Steering column UJs
 

For the last few months I've noticed a weird effect on the steering and on investigation it seems to be a"tight"spot slightly right of centre. Investigating I have a feeling it may be one of the two universal joints on the steering column. The top one is smothered in oil thanks to a weeping rocker gasket, the bottom one has a dry look to it with traces of rust around one of the hardy spicer arms.

PFV don't seem to stock the replacement item but how difficult would it be to replace both? Don't really want to remove either the rack or the steering column upper and dislodge the electrics, airbag, collapsible bit etc.

I've done one on a TVR before and having undid the pinch bolt the item slid up and could be removed.

Thanks in advance and if anyone has these items in good condition going spare....

Before you start to rip things apart, spray the top and bottom joint freely with WD40 or similar, have a mug of tea, and then go back and spray again and give the steering wheel some turns and see if that starts to free it up. On my '93 960 at 380k miles, I spray these joints regularly and never had any problem Give it a try; you have nothing to loose.

Thanks for the tip, I did spray with the remains of a can of GT85 before posting the Q but almost empty can, no little red tube and ramps elsewhere meant direction was a bit of a struggle. New can of stuff on the way. Cheers,

I had a similar problem years ago. It was fixed by the garage at the time and I’m pretty sure it was nothing to do with the steering column. I have at the back of my mind they replaced one of the track rod ends which looked OK but had dried out inside.

I had the same on my 940. Apparently they get heat cycled severely from the exhaust.
I had a real bit of luck and was able to replace them. It's an easy job BUT:
UJ P#009191466 Unit price £143 + VAT
Steering shaft P#003516087 £124 + VAT in 2014.
Actual cost to me was £40 (inc VAT and Delivery)!! Colchester Volvo was clearing out old stock and charged me £16 EACH.
Doubt you'll be as lucky, so maybe the spray approach will be a better bet and mental note to do it regularly.

Think things may be escalating
 

It was 6 months ago that I asked about a stiff area when steering and suspected the UJs on the column.
As advised I have since regularly sprayed GT85 onto both joints and sure enough the steering has become freer so thank you.
Over the last two or three weeks a "clunk" and "creak" has developed when turning the steering wheel more than about 90degees.
On previous 940's I have had the odd clunk which rather sounded like something in the air bag area but this is louder and a bit like a rusted gate hinge.....
Have a feeling that on of the column UJs has maybe collapsed (are they needle roller bearing like their big brothers?). No play in the steering but can't think of anything else.
Any suggestions and has anyone got a decent set of UJs or maybe the whole centre section? How easy is this to remove and replace?
One final thought, about the time the the noises started, the SRS light stated to flicker on and off - totally unrelated I suspect, lasted a couple of days and it has stopped doing it now.
thanks for any guidance?
Tony H

Worth checking your lower ball joints, strut top bearings and anti-roll bar drop-link bushes Tony. Also as previously mentioned on your original problem, the track rod ends. You should (if you're careful) be able to lever the spring clip (rather like a key-ring usually) off the base of the rubber boot on the TREs and give them a clean out and add some fresh grease then fiddle and faff refitting the spring clip. You may even notice that the existing boot is split which would allow water ingress which would cause the rusty gate noise. If it/they are that far gone then replacement is the only real answer.

Other possible causes are the steering column upper bearing, the cowling has been knocked so it's scraping on the steering wheel and possibly others i can't think of just now.

I was also going to mention the upper column bearing for the creaking noise. I had one that completely disintegrated. Its almost like the two problems go hand-in-hand, because I also had a bad lower UJ. It was tricky to get off (slightly seized on the shaft). And very tricky to find a replacement for a reasonable cost.

Re Dave’s suggestion as to the steering column shroud scraping. When I needed to remove the steering rack I disconnected the steering column by loosening the lower UJ and pushing it back up the column to clear the splines on the rack pinion. When refitting the rack I simply pushed the UJ back onto the pinion splines and tightened everything. When I turned the steering wheel it scraped on the column shrouds, which it hadn’t done before. I loosened the UJ clamp on the bottom of the steering column but left the UJ tight on the rack pinion and found that it was possible to move the steering column up and down slightly along it’s length, which moved the steering wheel relative to the column shrouds. I inserted thin rubber wedges between the steering wheel and the shrouds, just enough to create a slight clearance, then re tightened the UJ onto the column, then removed the rubber wedges. Problem solved. Disconnecting the column at the bottom had allowed it to move very slightly down so causing the steering wheel to contact the column shrouds.

Thanks everyone, don't think it's ball joints or track rod ends, I know noise travels but the car went through an MoT a month ago and I kjnd of know the noises those components make when worn.
The shroud has been off about two year ago but not been moved since.
Upper column bush could be a possibility.
I'm trying to work out if it happens at the same point on the steering every time, think it happens when the steering wheel turns more than 90 degrees clockwise which would point to the UJs