Steering wheel rattling and sitting low? (it's not the tilt adjuster)

[jangell]

A bit of a weird one here: my steering wheel rattles a lot, and it's sitting lower than it should. The bushing in the firewall is new, and the adjustment knob is very tight and is not causing the wheel to sink.

I shook the wheel around and found it seem to be where the steering column attaches to the "steering column neck" part connects to the dash frame. The nylocks are very tight, but it seems to be pivoting around that general area.

For clarity, here's a video showing how everything rattles around from a few different angles. Ignore all the custom wiring and ducting and such:


https://youtu.be/wOZv0q44rGk
https://youtu.be/wOZv0q44rGk

Anyone know what I'm missing?

Thanks!

-- Joe

[WHO1DMC]

How is the steering column internal bushing? That might be it.

The pictures are from Dgo.



Dave B.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230927/61c3dc2efc10dff73db56b49addb525d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230927/dc353ede54aa3e06d37a435e8bbc8d49.jpg

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk

[jangell]

That is a good question. I will have to pull the shaft to take a look, although I am not sure when I will have time to do that for a bit.

Although it seems to be stable at the u-joint end of the shaft. Most of the movement seems to come from the steering wheel end.

- Joe

[jangell]

I realized just now that I described this in a confusing way:

The shaft is pivoting at the U-joint location, which implies the the end of the shaft is secure. The steering wheel end of is moving up and down. I can't figure out why that isn't locked into place. It's the whole neck that's moving, including the part that has the adjustment knob, so it's not the knob.

This weekend I might take off both knee pads and the instrument cluster and see if I can get a better look at what's going on. Mostly I was hoping to avoid that, but I'm not sure I can.

-- Joe

[Rich]

I think Dave B. nailed it.

No need to tear anything down on yours yet. Just get a good look at the end of the steering crush tube forward in the footwell not far from the ‘firewall’. You can see it with a good flashlight while kneeling outside the door. While looking wiggle the wheel up and down to see the action. See if the bushing is still there.

That bushing on ours slipped forward on its own, coming out of the end of the crush cage around the steering shaft many years ago making the wheel wobble as yours does.

With luck your bushing will have slipped out and still be in one piece. In that case you can press it back into place inside the end of the crush tube while supporting the wheel by hand in order to center the shaft at the end of the tube. I pushed ours all the way back into place by hand. It remains in place to this day.

But if your bushing looks damaged then replace it.

[David T]

I think Dave B. nailed it.

No need to tear anything down on yours yet. Just get a good look at the end of the steering crush tube forward in the footwell not far from the ?firewall?. You can see it with a good flashlight while kneeling outside the door. While looking wiggle the wheel up and down to see the action. See if the bushing is still there.

That bushing on ours slipped forward on its own, coming out of the end of the crush cage around the steering shaft many years ago making the wheel wobble as yours does.

With luck your bushing will have slipped out and still be in one piece. In that case you can press it back into place inside the end of the crush tube while supporting the wheel by hand in order to center the shaft at the end of the tube. I pushed ours all the way back into place by hand. It remains in place to this day.

But if your bushing looks damaged then replace it.

While you are checking things, examine that crush area (I call it the "cage") for any breaks. I have seen where it gets broken and then the column moves around a lot. Take it all apart and weld it if it is broken. Probably because some people try to lift themselves out of the car by pulling on the steering wheel. The other thing to check is all of the hardware used for the tilting. If it is not assembled correctly it doesn't lock the column in place. Of course check the steering bushing too.

[Jonathan]

Thank you to those that have contributed to this thread. I saw the title and read the original post and was like "wait a minute, that's what my car has been doing recently."

Well, I went out and had a look at that bushing you described and actually found something more peculiar... the entire lower half or so of the cage is no longer connected to the upper half. Like enough of those wire pieces broke that it isn't one piece anymore. So that internal bushing isn't doing anything to hold the column in place because the cage isn't held in place anymore.

So I'm thinking I'll go the route of a brand new steering column from DMCH. They are $300 USD from the looks of it. Any words of wisdom for replacing such a thing? Or a procedure to follow? Or other fasteners or parts that would be a good idea to also replace with new or at least closely inspect once it's all apart anyway?

