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Thread: DIY Sticky/Clunky Steering Fix

  1. #251
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Location
    N. FL
    Posts
    23
    My Cars
    2003 Z4
    I thought I would add my experience and pics. (You can't have too many pics!)

    My vehicle is a 2003 USA version E85 Z4 with the 2.5 automatic trans.

    I began by opening the door some so the window would come down a little.
    If your seat is forward you would want to move it back before disconnecting the battery.
    Then I disconnected the battery.
    I placed towels in the floor of the car, on the door sill, and on the floor of the garage to rest my knees on.
    I removed the 6 phillips head screws in the forward panel. It will then drop down and pull out towards you.
    Then I took out the 4 bastard size T27 torx screws holding the airbag. I was able to get them out with a T25. Not sure if I will buy a T27 or not but I got by without it. Leave a couple of these loose while you pry the the clips on the rear of the airbag panel loose.
    The airbag clips took a good bit of force with a 90* plastic pry tool. Two of the clips came off the legs but the right side clip remained on. I put the two that came off back on the legs before putting it back in.
    Cutting the cable ties on the wiring harness made it easier to move the harness and floor vent to gain sight of the forward bolt. Be careful not to pull hard on the harness and unplug or damage any connections. Put new cable ties back in when you finish.
    Pulling the steering wheel back and down gives better access to the bolts.
    I cut the short leg of a 6mm allen wrench to insert in the bolts and break them loose. I used it on both bolts but after breaking them loose I couldn't get another set on it to loosen any further.
    On the forward bolt I used a 3/8" drive 6mm allen, a 3/8" universal joint, a 3" long extension, and a stubby 3/8" ratchet. I was able to feed that in and get enough pull on it to further loosen the front bolt.
    On the rear bolt I used a straight allen wrench that didn't have a ball end. I fed the short leg in from left to right over the column. I got the long straight end in the bolt and used a 6mm open end wrench on the other side of the column to loosen that bolt further.

    I moved the ring up but I didn't bother to measure how far. You can see about how far I moved it in my photo.

    The steering feels noticeably free-er but the temp isn't that hot today. Time will tell.

    Oh, and i drilled the seam area as shown by others and tried to put some red sticky grease in with a pencil point grease gun but it seemed to just push all the grease back out around the crack. I don't think I got any grease to go up into the shaft area.

    Here are the tools I used.



    Here is my prepped area.



    These are the cable ties I cut.



    I didn't try to take a pic of the ratchet placement on the front bolt but here is where I used an open end on the allen to get the rear bolt looser.



    Finally here are my marks showing the direction and amount of adjustment.


  2. #252
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Location
    Webster, Fl
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    1977 MGB / 2005 Z4
    I tried drilling the hole in the flanged section of the column and got the angle wrong and hit the outer race of the support bearing. Decided to drill the next hole further back toward the driver seat and go directlt for the gear face. Had to remove the unused bolt lug support gusset to get to the area where i wanted to drill. the Dermel tool did that job. Drilled the hole and came out right in the center of the gear teeth. I could see the teeth going by the hole as I turned the steering wheel. Injected some dielectric between the teeth with a grease needle. Problem is completely gone. Been driving in 90 to 95 F temps the last few days and it's like a new car

  3. #253
    Join Date
    Mar 2021
    Location
    East Texas
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    04 BMW Z4 2.5
    Hello all and I of course also am thankful for all the comments here.

    I just picked up a 2004 BMW Z4 2.5 with same issue. After reading ALL the posts, I braved under the wheel intent to drill away. ALREADY DONE. No fitting, just a hole.

    So, I have no idea how long ago this was done, BUT I do know it has gray colored grease in it and it still sticks. What should I do?

    Can I suck the old grease out somehow?

    What should I replace it with?

    Suggestions please.

  4. #254
    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Location
    Webster, Fl
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    1977 MGB / 2005 Z4
    dfwdave, As I stated in my above post, I tried to drill the hole in the junction of the flange and I hit the bearing race and could not get any grease past the bearing, the grease just filled the hole and pushed back out. So I drilled another hole further back towards the drive seat and it went through and I could see the gear teeth passing by the hole while turning the steering wheel. I believe the sticky steering problem is due to the grease used during factory installation of the steering motor has been worn away at the steering wheel 12 o'clock position. This is the position the steering is in for 99% of the time while driving the car. Because the torque sensor for the steering motor in attached to the gear I did not feel good about using WD 40 or other lubes that me effect the sensor so I used dielectric grease. I did this more then 6 months ago and have been using the car as a daily driver in Florida. Steering still works like new.

  5. #255
    Join Date
    May 2021
    Location
    Matthews NC
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2003 Z4
    Knowthebattle, I have a 2003 Z4 with the exact same problem that you described back in 2017, car needs to get warm for the power steering to work.
    Did you ever get it resolved? I didn't see thay anyone replied to your post.
    Thanks

  6. #256
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    BMWZ4
    I have a 2008Z4 with sticky steering. Has the factory fixed this on a 2008 which would mean I have another issue.

  7. #257
    Join Date
    Jan 2022
    Location
    League City, Texas
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2005 Z4 2.5
    Hello! I have a 2005 2.5L convertible with the sticky steering issue when I start my Z4; however, when i turn on the heater on select the heater foot blower setting, the heat loosens the steering and all is normal for my entire drive. Once the car sits overnight and I start it the next morning repeatable issue. Hot temps make my steering "unstick" and work properly. Any clues or advice would be greatly appreciated.

