A steering saga...

[duncan-uk]

So you may recall i bought a 535i sport touring back in January with a good specification, carbon black and cream leather.

I felt very grown up...

All felt good on local and short trips but i then had cause to drive to Newcastle and back in a day. A journey thats not fun but i have done before in various cars on numerous occasions.

So assumed the F11 would monster the trip. I started to notice i needed to correct the wheel quite a lot - not massive amounts, i would call them "micro corrections" which i put down to our shocking roads, 19" run flats and electric power steering (EPS).

However when i got home i was shattered more so that i have been in the past on the same run to the point i canned a 10k run i'd entered the next day.

My assumption was: tyres, alignment, worn rod end so i fitted new PS5 michelin non-RFT, had an alignment at Black Boots in Amersham who are a noted aligment centre and yes it felt improved but as i say you need a long run to feel how weirysome it was.

So the next test was our holiday in Ironbridge and again it felt better but still something amiss, sport setting made no difference.

I went back and had alignment rechecked and this was reset again and of course no play found across the rack or track rod ends (TRE) so am starting to think is this just me...

But no something isn't right and steering issues drive me nuts, my e28 was spot on when finished as i'd been through every part, carefully aligned etc I just cant abide off steering!

So i start googling and see being an early car there was talk of steering issues with EPS and that a software update helped - this makes sense the EPS is controlled by the software so i spoke to CPC in Amersham and they said yes they could update the car and take a look.

Tech noted something was maybe amiss with steering feel and we agreed to update the software - but it kept locking their dealer access kit and there were concerns i may need a new module but as these are £600, non-refundable and no gaurentee we didn't feel it was worth trying.

To be fair to Phil, who's done a few cars for me with good results, suggested a main dealer for the update but he only charged me the hours diagnostic we had agreed.

This lead to my first dealings with BMW main dealer servicing.... Trying to speak to someone technical was impossible but eventually i got booked in and explained what i wanted -whole car software update (no not NAV thank you...) but we got there and to be fair once in the system Sytner Luton were fine.

Though i didn have to walk a mile in the 37ºc heat we had and wait 2 hrs for a train home...

At this point i'm thinking if lets say its the module i will cough up and be done but time is ticking on as we are due to go to the south of France....

Update complete,  module not needed but car feels ok, different? I don't know but again a long trip is needed to really feel it.

So did we take it to France.....

 

 

[duncan-uk]

...Well yes i did, the e39 was considered, its done it 3 times and always served us well but it has a clonk i need to get to the bottom off (top mount i think) so we took the F11.

I knew by Dover it was not fixed and was not thrilled by the prospect of 1800miles especially whe we hit Dover on 'That' day. 6 hours late we boarded the ferry (thanks Brexit) and once in France the smooth tarmac was tolerable but what i found was a cross wind or lorry or need to steer swiftly was slightly off.

But with many miles i could ponder why it felt wrong. On tarmac free of potholes and lorry ruts it tracked straight and true but i was concluding there was slack between the steering wheel and rack not across the TRE and rack but in the column or connection to column.

Had similar on the e46 where an ostensibly sound rubber connection gave a small amount of play which once changed made a huge difference yet you wouldn't notice with the part in your hand.

We arrived in Lyon at 2am, we'd left home at 5:45am  i was broken and annoyed - missed dinner in the restaurant we had planned and relaxing evening and i was anooyed with the car.

Next day the traffic was awful on the route de soeleil and in the end we ducked off on the D93 heading to Gap, then Serres (lovely) on to aix en provence and on to Frejus.

The roads where stunning car ok as the constant steering masked the straight ahead issues but it did mean we arrived at our destination about 10pm again i was broken.

Basically the trip took 40hrs and yes we had a night stop but i've done same journey in about 15hrs...

But we had arrived and i relaxed after a while.

Whilst there i had a check of the column to see if anything was awry - again felt maybe there was play between column and rack but nothing conculsive, i had a socket set but clearly no way to delve in so left it be and drank Rose in the sun....

[duncan-uk]

Journey back was better traffic wise and I developed a relaxed way to hold the wheel which let the car do its thing, as i say it tracked true and we made it home but the question was whether to accept this is how they are or sell it on but i didn't feel I could sell in good conscience as i was sure this couldn't be how it was meant to be.

So after i discounted burning it - i hated it that much - i looked to the cure.

Once i had a weekend free I set to investigating, as previously confirmed across the rack and TRE's it felt fine, from France i had ordered a used steering column and mount for £40 to see how it all went together.

After lots of prodding and poking, clamping and twisting it could only be the rack where the shaft entered from the column... Balls.

New racks are in the "ow bloody much!!!' territory and other suppliers not much better if available.

