steering coupling

[moots]

my weekend drive on my e30 came with some vague steering.there seem to be too much slop in the steering wheel.the e30 has a rubber coupling that connects the upper half to the lower half of the steering column (to isolate vibration)and this coupling is located in the engine bay side (hot,hot) as opposed to the e34 where the coupling is located in the cabin side,under the dashboard(much cooler).the engine heat must have led the coupling to a premature death.opened up the bonnet...easy....so i thought.....NOT!shoved aside the coolant tank and clutch reservoir for better access.undo the upper nut and bolt.then the lower ones.then removed the 2 mounting bolts that holds the steering rack.moved the rack fwd to clear the column.it was stuck fast and i needed massive doses of mallet power to eventually remove the son of a gun(the whatchamacallit that connects the upper part of the column to the steering rack).the rubber coupling was indeed torn.lucky me as i still have the replacement coupling from my last power steering mod.replaced the coupling and refitting was thankfully easier.took a good 5 hrs of my time but hey....nothing beats the saisfaction of knowing that the job is done right.:top:

 

[skinhead]

anuther possible solution if the rubber coupling still in good shape is to add more washer .... my junk liddat 1....

 

[pussy]

moots, apart from a well done job, any bruised fingers and nails ?

by the way, not a job for a DYI, but i admit you have guts..

good write up.