Completely Lost Steering!!! Please check your car!

[DigitalRelay]

Ahhh!!!! Not a great feeling. I had just pulled into a parking lot and was turning left to make my way into an aisle when the steering wheel completely free-wheeled. It was like spinning a bicycle wheel while off the ground. Thank God I was only going about 5 MPH and was able to come to a complete stop without hitting anything or anyone. It took me about 20 frantic minutes to tear into the lower half of the dash, remove the steering wheel and look under the car for anything obvious. It turned out to be the rag joint (at least that's what I remember it being called on American cars) that connects to a splined shaft connected to the steering wheel. When properly installed, the rag joint slides over the splined shaft and a bolt gets inserted cross way through the joint and passes through a groove in the shaft. When tightened, it prevents the joint and the shaft from separating. If the bolt is missing, your steering wheel can completely disconnect from the rest of the car. I found no loose bolt, so I can only assume I've been driving it with no bolt at all for just over a year. I don't even want to imagine what could have happened considering I have a wife and two very lovely young children.

Anyway, as my luck would have it, I was pulling into the parking lot of a hardware store. I was able to buy a few tools and a bolt to secure the joint and was back up and running in a couple of hours.

I just wanted to get this out there so all of you can look under your dash and make damn sure that bolt is in there.

If this link works, it would be the bolt (not shown) that goes through part number 3.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HE53&mospid=47410&btnr=32_0647&hg=32&fg=30

[Bin_jammin]

Ahhh!!!! Not a great feeling. I had just pulled into a parking lot and was turning left to make my way into an aisle when the steering wheel completely free-wheeled. It was like spinning a bicycle wheel while off the ground. Thank God I was only going about 5 MPH and was able to come to a complete stop without hitting anything or anyone. It took me about 20 frantic minutes to tear into the lower half of the dash, remove the steering wheel and look under the car for anything obvious. It turned out to be the rag joint (at least that's what I remember it being called on American cars) that connects to a splined shaft connected to the steering wheel. When properly installed, the rag joint slides over the splined shaft and a bolt gets inserted cross way through the joint and passes through a groove in the shaft. When tightened, it prevents the joint and the shaft from separating. If the bolt is missing, your steering wheel can completely disconnect from the rest of the car. I found no loose bolt, so I can only assume I've been driving it with no bolt at all for just over a year. I don't even want to imagine what could have happened considering I have a wife and two very lovely young children.

Anyway, as my luck would have it, I was pulling into the parking lot of a hardware store. I was able to buy a few tools and a bolt to secure the joint and was back up and running in a couple of hours.

I just wanted to get this out there so all of you can look under your dash and make damn sure that bolt is in there.

If this link works, it would be the bolt (not shown) that goes through part number 3.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HE53&mospid=47410&btnr=32_0647&hg=32&fg=30



So the moral of the story is to only drive at the hardware store? What a great bit of luck though, seriously. Do you have AAA, or at least does the wife? I'd hate to think of having to go through all that when I've got a giant rack of bolts at the shop :)

[Morgenster]

Is this about the 22mm steering wheel bolt and are you saying yours wasn't there?

[Bin_jammin]

Is this about the 22mm steering wheel bolt and are you saying yours wasn't there?


No, further down the steering shaft there's a rag joint and a pinch bolt. It's hidden under the dash.

[DigitalRelay]

No, further down the steering shaft there's a rag joint and a pinch bolt. It's hidden under the dash.

Bin Jammin is right. Real oem refers to it as "flange". The flange is approximately mid way between the steering wheel and the firewall. I used an 8mm diameter bolt approximately 2" long to secure the flange. That was the missing bolt.

My wife and I do have roadside assistance through Geico, although either one of us has used it. I intended to call them and have it towed to a shop, but I was on the road for a work about 300 miles from home. I wanted to take a look before resigning to having the work done by a dealer and being stuck out of town. I told my wife if I wasn't 100% sure I had fixed the problem I would not drive. When I found the problem, I was absolutely sure of the solution.

[Ross]

Are you saying that there were NO bolts holding that joint? Ought to be four with locking nuts.
Do you know the history of your car? Four bolts with locking nuts to go missing is mighty unlikely. I suspect some seriously poor repairs in the past.
Even if the joint were completly missing wouldn't the bolts provide enough interference to make some connection between the wheel and the shaft?
Scary stuff that sort of failure. I'd be doing laundry right about now if it were me.

[Morgenster]

Can you get to it by removing the steering wheel alone?

[DigitalRelay]

Are you saying that there were NO bolts holding that joint? Ought to be four with locking nuts.
Do you know the history of your car? Four bolts with locking nuts to go missing is mighty unlikely. I suspect some seriously poor repairs in the past.
Even if the joint were completly missing wouldn't the bolts provide enough interference to make some connection between the wheel and the shaft?
Scary stuff that sort of failure. I'd be doing laundry right about now if it were me.
Not quite, Ross. There are four bolts with nuts that run through the rubber "rag joint" to connect the steering wheel shaft to the shaft that runs through the firewall. All four of those bolts and nuts were installed. There is an aluminum flange connected to the rubber rag joint. This flange slides onto the steering wheel shaft. After you slide it on, a single bolt goes through the flange perpendicular to the shaft and passes through a groove in the shaft. I know it's hard to visualize from the text.

I absolutely agree about being suspect of past repairs. I'll be taking extra caution from now on in terms of inspecting, especially in regards to steering and brakes.

[DigitalRelay]

Can you get to it by removing the steering wheel alone?

Actually, no. The flange/rag joint is under your dash about midway between the steering wheel and the fire wall. I had to remove the lower dash pad, the metal plate behind that and a plastic cover near the pedals. You don't have to touch the steering wheel itself.

[Macv]

Man, I'd be terrified if that happend to me. Glad you knew what you were doing.

[Turbo Ready]

I have pulled apart quite a few BMW steering columns and that joint always scare me. I know BMW did a great job on the design, but the one at the rack and pinion for the e30 is not as beefy. Being aluminum I am amazed that it holds up to so much torture.

I am rebuilding my e30, well more like modifying the whole car, and that steering column linkage will be replaced with a brand new one, they are not cheap BTW.

Happy that it did not fail on a highway Bud.

[Ross]

So did the pinch bolt loosen or the joint fail? I'm confused.

[DigitalRelay]

The pinch bolt was missing. No where to be found under the dash or on the floor, so I concluded it's never been there since I've had the car for over a year. The flange did not fail, but with no pinch bolt securing it to the steering wheel shaft, it eventually slide down and completely off the shaft. The fix was simple. I slide the flange back onto the shaft, inserted a new pinch bolt, put on a lock washer and nut and tightened it down. Hope that clears it up.

[skr]

consider yourself one lucky guy and check whatever is left unchecked about steering and brakes. i guess that whould be one of the most dangerous bolts to be missing. i know how it feels when the brake pedal goes to the floor(french car) and nothing happens at 50 mph and i'm sure thats nothing compared to turning the wheel and going straight.