Eventually I stumbled on http://www.westernpowersteering.co.uk/ who would supply a fully recon rack, gaitors and track rods for about £620 exchange posted both ways.

I bit the bullet and ordered along with some new track rod ends (in for a penny and all that) and then later for belt and braces new steering column UJs from our sponsors Cotswold BMW plus some fitment odds and ends (3 & 6 here)

 

Then i prepared to get dirty!...

 

 

[JCP]

I'm now on the edge of my seat waiting for the result....  🙂  What a saga!

[Andrew]

C'mon @duncan-uk, pics of the job, not arty farty pics of the car.

😛

[AndrewToo]

…and then?…😉

[mullinsj08]

OK, I'm glad it's not just me who feels the same way about the steering on this platform...driving up and down the A3 which is a fairly alright road I find myself having to make quite a few small corrections which I'm fairly certain I didn't have to make in my E46 and the E60 (for the week it lasted with me) 😋

Looking forward to the next part of this gripping story! 👍

[duncan-uk]

6 hours ago, Andrew said:

C'mon @duncan-uk, pics of the job, not arty farty pics of the car.

😛

Patience!

[duncan-uk]

4 hours ago, mullinsj08 said:

OK, I'm glad it's not just me who feels the same way about the steering on this platform...driving up and down the A3 which is a fairly alright road I find myself having to make quite a few small corrections which I'm fairly certain I didn't have to make in my E46 and the E60 (for the week it lasted with me) 😋

Looking forward to the next part of this gripping story! 👍

My immediate comparisons are an e39 with 195K and an e46 with 93k, The F11 had 51K when the saga started....

[mullinsj08]

1 hour ago, duncan-uk said:

My immediate comparisons are an e39 with 195K and an e46 with 93k, The F11 had 51K when the saga started....

Thanks for the extra context. Yep, I'm comparing an E46 with 64k and E60 with 132k.

The F10 is on 155k and has been like it since I got it on 130k miles.

The only changes I've made are new Michelin PS4 tyres all round, thicker sway bar, new sway bar links, couple of alignments at Wheel Alignment Solutions in Southampton and new thrust arm bushings. As you say, it feels 'better' after an alignment but small corrections are still necessary while driving at motorway speeds.

I will try the software update route as well to see if that helps, my car is still on the March 2011 i-Level it left the factory with.

[duncan-uk]

The update with BMW was £279 so not ruinous though whether it changed anything i'm not sure, certainly no night and day change.

[duncan-uk]

So a big box arrived from Western Power Steering containing a new rack and track rods (note no rod ends) but we will come to that in good time. They send it in a plastic coffin/ crate with special shaped padding and return instructions, once returned you get £60 back i think.

I was interested to see what if anything was wrong with the old rack but not £60 interested!

I didn't take any pictures of the new rack but you'll believe me if i say its like the old one but painted black. This will be a common theme as once i'm into a task i tend not to remember to photgraph stuff.

Next stage is to get the car in the air, i have ramps but you need the wheels off the ground and wheels off so up on the ramps it went then i lifted the car nice and high on my trolley jack using the lifting point on the subframe then added the obligatory axle stands and chocks.

Disconnect battery.

The next step is arduous, the two undertrays are held on with 30 - 8mm screws but at this point i find i have an Alpina!

 

Why this is the case i have no idea but I understand Andrew has the same on his so who knows!

The rack itself has a big pair of power cables feeding it which unclip and i cable tied them out of the way. These are the cables clipped to the motor an the plug is to the right. There is also a thinner cable to unplug and clip to one side.

 

Whilst i didn't take many pictures its all very obvious and accessible and the cable carrier is T30 torx

 

Once the wires are removed undo the track rod ends which are counter held with a T40 and a 21mm bolt (much easier than any BMW i've done before and came apart beautifully.

To lower and remove the rack and track rods you need to remove the wheel arch liner covers thus secured with various 8mm screws and plastic rivets.

 

But before i did i took a few measurements from fixed pints to the disc so i could try and get the alignment close on reassembly

 

 

I'm not sure it matters where you choose but make them repeatable and note the dimensions! I chose 3 and 9 o'clok positions and used the caliper and the disc edge.

Finally before you can remove the rack you need to disconnect the UJ from the rack, this is an E10 and once released the UJ can be tapped / wriggled gently off the rack noting the new rack has a tab that slips into the UJ to centralise the rack.

The rack itself is held by four E head bolts - 2 to the ARB bracket and 2 to the subframe these are E18 and E14 respectively before doing this I supported the rack on the trolley jack ready to lower.

