Renault Clio Steering U/J
Discussion
I have an old ('96) Clio diesel (65mpg commuting!). Recently, a lot of play has developed in the steering and it is being caused by joint in the steering column shaft just above where the bottom U/J fits on the rack. It appears to be a broken "shear/roll pin".
Does anyone know:
if the "shear/roll pins" can be easily relaced (I could buy new pins from an engineering supplies shop);
how to remove the column shaft and U/Js?
Thanks for any replies!
Does anyone know:
if the "shear/roll pins" can be easily relaced (I could buy new pins from an engineering supplies shop);
how to remove the column shaft and U/Js?
Thanks for any replies!
I'm guessing its the same problem as mine.
Where the steering column goes through the floor there is a large rubber cover (a bit like a "rubber bell"). Pull this up and away from the floor to see the shaft inside (you will need a torch of a light). You will see a u/j immediately on top of the steering rack and above this is an "oblong tube" with an inner "oblong tube". Rock the steering wheel and see if all the free play is here (it was with mine).
I think the welding idea sounds good. If I were you I would pay a small local garage to weld the "two oblong tubes together". (As I said above, I forced some radio fitting strips into the space in mine and held them in place with a jubilee clip but this didn't take out all the free play and I'm hoping it will seem good enough to pass an MOT - welding will be a better fix).
Where the steering column goes through the floor there is a large rubber cover (a bit like a "rubber bell"). Pull this up and away from the floor to see the shaft inside (you will need a torch of a light). You will see a u/j immediately on top of the steering rack and above this is an "oblong tube" with an inner "oblong tube". Rock the steering wheel and see if all the free play is here (it was with mine).
I think the welding idea sounds good. If I were you I would pay a small local garage to weld the "two oblong tubes together". (As I said above, I forced some radio fitting strips into the space in mine and held them in place with a jubilee clip but this didn't take out all the free play and I'm hoping it will seem good enough to pass an MOT - welding will be a better fix).
There's not much space (Renaults are designed to be awkward to work on and to fall apart a lot causing lots of work to be required!).
If you look under the dash, then under the steering wheel you will see a large "rubber boot". This needs to be pulled away from the floor and then doubled back on itself to reveal the offending item. Try large cable ties to hold the boot out of the way whilst welding and you will have about 5cm space to get in to do the job.
Good luck!
If you look under the dash, then under the steering wheel you will see a large "rubber boot". This needs to be pulled away from the floor and then doubled back on itself to reveal the offending item. Try large cable ties to hold the boot out of the way whilst welding and you will have about 5cm space to get in to do the job.
Good luck!
I haven't welded mine because I don't have any welding kit - my solution was to jam some radio fitting metal strips into the rubber joint and hold them in place with jubilee clips. This only reduced the play by half (but it got through the MOT which was my main objective. I was given an "advisory note" stating "slight play in steering rack" (it's not its the rubber steering shaft coupling - shows how much the MOT testers know but I guess they just like to cover their backsides and I was grateful not to get a failure notice).
Had my car failed the MOT I would have paid a garage to weld the coupling together - this has to be a better repair (but my bodge cost me nothing!).
Had my car failed the MOT I would have paid a garage to weld the coupling together - this has to be a better repair (but my bodge cost me nothing!).
I don't have access to a welder now - but I have in the past and I have done similar jobs to this. Wet rags, water and (if you have access to one - these things are great) a CO2 fire extinguisher are what you need. When things catch light put them out, let the smoke clear, and then have another go!
Taking the column out could be a PITA.
Taking the column out could be a PITA.
Obviously, the best advice is to get rid of the car (the diesel engines are good but everything else will probably give you more issues).
Having said this, on my car, I got a mobile welder to fix the U/J to the steering column (using an arc welder). He put a tiny bit of weld on it and the steering felt as good as new afterwards. In terms of heat and fire hazard nothing got hot enough to cause any issues. There was just enough heat to melt the nylon bush inside the U/J (which was the cause of the issue anyway) and this didn't do any harm. Cost me £25 from memory (the welder usually charged £50 minimum but he said it was such a small, easy and quick job he would charge half).
The only downside was that the steering column may not have collapsed in the intended way in a crash (although the car felt much safer to drive generally). For this reason I wouldn't recommend you do the repair. New part or new car I would suggest.
Having said this, on my car, I got a mobile welder to fix the U/J to the steering column (using an arc welder). He put a tiny bit of weld on it and the steering felt as good as new afterwards. In terms of heat and fire hazard nothing got hot enough to cause any issues. There was just enough heat to melt the nylon bush inside the U/J (which was the cause of the issue anyway) and this didn't do any harm. Cost me £25 from memory (the welder usually charged £50 minimum but he said it was such a small, easy and quick job he would charge half).
