'Notchy' e36 steering

[Sea Squirrel]

Can't think of a better way to describe it. Just picked my car back up from getting some work done and a new fault's developed. Just either side of straight ahead there's a lot of resistance and then it snaps past it with enough pressure, only to do the same again a bit further round if I keep turning the wheel. Just had a new aux belt and tensioner fitted, fluid level in power steering checked and the car's on coilovers so it's not a mis-located spring.

Any thoughts?

[DtheBUK]

had any change in alignment lately? cheched the tyre pressures?

My beemer has always been a bit like that, not too badly though

[Sea Squirrel]

Tyre pressures are fine. Alignment was done a while ago and hasn't been changed since, nor has it had any knocks that would put it out of kilter. Has got some slightly wider, lower offset wheels on it but they're actually giving more clearance on the places the old ones rubbed, not less. It's not slight, pretty serious. As in; I have to be careful going round roundabouts serious as the moment it goes past the point of resistance I'm suddenly aiming straight at the roundabout itself with no warning

[DtheBUK]

is it always heavy/light at the exact same point and every time you're at that point?

[Sea Squirrel]

Yeah, exact same point both direction. One thing I'm going to check is the actual boss as I seem to have lost indicator cancelling as well.

[DtheBUK]

bah its beyond me fella

[warby]

Mine did this, sprayed a load of lube ( not wd40) down the middle of the column, through the nut iirc. Until it comes out the bottom. Then drove it about a wee bit. That sorted it.


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[Sea Squirrel]

Mine did this, sprayed a load of lube ( not wd40) down the middle of the column, through the nut iirc. Until it comes out the bottom. Then drove it about a wee bit. That sorted it.


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Good shout, will give that a go with some silicone lubricant later.

[Sea Squirrel]

Having just chatted to a mate of mine who's very into his e36's this is supposedly fairly standard of the e36 steering column UJ drying out - hence why lubing down the column worked for you dude. Going to try and target it more directly, see what happens but that makes sense.

[warby]

Makes sense as the uj is right next to the headers. Heating and thinning any lube in there. Causing it to run away.


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[smokebillowing]

i'd say definitely the UJ on the column mate, mine did this, quite common i think?

[galls_s14a]

ill give lubing mine a go too as ive got a similar thing going opn but not quite as extreme as sea squirrels

[Sea Squirrel]

Just to update, I sprayed silicone lubricant (3.49 a can from Halfrauds) directly onto BOTH of the UJ's (there's one further down that's significantly harder to see and get to), then moved the steering round a couple of times and, finally, left it parked overnight with the steering in the position where it's stiff (my thinking on this is that it would compress the dent edges in the rubber which, in my mind, is what I imagine's happened).

Outcome: steering is now perfect.