation doesn't change the lash much).

    That's it. Knowing now what tools work, I could easily do it in an hour, including the 15 minute wait on the airbag. The key is to use a very short stub of Allen wrench held in a small socket, with a universal joint to get around the various obstructions. The Allen wrench has to be long enough to bottom in the bolt head and be held firmly by the socket, but no more than that, there just isn't room. The stub should be ¾" long at the most, so grind or saw a hunk off your least favorite 6mm Allen wrench. It's been super hot lately but absolutely no sign of sticking on a 2 hr drive. I think this is it.

  5. #205
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    NH
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2004 BMW Z4
    I have just purchased a 2004 Z4 2.5 and although the steering issue listed here didn't show up in the test drive or during the morning of a Sunday drive, it appeared afternoon and got progressively worse, to the point I was unsure if it was safe to drive. I would love to see a video of this drilling fix if there is one. Does anyone happen to know a link to one? Thank you, there is some great info here.

  6. #206
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Nj
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    Z4
    Quote Originally Posted by Bmwha View Post
    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csf2ahHS-c&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/ame]

    Made a video. Let me know how it plays

    Jet Black 6 Speed '03 Z4 3.0i, Atlanta Blue 6 Speed '03 Z4 3.0i, Maldives Blue '97 Z3
    Can you please email me this link to this video. Youtube is saying it isnt available? Did you remove it? My email is beastmode609@gmail. Com. Id really appreciate it. Thank you

  7. #207
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    zh
    Posts
    4
    My Cars
    bmwz4
    Hi all - stupid question but what kind of drill is necessary for this fix? I don't own one right now and will need to buy, so links to suitable types appreciated!

  8. #208
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Dorking, Surrey, UK
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    BMW Z4
    Hi,

    My friends Z4's steering becomes notchy and stiff after 30+ min of driving, so I attempted the ring adjustment but this made no difference - Then I tried the greasing fix next and still notchy?

    I did consider I was turning the ring in the wrong direction, so I moved the ring the other way by the same amount but this made the steering worse so confident that the direction of rotation is correct and more then likely the fix. the problem is, I've reached the limit of the adjustment (see photo) The ring can't be turned any further.

    I'm really unsure on which way to got next with this, any thoughts and suggestions much appreciated.

    IMG_1641.JPG

    Many thanks in advance.

    SwFsnapper

  9. #209
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Waikoloa, Hawaii
    Posts
    6
    My Cars
    2005 e85
    the ring should rotate such that the witness mark on the bottom, the one you made, moves towards the rear of the car, not the front. I see you're in the UK: there are tons of guys there who've done this. Not so many in the US, it seems, here we apparently prefer to let the dealer charge us a lot, lot, lot of money for a steering column. The price of affluence, I guess. Anyway, if rotating the ring and greasing made no difference, there's something else going on. If it gets worse hot, it's likely not dried up grease, it'll get softer hot, not harder. Could be binding in the nylon bushing, a problem in the rack itself, or something else. you could, I suppose, try disconnecting the steering column at the lower, double u-jointed section temporarily and see if the u-joints themselves are binding. That would be helpful.

  10. #210
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Vermont
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    2005 z4
    Steering was bad on my 05 Z, I had nothing to lose by trying this fix. I drilled the column and inserted grease fitting as suggested, Pumped 3 shots of Centric grease. Drove the car on mountain roads for an hour, seems to have done the trick. The car steered like it should , I did not have to fight the wheel or constantly correct and the car tracked properly again. I am hopeful that this is a long term cure, time will tell.

  11. #211
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Vermont
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    2
    My Cars
    2005 z4
    The grease I used was Kluber centiplex 2, I think this is a good grease for this application.

  12. #212
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Uk
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    BMW Z4 2004
    Hi. I am new to the forum but have recently noticed a big problem with my steering on my 2004 Z4. Very notch and hard to steer from centre line when left out in the sun the other day. Problem not noticeable in colder weather. Am thinking about drilling the steering column and fitting the grease nipple. Can anybody send me photos of where I need to drill and at what angle. Thanks

  13. #213
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Amherst,Ma.
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    1999 Audi A6, 2004 Z4
    Hi everyone. I've been following this thread for a couple of years, I used the drill and grease fitting trick and it worked like a charm. Just wondering if I may have missed a recent post from Bmwha. I recall he was dealing with some health issues and I'm hoping he's doing ok.