  8. #258
    Join Date
    Mar 2022
    Location
    Taiwan
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    E85 2003
    Here we are 10 years later and I just used this to successfully fix my recently purchased Z4. Thanks so much!

  9. #259
    Join Date
    Jun 2022
    Location
    Victoria BC Canada
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2005 BMW Z4
    could you please possibly still email these pics if you're still on this forum?

  10. #260
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Japan
    Posts
    54,613
    My Cars
    11/88 E32 750iL+98 E36M3
    which pics? the pics in post # 251 can be seen, if not, use another browser.
    Shogun tricks and tips for the E32 series are HERE!

  11. #261
    Join Date
    May 2022
    Location
    Beaufort, South Carolina
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2004 z4

    Sticky Steering Drill Depth - 04' Z4 US

    [QUOTE=Bmwha;25138669]englishdchs.edublogs

    So I tried to drill to the shaft. Using a 1/8" drill bit, I easily made it to a 5/8" depth but with just a visual inspection it appeared that the bit was not all the way through the housing. Tried again, with less pressure but could feel that the bit was not penetrating any further and was hitting a solid surface. I then looked with a scope to see if there could be a gap between the housing and the shaft to indicate that I may need to drill deeper. Did not notice a gap. Question....are the tolerances between the housing and the shaft in close tolerance so I would not see a gap? And is the 5/8" a max depth? How do you know when you penetrated the housing? Maybe I should follow up with a larger bit so I could see down the hole a bit easier?

    Thanks!

  12. #262
    Join Date
    May 2023
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2004 Z4 3.0i SE Manual
    I have researched this till i'm blue in the face before I attempt the procedure. I was just wondering if instead of drilling a hole is it not possible to split the shaft here slightly to insert grease that way?

  13. #263
    Join Date
    May 2023
    Location
    Middleburg fl
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    2004 bmw z4
    I found this old thread about steering fix. Are you still involved with bmw cars. Need advise on this repair. Thanks

  14. #264
    Join Date
    May 2023
    Location
    Middleburg fl
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    2004 bmw z4
    I have a 2004 z4 with same steering problem. I live in north florida. I am having a problem identifying the point to drill from pictures. Could I contact you for additional info can be reached at 904/449-0526. Thanks

  15. #265
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Victoria BC Canada
    Posts
    378
    My Cars
    2004 Z4, 1700 Nomad MC
    There is a new procedure in the TIS for this repair. It involves an adjustment of the space (???) in the power steering motor internals instead of injecting grease.

    It’s now the official way to correct this issue. German enthusiasts researched/posted this years ago and was adopted by BMW officially.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  16. #266
    Join Date
    Feb 2024
    Location
    Stamford, England
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2003 BMW Z4 3.0i
    Thanks Dan for the further write up. I'm going out to the garage now to have a look at the steering column and get a better real idea of where exactly I should drill and where those 6mm hex bolts are.

  17. #267
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Miamisburg, Ohio
    Posts
    816
    My Cars
    1997 328iC, 2003 Z4
    Quote Originally Posted by Clearancediver View Post
    There is a new procedure in the TIS for this repair. It involves an adjustment of the space (???) in the power steering motor internals instead of injecting grease.

    It’s now the official way to correct this issue. German enthusiasts researched/posted this years ago and was adopted by BMW officially.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Is it possible to share this information?

  18. #268
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Victoria BC Canada
    Posts
    378
    My Cars
    2004 Z4, 1700 Nomad MC
    Get ISTAD software and then learn via YouTube videos how to use the menu features to drill down on technical info on how to do this repair.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  19. #269
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Miamisburg, Ohio
    Posts
    816
    My Cars
    1997 328iC, 2003 Z4
    Quote Originally Posted by Clearancediver View Post
    Get ISTAD software and then learn via YouTube videos how to use the menu features to drill down on technical info on how to do this repair.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Thanks for the help. I have an E36 and an E85. Of which neither are on the list that the software work with.

  20. #270
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Victoria BC Canada
    Posts
    378
    My Cars
    2004 Z4, 1700 Nomad MC
    Interesting where this list was obtained from.

    The software works perfectly fine with my 2004 3.0i Z4


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  21. #271
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Victoria BC Canada
    Posts
    378
    My Cars
    2004 Z4, 1700 Nomad MC
    Try looking up some of the results from this Google search…

    https://www.google.com/search?q=z4+s...&client=safari

    Disregard the ones about drilling into the column. Look at the one …along with others… that references shortening an Allen key …

    https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1616159

    It gives a very brief overview of how it was done .. but doesn’t show how little the adjustment is … use it as a reference on which procedure you are looking for. There was a post I saw that had pictures.

    When making adjustments always scribe a line across the adjustment items to ensure you have a “zero” point as a reference. It literally is just a few mm in movement that is the “fix”…


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  22. #272
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Miamisburg, Ohio
    Posts
    816
    My Cars
    1997 328iC, 2003 Z4
    Quote Originally Posted by Clearancediver View Post
    Try looking up some of the results from this Google search…

    https://www.google.com/search?q=z4+s...&client=safari

    Disregard the ones about drilling into the column. Look at the one …along with others… that references shortening an Allen key …

    https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1616159

    It gives a very brief overview of how it was done .. but doesn’t show how little the adjustment is … use it as a reference on which procedure you are looking for. There was a post I saw that had pictures.

    When making adjustments always scribe a line across the adjustment items to ensure you have a “zero” point as a reference. It literally is just a few mm in movement that is the “fix”…


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Thanks I will do more research & this is a good start.

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