Loose steering column cowl

[VolvoFan]

I have a 1998 S40 2 litre auto and when I operate the indicator stalk, the steering column cowl moves round with it (in either direction). This also happens when operating the windscreen wiper control stalk.

The three screws which hold the upper & lower halves of the cowl are tight.
Any help on how I might cure this fault would be much appreciated.

Cheers.

[chr.kj]

I dont know if this can help you.

[kilou]

I also had this problem. In fact it only happened in hot weather because the rubber that hold the console in place on the steering column was probably getting too soft. It was really annoying and felt VERY cheap So one day I decided to remove the bolts that hold the lower portion of the console until I could separate it slightly. Then I just made 2-3 points of glue to fix the console on the steering column. Put everything back and that was it, no more problem!

[VolvoFan]

Thanks for your tips, but the cowl (top & bottom halves) moves with the indicator and wiper stalks en masse already, so glueing the rubber grommets to the cowl won't make any difference.

I suspect that something must have worked loose inside the cowling; but since I'm a bit doubtful about removing the steering wheel with air-bag assembly (uncharted waters for me) I'm probably unlikely to see what can be tightened up inside the cowling.

Thanks for replying, anyway.

[kilou]

Volvofan, I did glue the cowl on the steering column because the whole thing was moving so it's the exact same problem you are experiencing, I'm just not good in english. The whole stuff behind the steering wheel was moving right or left when I was pressing the turn signal switch or activating the wipers. The cowl is made of a top and lower part. You need to remove 3 screws ifI remember correctly to separte the 2 parts and see the internal parts. There is a big white plastic inside that makes the cowl. Just put some glue points where it joints the steering column.

[VolvoFan]

Thanks, Kilou

It seems that this big white plastic thing is what needs tightening up, then.
I have investigated by removing the screws you mentioned, and partially separated the top & bottom halves of the cowling, but still can't see how the white thing is fixed to the column. (Needless to say, I didn't remove the steering wheel).

Does anyone have any pictures of this assembly?

Thanks again.

[kilou]

Well I didn't see either how that thing is attached to the steering column. Just try to rock it left/right to see how it moves relative to the steering column and put some glue point where appropriate. It really makes a big difference when driving in hot weather and ou can engage wipers or turn signals without having the whole assembly moving. It felt extremely cheap. Now all good.

[jayzee72]

I have exactly the same problem on a 2000 V40 1.6 XS.

I've removed the upper and lower steering column shrouds and can move the whole stalk assembly about 1cm in either direction. It's also driving me up the wall! :-)

Aside from glueing the white cowl directly to the steering column, is there nothing else that can't be tightened to resolve this issue?

Cheers

[jez v40]

i've had this problem, so this how i fixed it . when you remove the cowl top and bottom, you can't tighten up the bolts that hold the big white plastic switch gear because they are shear bolts. so if look further down the steering coloum you will see a silver coloured collar that fits around the steering coloum. now get hold of the whole assembly and rock it you'll see it all move. now get a self tapper screw and now put this in between the metal collar and the steering coloum, now tighten the screw up so that your now forcing the screw between the two. sorry for the long post but i hope you can understand what i mean. i've posted this fix a couple of times now but it does work. (gunna try and get a photo at some stage so you'll get the idea)

[jayzee72]

That sounds like a great fix Jez.

Have a guess what I'll b doing tomorrow morning.

I'll give it a go and let you know how I get on.

Thanks!