 

 

All things being equal the rack drops down quite easily and by dropping the ARB down it comes out without hassle (you can see the power supply plug tied up and its respective socket position, the plug in the foreground is the smaller wire which presumably is for signals to/ from the ECU.

 

And then excaliber is released!! Note the kids play mats, they're brilliant for a cold driveway!

Note safety flip flops - it was a very hot August day! (Obviously use correct PPE etc etc)

But can i get the rack back in? Is it cured? Will I mess up the alignment when changing the column...

[Andrew]

 

[Andrew]

12 hours ago, duncan-uk said:

 

The next step is arduous, the two undertrays are held on with 30 - 8mm screws but at this point i find i have an Alpina!

 

You want to invest in one of these for just that very job

 

Alpina bits, only fitted to the best ones @duncan-uk 😉

 

 

[duncan-uk]

I’m not sure that would make it any less tedious. It’s not like there hard to undo just all the grovelling on your back. Be much easier on a 2 post lift. 

[Andrew]

1 minute ago, duncan-uk said:

 just all the grovelling on your back. Be much easier on a 2 post lift. 

This is what you want for also doing the underbellies.

Put the screws in the side trays and scoot about on a mechanics skateboard.  Easy, but then I'm not as old and creaky as you.

[duncan-uk]

I have a crawler but never used it much as you need the room under the car. On ramps at weekend it would have made things worse.
 

I’m not as Scottish as you so swings and roundabouts 🤪

[duncan-uk]

Still with me? Good then I shall proceed!

So once you have the new rack side by side with the old one you need to check for any hardware that needs swapping over like the heatshield (8mm bolt or T20 torx – I don’t quite remember) and a few clips if I recall.

I then assembled the new rack with the supplied track rods and my new Lemfoerder TRE’s (note assistant who is not impressed but main reason we have a touring…)

 

 

I then measured the old rack and track rod positions in various places to try and get the tracking somewhere close. Ie the overall pin to pin distance correct and relative to the rack.

Top tip here neither the new rod ends or TRE’s came with the clamping collet you need between the TRE and track rods so you need to retrieve this from the old rack (after you’ve measured it as above obviously) I didn’t realise at first and had to fit up and adjust the rack length twice – oh well its easy enough when all new and out the car.

I’m told by Western Power Steering the supplied track rods are either Delphi or Napa so maybe other brands include the collets but I’m 99.9% sure they weren’t in the box or with the Lemfoerder TRE’s.

The track rod ends fit to the rack with a 41mm nut, I ordered a crow foot spanner but it didn’t arrive in time so my BF adjustable served the purpose.

Those of a sensitive nature look away now – I didn’t torque these because I didn’t have the crows foot but nipped them up to "feels about right tight" – I like to think I’ve done enough spannering to be in the right area but obviously boys, girls and all those in between get out the torque wrenches!

Remember to install the gaiters before fitting to the rack but at this point I didn’t clamp them up.

As Haynes were fond of saying refitting is the reverse of removal and pretty simple work noting to use the torque wrench to the required figures that currently escape me but can be found in BMW TIS.

Once installed you can use your previous dimensions to get the tracking close (remember to keep the steering wheel straight throughout the task) and then once happy double check you have collets fitted, tighten the retaining nuts and secure the gaiters. Again my CV boot clamp tool had not arrived so I used the tried and trusted black cable tie.

Is it a bodge? I’m not sure it seems to do the job as well as an OE metal clamp if not as pretty.

Once all back together I had the steering wheel light on the dash and my Foxwell code reader threw some codes, one of which tells me the rack is not coded to the car (more later) and that I need to calibrate the lock stops, fortunately the Foxwell is able to do the latter and I followed its instructions to calibrate the rack and remove the dash warning light.

I've read you can do this without a code reader which entails winding the wheel from lock to lock in a certain order but Foxwell monitors the speed of rotation and if you go too fast it asks you to repeat so suspect without could be hit and miss.

So back together and all seemed well…

So dear reader did matters improve? Did I waste ££££ and a day of my life? Are F10/11s simply not for me? Am I simply impossible to please….

Tune in next time for another thrilling instalment…

 

[neil.o]

enjoying the instalment type delivery here...   with Project Binky (ugga dugga)  lacking in youtube updates this is a far better episode update pace !

[duncan-uk]

I’m afraid there will be a binky type pause as currently away but will update after weekend!

[duncan-uk]

I’m going to go out of order here as the next step once we were back together was for a further four-wheel alignment and road test which we shall come too in due course.

But to ensure all and any play was eliminated in the system I elected for new UJs and rubber guibo/ donut in the steering column and as such anything that may have worn will have been replaced or reconditioned. The Rubber joint in my e46 looked ok but replacing it was a massive improvement.

