BMW 540i E34 - Steering Box Adjustment

[Mike Gayner]

Has anyone adjusted the steering box in a E34 540i? I'm doing this job tomorrow and want any tips to help make my day easier.

 

[allanon1965]

its not an easy one, but here ya go...




1. Pull up rear seat bottom and disconnect battery anode.
2. Jack up front of car and put on jackstands.
3. Remove both front splash pan and rear splash pan
4. Remove 4 nuts on top of plastic engine shroud and remove shroud.
5. Remove 4, 10mm bolts that hold metal heat shield under steering gearbox and slide out by tire(one bolt is thru an access hole, use extension)
6. Remove the two nuts (17mm and 13mm) under gusset that hold the front engine (rubber donut) mounts to frame.
7. Place piece of wood(10"x2"x8") under oil pan and place (3 ton) floor jack under wood. Gently jack-up engine until the lower engine bolts just clear their holes by 1/2".
8. Using 13mm socket(on 1/4" drive) remove nut on rear of steering box that holds heat shield and a a/c spacer. Remove same bolt on top of box. Now slide out the heat shield to the rear and remove.
9. Douse the adjusting nut on top of steering box with penetrating oil
10. Using 17mm socket, 3/8 short extension, 3/8 long extension and two 3/8 univ joints, snake down from top of engine comp't and with tbar break the adjusting nut loose.
11. Turn steering wheel 1 turn CW. Make sure nut is loose and using 4.5mm allen key turn CW til nut is tight then back off a few hairs and snug-up nut. Turn wheel throughout range. You want no slop and no tightness. If too tight back-off. When feels good.
12. Tighten nut. I used a 1/4"rachet with 3/8 adapter to 17mm socket.
13. Retest steering should be silky smooth - no slop.
14. If OK Replace top heat shield and bottom heat shield.
15. slowly lower middle jack making sure mounts(bolts) go into holes. Then replace mounting nuts
16. Replace both splash pans

why are you adjusting it? by the time most need adjusting, its too late and they are too worn in the center to adjust out without causing binding while turning...

 

[Mike Gayner]

its not an easy one, but here ya go...




1. Pull up rear seat bottom and disconnect battery anode.
2. Jack up front of car and put on jackstands.
3. Remove both front splash pan and rear splash pan
4. Remove 4 nuts on top of plastic engine shroud and remove shroud.
5. Remove 4, 10mm bolts that hold metal heat shield under steering gearbox and slide out by tire(one bolt is thru an access hole, use extension)
6. Remove the two nuts (17mm and 13mm) under gusset that hold the front engine (rubber donut) mounts to frame.
7. Place piece of wood(10"x2"x8") under oil pan and place (3 ton) floor jack under wood. Gently jack-up engine until the lower engine bolts just clear their holes by 1/2".
8. Using 13mm socket(on 1/4" drive) remove nut on rear of steering box that holds heat shield and a a/c spacer. Remove same bolt on top of box. Now slide out the heat shield to the rear and remove.
9. Douse the adjusting nut on top of steering box with penetrating oil
10. Using 17mm socket, 3/8 short extension, 3/8 long extension and two 3/8 univ joints, snake down from top of engine comp't and with tbar break the adjusting nut loose.
11. Turn steering wheel 1 turn CW. Make sure nut is loose and using 4.5mm allen key turn CW til nut is tight then back off a few hairs and snug-up nut. Turn wheel throughout range. You want no slop and no tightness. If too tight back-off. When feels good.
12. Tighten nut. I used a 1/4"rachet with 3/8 adapter to 17mm socket.
13. Retest steering should be silky smooth - no slop.
14. If OK Replace top heat shield and bottom heat shield.
15. slowly lower middle jack making sure mounts(bolts) go into holes. Then replace mounting nuts
16. Replace both splash pans

why are you adjusting it? by the time most need adjusting, its too late and they are too worn in the center to adjust out without causing binding while turning...

Seeing as you just copied and pasted an already well known source (without attribution) that's not helpful. Also, your final comment could not be more wrong. But congrats on having a poor understanding of BMW steering boxes.

 

[allanon1965]

lol, really, why does it matter where it came from? you asked for help....I can fire up my work puter and pull the info out of the BMW TIS Factory service software if that makes it better..do you give credit for the sources you found and learned from, when you post answers to helps requests? of any kind? what about telling friends answers for something you found out from a book? or other learning source? give me a break! I never said that I was claiming that info as my own...

but i digress, look, a steering gearbox is a steering gearbox when it comes to this design, its been around a long time...and my last comment is from 28 years of experience in this field seeing literally thousands of gearboxes, euros, domestics, etc... this is what I see...yes, there is the occasional time when one can be adjusted, but it is not very common and given the basic design it is very prone to excessive wear in the centered position due to the fact that it spends alot of time in that position while driving...congrats on having a poor understanding of a steering system....

and, you never answered the question....why adjust it, do you see an actual loose condition in the gearbox relative to the input pinion shaft and output shaft? does it move more than the specs say? or is it just something you feel needs to be done to tighten up the road feel?

I am just curious...