    He's a hero in my book, I was ready to sell my 2004 Z4....Thanks

  14. #214
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Nanaimo BCCanada
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    2004 BMW Z4

    Viking

    Hi,
    I just bought a 2004 Z4 and it's doing the sticky steering thing. Is there any chance you could email a link to the video of how to do the fix? Nervous as heck to drill but there's no way I can afford a dealer repair. Thanks

    13dangus13@gmail.com



    Quote Originally Posted by Bmwha View Post
    I didn't take it apart to check--the easiest way to get lubrication down there was to add the fitting. I don't think it's the gears, I think it's the white nylon bushing that's binding up.
    Last edited by Vikingheart; 06-30-2017 at 12:46 PM. Reason: add email

  15. #215
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Lincoln, NE
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2003 BMW Z4
    The video link no longer works. I am having this same issue on a "new to me" 2003 Z4. Can you share the video again?

  16. #216
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Nanaimo BCCanada
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    2004 BMW Z4
    Hello BMWha,
    I have this problem with my 2004 Z4. I'm too old to do this myself and wonder if you could send any photos you might have to assist my son in his effort. Thanks so much Dan (13dangus13@gmail.com)

  17. #217
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    NSB, FL
    Posts
    639
    My Cars
    2005 BMW Z4 3.0i
    I think I have the exact opposite of what everyone is dealing with. When the car is cool and not hot the power steering will not engage or work. However, after the car has been sitting in the sun and is nice and toasty the power steering will work like nothing is wrong with it.
    Photbucket looking to make extra money......

  18. #218
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Stratford ct
    Posts
    3
    My Cars
    Z4
    2004 Z4 34k was getting notchy and stiff steering. Did grease fitting. Notchy steering was gone but still stiff. So I adjusted tension ring on electric motor. I used a 6mm (6 in long) ball Allen wrench. IMG_3256.JPG Then a 1/4 in deep socket to help turn 2 bolts to break loose. I also did remove knee air bag before. Moved ring about 14mm . Bottom of tension ring towards rear of car. Maybe 30min for grease fitting and 40min for tension ring. Not including reading all post and other research. Was so happy when I drove car. Steering is perfect. Thanks everyone for posting.

  19. #219
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Yorba Linda CA
    Posts
    103
    My Cars
    2003 BMW Z4,
    Nice work John, any tips on the removal of the air bag.

  20. #220
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    Waikoloa, Hawaii
    Posts
    6
    My Cars
    2005 e85
    Right on, John. Not so bad to do if you kinda know how. Mines been perfect, and it's been really hot lately, so I'm calling it cured.
    Derek24, Pelican Parts has a tutorial on R&R ing the airbag.

  21. #221
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Stratford ct
    Posts
    3
    My Cars
    Z4
    For knee air bag. I removed both battery connections. Waited 15min .Removed 4 torque screws ,located just behind panel,then pry front 3 clips with plastic tool,panel becomes loose. Then unplugged. Do that by just pulling straight out in line with canister. It is one solid connector. Took me a bit to figure that out. Some recommend to pull air bag fuses,I did not. Maybe 5 min to do. Me like 30min. Because I was scared of it. They recommend putting canister side down on plastic as not to become projectile if goes off. 85 degrees and steering like butter ! Thanks again everyone for all postings was great help.

  22. #222
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2004 Z4

    Grease

    I have a 2004 BMW z4 experiencing the same problem. I went to Advanced Auto parts today to look for a spray grease I can use and the only thing they have is this thing called Blaster White Lithium Grease (https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...E&gclsrc=aw.ds)

    Does anyone know if this is good enough?

  23. #223
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Stratford ct
    Posts
    3
    My Cars
    Z4
    Did some expensive spray lube ,did work for notchy steering. After reading a lot of post did grease fitting like Bmwha post. Think it well work in better over time. Also noticed spray leaked out. Then followed Kamuela's tension ring adjustment. That made steering really nice. I was going to pay to have steering column replaced and now it is not needed. Worth time to read all postings : )

  24. #224
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Barrington, NJ
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2004 BMW Z4
    Steering column replacement

    If you are the original owner contact BMW not the dealer. Theyare aware of the problem and may work with you. They did with me even though itwas out of warranty. They aren’t issuing a recall but they may give you a reducedprice. Mine was quite ample. I had to sign a document stating I would not revealthe terms of the settlement, so that is about all I can say. This was 8 yearsago so I don’t know if it will still work but it’s worth a try.

  25. #225
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    NSB, FL
    Posts
    639
    My Cars
    2005 BMW Z4 3.0i
    I wonder why they are not issuing a recall, seems stupid not to. Potentially life threatening issue that if someone did get in an accident they could pull up the countless cases where BMW acknowledged the fact that something is wrong with the steering column and chose not to issue a recall. This could win easily in a class action lawsuit.
    Photbucket looking to make extra money......

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