The only downside was that the steering column may not have collapsed in the intended way in a crash (although the car felt much safer to drive generally). For this reason I wouldn't recommend you do the repair. New part or new car I would suggest.
Axelvilhelm said:
I think i will start with trying to shim the excess space inside the notch with some pieces of metal, and see if that works. I guess if the problem isn't entirely fixed, you could just try using thicker shims? Unless there is also some other problem causing the free play.
Have anyone tried filling out the excess space with some semi-hard epoxy?
Btw, why is the bushing there in the first place?
Shimming/epoxy won't work - don't waste your time on these ideas.Have anyone tried filling out the excess space with some semi-hard epoxy?
Btw, why is the bushing there in the first place?
The bushing is there to make the steering movement feel better (it probably does until the car leaves the showroom and the bushing wears out!).
Listen, the only safe repair is a new part.
On my car I jammed in some radio fixing brackets and these reduced the freeplay on the steering wheel enough to get the car through the MOT with an advisory stating "excessive play in steering rack". The freeplay got worse over a short time and things were not much better than before.
I then paid a mobile welder to weld it and he only charged me half price because he said it was such a simple and easy and simple job. This completely took the freeplay out of the steering and it stayed like that until the cambelt failed two years later causing me to scrap the car (I didn't consider the car was worth the price of getting a cambelt changed - not a job I would undertake myself -and so I kept it going to the point of failure). The steering actually felt really good after it was welded and was never an issue again.
Whatever you do please be careful and don't make your car unsafe.
On my car I jammed in some radio fixing brackets and these reduced the freeplay on the steering wheel enough to get the car through the MOT with an advisory stating "excessive play in steering rack". The freeplay got worse over a short time and things were not much better than before.
I then paid a mobile welder to weld it and he only charged me half price because he said it was such a simple and easy and simple job. This completely took the freeplay out of the steering and it stayed like that until the cambelt failed two years later causing me to scrap the car (I didn't consider the car was worth the price of getting a cambelt changed - not a job I would undertake myself -and so I kept it going to the point of failure). The steering actually felt really good after it was welded and was never an issue again.
Whatever you do please be careful and don't make your car unsafe.
This was somebody else's take on it (http://www.renaultforums.co.uk/329-steering-suspension/27702-steering-column-universal-joint.html ):
know it's been 5 years since this ad was posted but I will put my find out there for others. I just had the same problem.
Right, don't what ever you do replace the steering rack just yet. I made this big mistake.
If it feels lOose on the steering wheel and chucks you all over the road it is more than likely the UV joint at the bottom of the steering Collem. Take the Colem off, it's a lot easier than doing the rack. At the bottom where you find the UV joint, if it is sliding up and down the Column then there is your problem. Don't pay out for a new one. If its ****ed then it's ****ed and doesn't matter if you try this fix that worked for me. Weld the to of the UV joint to the column so it doesn't slide. Or use chemical metal. Wack it back in. And bobs your teapot. It works spot on. A free fix.
I shelled out £160 on a new rack thanks to the MOT station telling me the wrong thing. And boy is the rack inaccessible and a ***** to do. The ex hast is in the way and no room for spanners on the pipes. Unless you got money for new exhaust parts it's a two man job and a royal slag of a job.
Hope this helps anyone trying to salvage they oldschool motor. I assume the same method can be applied to other cars.
TBH This must be quite an old car by now? You ought to be safer in a newer car with more airbags etc. Also, buy a more reliable type next time (avoid anything European would be my advice there - if you can pay out a little bit more for a reliable car it will cost you more upfront but will be cheaper in the long run and will avoid hassle like this).
know it's been 5 years since this ad was posted but I will put my find out there for others. I just had the same problem.
Right, don't what ever you do replace the steering rack just yet. I made this big mistake.
If it feels lOose on the steering wheel and chucks you all over the road it is more than likely the UV joint at the bottom of the steering Collem. Take the Colem off, it's a lot easier than doing the rack. At the bottom where you find the UV joint, if it is sliding up and down the Column then there is your problem. Don't pay out for a new one. If its ****ed then it's ****ed and doesn't matter if you try this fix that worked for me. Weld the to of the UV joint to the column so it doesn't slide. Or use chemical metal. Wack it back in. And bobs your teapot. It works spot on. A free fix.
I shelled out £160 on a new rack thanks to the MOT station telling me the wrong thing. And boy is the rack inaccessible and a ***** to do. The ex hast is in the way and no room for spanners on the pipes. Unless you got money for new exhaust parts it's a two man job and a royal slag of a job.
Hope this helps anyone trying to salvage they oldschool motor. I assume the same method can be applied to other cars.
TBH This must be quite an old car by now? You ought to be safer in a newer car with more airbags etc. Also, buy a more reliable type next time (avoid anything European would be my advice there - if you can pay out a little bit more for a reliable car it will cost you more upfront but will be cheaper in the long run and will avoid hassle like this).
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