Steering column bracket squeaking

[Jonty]

Hey all

I’ve got a fairly annoying squeaking and grinding where, I think, the steering column bracket attaches to the frame under the dash. Any force up or down or side to side on the steering wheel makes the noise. I’ve tried to see if I can see the connection and get to it from underneath but looks hidden. Anyone had this before and will it require a dash removal to get at? I can also try remove the binnacle to see if I can see what is causing it. By the way I don’t see any movement around the bushing seems more up around the windscreen.

Thanks

[Jonathan]

Have you tried to look at it from the brake fluid reservoir access panel in the trunk? That view gives you a pretty good look at the steering rack and joints.

[Mark D]

Have you tried to look at it from the brake fluid reservoir access panel in the trunk? That view gives you a pretty good look at the steering rack and joints.

I think you might have read "frame" in the original post and assumed he meant the chassis frame. What he's talking about is the metal bracket that holds the steering column in place directly behind the steering wheel / stalk canopy.

I was having a similar issue on my car and it turned out to be a couple of loose nuts where the steering column attaches to the adjuster that allows the column to move up and down. I could access the nuts on the bottom pretty easily, but the bolt heads would spin. Eventually I figured out a way to get a wrench up towards the top to hold the bolt while I tightened the nut. .


Here's a highlighted diagram.



And this post is mostly unrelated, but has lots of good close up photos of the steering column attachment points.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?94...h-Tube-Cracked



I'm pretty sure I had the driver's seat already pulled out at the time so that allowed me to lay flat on my back and work up underneath the dash.

I eventually ended up pulling the whole steering column at one point to clean off the adjuster bolt knob and sliding mechanism so that it was free of grease. Prior to cleaning it off I wasn't able to tighten the adjuster knob tight enough to not have the column keep sliding down by itself after driving on a bumpy road.

[Jonty]

Thanks guys

The bolts (number 5 in diagram) are tight. It’s actually whatever the connection is between the bracket and the actual frame of the car up by the windscreen. That diagram doesn’t seem to show that connection. If I wiggle the column the noise comes from right up under the dash.

[David T]

Most often that kind of noise is just a bad steering column bushing.

[Mark D]

Thanks guys

The bolts (number 5 in diagram) are tight. It’s actually whatever the connection is between the bracket and the actual frame of the car up by the windscreen. That diagram doesn’t seem to show that connection. If I wiggle the column the noise comes from right up under the dash.

I'm hitting a dead end trying to find a diagram that shows the bracket that the column attaches to. Possibly #5 here? PN 106622. https://store.delorean.com/c-316-8-7...rdconsole.aspx That looks like it would be too far forward though compared to what you are describing.

Otherwise it may be the actual pedal box that the column bracket attaches to: https://store.delorean.com/c-360-6-4-0-pedal-box.aspx


Without having my car to stick my head under the dash I'm probably not going to be of much help. It does sound like the connecting bracket is probably accessed with the binnacle removed if it's up by the firewall. It's not a crazy amount of work to remove it and it would give you an opportunity to check your speedo connection, grease the cable, check/replace any blown bulbs in the cluster, etc.

If you haven't already done it though, double check the steering column bushing before you start tearing things apart. There should be room to get your hand in there an try and shake it in all directions to make sure there is no play.

[Jonty]

Thanks Mark I think you are onto something with the peddle box. It must be where the box is connected to the frame. There is no play around the bushing.

[Jonty]

Here’s a vid
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W63_uA83Ul4

[Jonty]

Hey all - after a tip above it is almost definately the pedal box loose where is connects to the frame. Anyone know the least amount of bits to remove to get at the bolts where it connects? Thanks heaps!

[Mark D]

From the video it actually sounds like that noise is the back of the steering wheel squeaking up against the plastic canopy that covers the steering column. Try spraying a little bit of lithium grease in there to see if that solves it. You could also try loosening the steering column canopy screws and adjusting it forward a little bit so it's not rubbing on the steering wheel.

You may also need to grease the steering column bushing too as that can be a cause of squeaks if its' really tight.

In general it doesn't sound like a metal on metal squeak from loose screws... it has rubbery kind of sound to it. If the pedal box actually feels loose where it mounts to the body tub that might also make a rubbery kind of squeak since there is mostly just a bunch of glue and RTV silicone holding the front part of the pedal box in place. I think there are only a couple of actual bolts up there. It seems like the squeak happens as you're turning the wheel though which to me points to friction between the steering wheel and the canopy.