[WHO1DMC]

Thank you to those that have contributed to this thread. I saw the title and read the original post and was like "wait a minute, that's what my car has been doing recently."

Well, I went out and had a look at that bushing you described and actually found something more peculiar... the entire lower half or so of the cage is no longer connected to the upper half. Like enough of those wire pieces broke that it isn't one piece anymore. So that internal bushing isn't doing anything to hold the column in place because the cage isn't held in place anymore.

So I'm thinking I'll go the route of a brand new steering column from DMCH. They are $300 USD from the looks of it. Any words of wisdom for replacing such a thing? Or a procedure to follow? Or other fasteners or parts that would be a good idea to also replace with new or at least closely inspect once it's all apart anyway?The only big thing to check if your taking it all out. Would be the bulkhead or "firewall" bushing.


Dave B.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk

[Jonathan]

The only big thing to check if your taking it all out. Would be the bulkhead or "firewall" bushing.


Dave B.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk

Thanks. I will probably get a new one of those too. I replaced mine a number of years ago and used the "cut and stuff" method because I didn't have it all out. If it's all out, I'll go ahead and put a new bushing in there that hasn't been cut in half.

[David T]

As I said in an earlier post, if the "cage" is broken it is an easy job to weld it once you remove it from the car. Just make sure to take note of all of the hardware so you can reassemble it correctly. Unless the steering bushing looks perfect you should replace it.

[DMCMW Dave]

Any words of wisdom for replacing such a thing? Or a procedure to follow? Or other fasteners or parts that would be a good idea to also replace with new or at least closely inspect once it's all apart anyway?

Remove the steering wheel first.

Take out the front seat, you'll be spending some time under there taking the larger bolts loose. Not 100% needed but helps.

Remove the little vent cover where it connects to the door, and remove the cardboard tube that connects it to the plastic duct. Give much better visibility to what you need to disconnect. Not 100% needed but helps.

Read the instructions on replacing the steering column bushing since it's almost the same job. As mentioned, replace the bushing if it isn't 100% perfect.

https://support.delorean.com/kb/a71/play-or-movement-in-the-steering-column.aspx

Quite honestly there isn't any good reason that you can't weld the cage. Or find a good welding shop to do it.

[Jonathan]

Remove the steering wheel first.

Take out the front seat, you'll be spending some time under there taking the larger bolts loose. Not 100% needed but helps.

Remove the little vent cover where it connects to the door, and remove the cardboard tube that connects it to the plastic duct. Give much better visibility to what you need to disconnect. Not 100% needed but helps.

Read the instructions on replacing the steering column bushing since it's almost the same job. As mentioned, replace the bushing if it isn't 100% perfect.

https://support.delorean.com/kb/a71/play-or-movement-in-the-steering-column.aspx

Quite honestly there isn't any good reason that you can't weld the cage. Or find a good welding shop to do it.

Thanks a lot, Dave.

I'll get it out of the car and then see what my options are with welding.

"After a generous amount of solvent"... oh boy, yea, and then some. This will be another thing on the car that hasn't been touched in my ownership and will probably not come apart without a struggle. That list of parts and projects is getting smaller though over 16+ years, lol.

[jangell]

I finally got around to checking this out again. The bushing at the end of the column appears to be inserted correctly. It seems to be on there firmly and doesn't shift around. I couldn't move it when I tried to just push it into the shaft. It doesn't seem to be broken either.

70069

Odd; I don't know why the photo attached upside down. You get the idea, though.

As for the cage, I did find it cracked when I took the column out a couple years ago, and poorly welded it back up. This appears to have been the cause of the current problem, because I grabbed the bottom and lightly twisted it and it easily snapped in two.

70070

So I'm going to pull that out and weld it back together more robustly than I did before (I have a TIG welder now, which I like quite a bit more than the wire-fed no-gas machine I used last time). Hopefully that will fix it.

Thanks for all the help -- I'll report back when I'm done.

-- Joe

[jangell]

Just to wrap this up: It was definitely the cage. I properly welded it this time, and the wheel is a lot more stable now and sits in the right position.

Thanks everyone for the help!

-- Joe