Steering shaft slop.

[PeterH]

Hi all, I have discovered the cause of a knock in my steering, the steering shaft top uni joint seems to have developed a bit of play.
I could reach in and move it side to side by hand, so I'm probably in need of a new steering shaft.
I have read they need replacing after about 10 years, this would be the original one on my 2001 HSE.
Has anyone done this job before? I'd love any tips or advice.
The lower uni joint looks pretty straight forward, but the upper one looks very hard to get at, the brake booster is very much in the way, I could just feel the bolt with my hand, but looks like a tough spot to get any tools in there.
Any tips appreciated!
Thanks, Pete.

[Anthony Violi]

Hi Pete,
Need to remove wheel arch plastic liner. Will give you space to see and access.

[PeterH]

Thanks Anthony, I will do that.
It looks very straight forward in the rave manual, but in practice tips like that make all the difference.
Cheers, Pete.

[Anthony Violi]

No probs Pete,
Plastic screw/plugs are a 2 piece. Cheap eBay.

[p38arover]

Centre the steering and remove key. Do not move the steering wheel with the shaft removed as you are likely to destroy the clockspring/helical thingie (the name has gone completely from my brain - it's too cold and early for it to work) in the steering. It has the electrical connections from the steering wheel.

[Anthony Violi]

Whilst on topic. Can someone please take photos of their steering shaft attached to vehicle?
I have removed (forgot to take photo) now I am unsure how to refit. Particularly at the top connecting to steering wheel. Is the bolt positioned on the left or right. I have looked at rave, still confused.

[PeterH]

Here you go Anthony, this is how mine presently is.
I'm fitting a new shaft tomorrow, so I took a couple of pics for reference.
The top bolt on mine is off to the right hand side, when looking at it standing in front of the vehicle.
The top bolt is partially undone in this photo, which is handy as you can see the direction.
The wheels are in straight ahead position in this photo.
Hope that helps!
Cheers, Pete.

[Anthony Violi]

Thanks Pete,
Pictures are very helpful. I am a little paranoid when it comes to the steering, obviously want to be certain of doing things the correct and safe way. As yourself I am still learning.
I am happy to say that I had refitted steering shaft the correct way, as per your pictures. My steering does have a fair bit of play, the vehicle does steer straight but I think I need to replace ball joints, perhaps bushes aswell.
Goodluck refitting your new shaft. Clean all mating surfaces and grease splines. Do not use hammer or force to refit.
Cheers
Anthony

[PeterH]

Got the new steering shaft in, was a pretty easy job, the hard part was getting in the right position to reach that top bolt.
I removed the inner guard (thanks Anthony for that tip), allowing easy access to the bolts.
As it turns out, the top uni joint had been way over tightened by a PO or heavy handed mechanic, stripping the thread on the bolt and the internal thread on the uni joint, causing movement to occur. The rave manual states a torque of 25nm (18ft/lb), which is not very tight, that bolt was very very tight!
It would not have undone itself, it took a bit of effort to remove the bolt, but that was the cause of my steering slop and knocking.
As far as I can gather, the lower uni joint is available as a seperate part, but the top one only comes with the shaft assembly, which would have required a new shaft anyway.
Thanks for your help Anthony and Ron.

[FANTOM P38]

Sounds like that could have been very dangerous if that stripped bolt let go completely could you have lost all steering control or is there a limit as to how far it could travel?

Sounds like something we should all be checking at this age of these vehicles.
I will get someone to turn wheel whilst i do a visual check from in the engine compartment. Mind you my steering feels good so dont think there is an issue there but wouldn't hurt to check anyway also torque on those bolts.
I'm sure fitting bigger heavier wheels would contribute to extra stress here.

[PeterH]

While the bolt had been stripped in one location, the rest was ok, so it was pretty hard to get that bolt out.
Even if the bolt stripped completely, you would know about it due to clonking loose steering wheel before anything would let go.
Still, not something you want failing, specially at speed!