creak in the steering column

[Polse7317]

I have a squeak noise when i turn my steering Wheel almost when i begin to drive, the noise almost disappear when i have driven some miles…. Are the parts arrowed below the suspects ?

If i am right where is the best part to replace ?

[Robbiee]

Hi Yves
Could be the felt bushes that you point to, however they don't usually squeak! More commonly the compress and leave the column feeling a little wobbly (great english word).
If the bushes have been replaced by the slimmer plastic ones then these can squeak when cold ...try a little squirt of silicone lubricant
Alternatively it could be the indicator mechanism surround rubbing

Robbie

[abowie]

The culprit is often the little rubber boot in the housing on the firewall that the column goes through into the engine bay.

[MarkRado]

[Polse7317]

I have already lubricate the rubber …..without succes , so i'll dismantle the upper column and replace the two felt bearings and see…. ! ( silicone lubricate was also tried…)

[ralphr1780]

I have already lubricate the rubber …..without succes , so i'll dismantle the upper column and replace the two felt bearings and see…. ! ( silicone lubricate was also tried…)

Yves, I wouldn't go that fast as could end up disturbing other stuff... I would drive it some time and see whether things get better. Temperature is also a factor, park it in the sun and see whether this makes any change or not. With such a car, you also have to get your ears used to various creaks and other noises

[Heuer]

Firstly it depends whether you have the felt bushes or the Elastollan ones. The felt reproduction ones are very thick and you need to soak them in a jar of oil for a couple of weeks before using. The Elastollan (plastic) are better but you need to modify them to fit your car. With the column on the bench insert the bushes and then the inner column. Usually it will be very stiff to turn by hand so you need to remove the inner column and gently ream the the bushes with a Dremel and drum sander bit. Re-insert and retest. Repeat this until you can turn it smoothly - remember with the steering wheel on you will be exerting a lot more force so go carefully. Test again with the steering wheel on the column. I do two quick orbits on each bush with the sander between testing.

What you are looking for when the wheel is in place is to have a slight movement of the column up/down/left/right to the point where you think you need new bushes. Worry not because as the car gets hot the inner column expands and takes up the slack. If you just try for no movement in the wheel before startup you will lose self centring and the column will squeak.

Allow a couple of hours for the whole process and be prepared to take the column apart again if you have not got it right. Do not use oil or grease between the column and bush. Personally I would avoid the felt bushes fitted to the earlier cars because you can't fettle them to fit and they are not the right size. On my FHC there were no squeaks with the felt but self centring was lost so I moved over to the Elastollan. Get it right and the steering is a dream.


Hint: buy a couple of sets of the Elastollan bushes because you will probably over sand the first set! On the positive side the Elastollan is very tough so they don't sand easily.

[Polse7317]

Thank's everyone, i'll order 2 sets of elastolan and try what David says….

[MarkRado]

In the end I had bronze bushes made, installed and reamed, steering was a little stiff at the beginning, but is still wonderfully tight with zero play after many years now, something Id really recommend.

[PhilBell]

Mine has started making this noise recently, approx 20,000 miles after the car was comprehensively restored. No idea which bushing material is in there. Mine is a Feb 62 car, so would it have had felt originally? Question for the experts - what are the downsides of trying to lube the bushings in-situ?

[Heuer]

Would have been felt initially but replaced by Elastollan, a polyurethane bush in period. The felt bushes need to be soaked in oil for about 6 weeks before fitting, the Elastollan require no lube at all. but modern repro's need to relieved with a dremel to get them squeak free. You need to dismantle the column to resolve the problem.

[ysmalkie]

I installed needle bearings. I will see how they work once I get the car finally on its wheels...

Tadek

[andrewh]

I thought my steering was stiff! this has been in my car for 250 miles and I added a lubricant to help it along the way as I had already had to replace the first set of bushes after also 250 miles. Lubricant clearly doesn't work , I think I added rubber grease, which perhaps on reflection was too tacky. Obvious after the event, but hey ho! Now I need to order some more bushes. Has anyone got alternate suppliers of a superior product as I am getting a tad bored of stripping the column?

[caveman]

Hi Andrew,
I replaced mine in 2021 due to excess play and found a difference in sizes with the usual suppliers and returned post haste. I eventually found the correct one via SC parts and although some turn their nose up at them, I have had great service albeit a little more costly. Here’s hoping they haven’t changed…
Part 13874 for top currently at £16.48
Part 201548 for bottom at £14.29
There are shipping charges to add.
I wouldn’t recommend any lube on these seals. It’s the horn connections that catch me out on reassembly

[chrisfell]

I have in my memory an instruction never to lubricate the plastic bushes. I

[andrewh]

Thanks for the replies Steve and Chris. I will investigate with SC Parts although my experience has not been great with them it has to be said. Did you keep any photos of their bushes by any chance?
Yes, I had also read not to lubricate the bushes. I am not sure whether that was in a post from David or somewhere in the Workshop Manual. I reasoned that as it was a plastic ( vulkollan?) bush it should not be compromised by lubricant . It seems I was wrong, although the rubber grease was a slightly ill considered addition. Maybe silicone would have been better. Either way I have actually sanded that bush with the Dremel and it seems acceptable, but until the car gets hot and the steering shaft supposedly expands I will not know for sure. I must say that I find it hard to understand the steering shaft expanding that much. Yes its hot down there but it has air flow and its on the inlet side of the engine. Anyway we will see.

[caveman]

Only pics from their site I'm afraid:

[Geoff Allam]

I had a small amount of play in the plastic upper bushing on my late 3.8 and did not really want to wait to have a new one delivered so I wrapped a couple of wraps of black electrical tape around the circumference of the bushing and cut out the spaces for the lugs. When it was forced back in place the bushing was tightened up enough to eliminate all slop. I expected to have to eventually replace it but over 25 years later it is still free of play. Just another option that can be tried.

[andrewh]

Thank you chaps. The bushes look the same as SNG offers tbf

[mgcjag]

Hi Andrew...I have those black SNGB bushes on my xk150 column....iv given up on them....a popular choice is to have a pair machined from Delrin/Acetal....do you have a lath?...I dont so found a supplier that has Delrin tube various sizes.....iv ordered nearest size I need and will hand ream or dremel to fit....Steve