Reduce play in steering (5min job with guide)

[MIkey kc]

well asoon as i saw this thread i thought brill a quick fix for the slight play in my steering column. I went straight outside in the rain got the tools out to check the bolts! gutted mine are tight as fook! no fix for me.
I had a quick look around and to get rid of the play (up and down movement in the steering wheel) is to replace the steering column itself because the play is internal, because the column is adjustable so there are tubes which slide into each other and they have play inbetween them

 

[cupraRgstar]

im gutted also started to read the thread and thought brilliant but then reading on the

thoughts on this fix become more negative, gonna give it a bash anyway see if it fixes the

lousy steering.

 

[Razor]

Great guide !

 

[artemis_1991]

Just done this, feel slightly more responsive. may only be pshycological, but better for it to be phsycologically better than actually worse eh?!

 

[cus]

well with my dash out.. and 139k on the clock, i'm hoping my bolts have probably become loose over time. so will tighten them cheers. will let you know if it makes any difference!

 

[roloking1806]

will give it a go i suppose!! whats the harm in tryin eh? ta

 

[cus]

well done and it seems to have made a difference. no clunking when on full lock!! :| honestly!
it does feel tighter as well. as in it does what i tell it to! very happy, thankyou

 

[Jordan20vt]

No problem I think you notice it more over rough roads and low speed maneuvers.

 

[Daymo]

i'll give this a go at the weekend when i'm back at home, looks like a good quide though mate

 

[artemis_1991]

Didnt really do much for me after a bit pf driving, worth a shot though.

 

[Ross_Cupra-R]

Tried this tonight, the bolts were tight but still gave a bit if tightening so will go out for a drive and see how it feels.

Hopefully notice some improvement

 

[lemonslap]

How is a tiny bit of movement goin to stop the steering wheel hitting you??? The rack is so burried under the car toward the back it would probably never get hit in an accident anyway. There should not be play in the steering, those bolts are there purely to hold the shafts tight together. There should not be any play.

I love being flamed by someone who has no clue on vehicle safety and never mind that I have had 11 years+ in the trade! (sorry all for the rant) The steering shaft is designed to absorb impact and slid together, ever been in a bad car accident while driving? I have and trust me the steering shaft does move alot upwards and if you look at it there is about 2-3 inch's of travel within this component.

 

[Jordan20vt]

I love being flamed by someone who has no clue on vehicle safety and never mind that I have had 11 years+ in the trade! (sorry all for the rant) The steering shaft is designed to absorb impact and slid together, ever been in a bad car accident while driving? I have and trust me the steering shaft does move alot upwards and if you look at it there is about 2-3 inch's of travel within this component.

I understand what your saying, however if this was a desgined weak point surely everybody would have the same amount of play at the joint... but they don't. Some have excessive play, some have a small amount and some have none what so ever.

I think rather than this movement being there from the factory as a saftey feature, it is more likley just general wear, how else would you explain the varied results?

 

[roloking1806]

This teaches us to tighten the heck out of our nuts, and make sure that the play in your steering allows you to avoid crashing! ... off topic, but what kind of rating do the 01 ibizas score with regard to safety?

 

[Jordan20vt]

This teaches us to tighten the heck out of our nuts, and make sure that the play in your steering allows you to avoid crashing! ... off topic, but what kind of rating do the 01 ibizas score with regard to safety?

lol

They are NCAP 3 star. Funily enough the Polo 6N2 is a 4 star??

 

[artemis_1991]

They are NCAP 3 star. Funily enough the Polo 6N2 is a 4 star??

Hmm... interesting....

 

[lemonslap]

I understand what your saying, however if this was a desgined weak point surely everybody would have the same amount of play at the joint... but they don't. Some have excessive play, some have a small amount and some have none what so ever.

I think rather than this movement being there from the factory as a saftey feature, it is more likley just general wear, how else would you explain the varied results?

I also hear what your saying mate but these bolts will have a certain torque setting, so just tighting them up as much as possible maybe isn't best practice

 

[ffoxy]

Tried the suggestion made by Jordan 20vt on my daughters 1.4 Mk3 Ibiza & it worked... Spot - on fella! Half a turn on each nut... mint now!

 

[Spud_G40]

I also hear what your saying mate but these bolts will have a certain torque setting, so just tighting them up as much as possible maybe isn't best practice

Trust me mate it works, It was a seat master tech at my old work that gave me that tip. Tightening that right up can only make things safer as its meant to be tight from the factory. Fixed my fault right away, hense the reason I posted it in the first place.

 

[Hulkray]

think ill be trying this tip one evening this week, thanks