As I say I went with genuine BMW courtesy of Cotswold BMW, our sponsors.

First I put the car up on ramps and centred the steering wheel, being on its wheels the rack won’t move as we don’t want to lose the alignment.

The next step is to access the column within the cabin, this is affixed with an 8mm bolt on the transmission tunnel and a t20 Torx on the underside of the knee trim adjacent to the door.

With these removed it’s a case of releasing the panel. The transmission trim needs freeing as it sits over the trim so it needs a gentle tug. There are some clips on the front edge the main panel that again are freed with a tug after which it pulls forward and affixed by hooks.

The OBC socket is held with a slide clip which once released allows the socket to pop out (its not unplugged) the OBC sounder and footwell lights are then unplugged.

As an aside I was tempted to bin the OBC sounder the amount it chides you!!

I then wrapped some tape around the shaft where it enters the UJ and marked its position relative to the steering wheel, as before the rack UJ is keyed so easy to align, the shafts can only be connected one way so this is the only place where you can get the steering wheel out of position which if you’re like me is really irritating!

So as well as the tape I clamped the column with mole grips.

Disassembly is quite easy the column is secured to the adjustable steering wheel section by an E10 bolt, it’s the same size at the rack end and the connecting joint too accessed under the car.

I undid and removed the three bolts, released the UJ from the rack with some wobbling and gentle taps and the UJ in the car with a timber off cut and hammer.

Once freed the centre joint just pulls apart. There is a slip joint in the upper section so the parts are free to move in and out.

The lower section comes out from underneath and the upper section pulls out through a grommet in the bulkhead.

Refit is the reverse, I put the lower section on the rack (keyed remember) and then slid the upper section through the bulk head and bolted the two together with a dab of Loctite.

Carefully I realigned the upper column on the splines with the previous marks I made. The joint didn’t just slide up the splines so needed a gentle persuasion with the hammer which meant the mole grips fell off (access is tricky and mine didn’t quite fit the space) a bit of trial and error with alignment refitting and removal had it all lined up.

Nipped everything up, refitted trim and tidied away.

Reversed down the ramps all felt good swung out onto the road and thought I felt momentary tightness of the column like binding but wasn’t sure and otherwise felt good. Then bong DSC warning light – well WTF? I’ve not touched that google suggested maybe a low battery – ok I’ve had door open ignition on etc.

A little drive then all felt normal but then a steering wheel warning again WTF I’ve only touched mechanical stuff literally nothing electrical.

A scan with the Foxwell revealed a litany of implausibility codes, maybe it needs a reset and stops resetting but no nothing doing. Lots of head scratching and pondering what have I done!

I called it a day and went inside disconsolate….

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind!

© Noel Harrison

[Stringbag]

Steering angle sensor? Sounds almost identical to the issue this guy had-

 

[duncan-uk]

Maybe, maybe not. Some of you will be ahead of me 😉

[duncan-uk]

So lets review what I’ve done, replaced rack – no issues fault codes cleared and stops set. Its not coded to car yet but no issues.

I’ve then removed the steering column to replace the UJ that connects to the rack and the rubber donut where it meets the steering wheel.

Nothing electrical has been touched.

One can clear all the codes but after a short drive the DSC disabled warning comes on. When manoeuvring we get that tight spot feeling again – just once but that then triggers the steering warning but steering feels fine lock to lock.

 

 

Hmmm odd indicators are not cancelling…..

Rear reversing camera shows an arc when the wheels are dead ahead as if the car thinks I have some lock on…

The car tracks straight and true, the wheel is straight, but wait remember I dropped the mole grips and had to align the UJ a couple of times to get it right it came off the column…

 

 

Backing the steering wheel one turn straightened the parking display…

 

 

Have I turned the wheel inadvertently?

Only one way to check and that’s to note that turning the wheel right straightens the reversing arc that’s going away to the left…

Only one way to find out for sure. No need to jack up the car this time simply strip out the trim as before and disconnect the joint in the cabin, turn the wheel 360º anticlockwise and refit (carefully aligning the splines again) for a straight wheel.

Clear codes, switch on. No lights. Wheel turns lock to lock without the tight spot. Into reverse and reversing view is pointing straight as the wheel.

Quick drive shows indicators cancelling and still no lights on the dash.

 

 

Seems some how I managed to rotate the wheel 360º unknowingly which makes the steering angle sensor have a hissy fit – the tight spot was obviously the haptic feedback from the lock stops.

 

 

Phew! Big relief.

 

 

As I said before the car had been aligned after the rack, rod ends and track rod arms so should all be good now.

So how does it drive…

[duncan-uk]

No pictures Andrew before you ask as same process as before obviously!