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ExigeV6|Q5|DS3|Fiat
Yes unfortunatley thats the steering colume. common problem on 16vs/williams.
Part costs about 120/130pounds from Renualt. Dont use any other brand as it will break quicker. And about 2-3hrs labour.
Get it done as soon as you can, as the colume will get worse and the risk of you loosing control if driving quickly increases significantly.
See my other post on loose steering, and weld the column. Replacing it is a waste of money if the problem in the joint above the universal joint. Cost you 20-40 quid to weld it and it will be better than new.
Welding aint worth it, dont last long before it goes again. Mine went not too long back so i thought yea lets take the cheaper/cheapskate route of welding it. Drove it felt fine hooray problem fixed. SO I THOUGHT!
2 weeks later started playing up again took it to garage this time cus i coulndnt be arsed to look at it again, They advised me mainly on safety reasons i needed a new column as the weld can sometimes not be strong enough. I have 17"s on so there is more strain on the steering column apparently.
ExigeV6|Q5|DS3|Fiat
King stromba - replacing the steering colume when there is play in the steering is not a waste of money. Welding it is just a cheap temporary method which will not last as black 16v says and is certainly not safe. This is your steering werere talking about here, get it wrong and bye bye.
The Jinx
If it was meant to be welded wouldnt it have just been a solid column to begin with? There must be a reason why the joint is there.
the reason why there is a rubber joint there is a obscure mystery. i think it could be to avoid transmission of vibrations to the steering wheels.
however i dont know any car with such rubber joint fitted to the steering column, let alone a sport car.
the rubber joint makes the steering spongy and indeed the steering of the clio is anything but pleasant. the car at high speed gets a mind on its own on account of the fact the wheels can move slightly even thouigh the steetring it is not moving at all. and if any of you gentlemen have ever driven a proper sport car this should be evident.
i have never liked the clio steering. above 160kmh it is scary in windy conditions. welding it, if properly executed, is not a "cheapskate fix", it is the proper way to go
renault engineers have screwed up there. a rubber joint on the steering of a 220kmh capable FWD car, with torque steer and all, and a joint that fails after 40.000 km at the best, is just a flaw. weld it up, i say. if the steering got back the slack after welding, then it was not welded at all or the welding failed due to poor workmanship.
replacing the column is not an option, considering that
a) i dont know any car that requires substitution of a steering column every 50.000 km
b)there is slack after as little as 20-30.000km anyway
gm
Quote: Originally posted by mike8579 on 26 January 2004
If it was meant to be welded wouldnt it have just been a solid column to begin with? There must be a reason why the joint is there.
why not safe? can you justify it?
my opinion is that it is not safe a steering with 30 degrees play. deadly on a car capable of speeds in excess of 200kmh
Quote: Originally posted by aaronc on 25 January 2004
King stromba - replacing the steering colume when there is play in the steering is not a waste of money. Welding it is just a cheap temporary method which will not last as black 16v says and is certainly not safe. This is your steering werere talking about here, get it wrong and bye bye.
yep agree completely with crono33, the welding on my coloum is sound and to be honest if black16v if your weld snapped after two weeks it was a sh*t job. the rubber is probably only there to absorb a little bit of vibrations but to be honest the joint is pretty insignificant at doing that.
my car feels alot more responsive now after getting it welded, it may be a cheap fix but it is just as effective provided it is done well.
I have to agree with crono, i have researched this extensively and a weld is the best option. Originally i was going to get a new column, but its a waste of money and not the best thing for the car. If the weld is done properly by a professional there is no need for it to fail as the forces through the wheel are not great. And it is a misconception that the column will completely fail if the weld breaks, only the weld will break. Ie the joint will go back to its original configuration. The join could just as easliy fail with the original rubber in it.
I have checked and a welded column would pass an MOT. Of course a garage will tell you to replace the column, because they want to make money out of you. There is no safety issues here. To say that if a garage got it wrong, its bye bye is meaningless, as if a garage got you brakes wrong it could be bye bye. Just go to a garage you know will do a good job.
Its up to you, if you want to pelace the column go ahead. I got an 80 % cure just using some JB weld liquid metal in the gap for £5.99. This will do until i get the column welded.
And as for saying a weld wont last on a steering column, i doubt that is the case. Some welds take hundreds of thousands of psi in pressure. I think its just a case of getting the right weld.
The Jinx
I fail to believe that after spending millions on the development of the car that they put something in that shouldnt be there. If its not normally there on a car they must have had a good reason for putting one in on the clio.
They spent millions building the Titanic, but those bulk heads still didnt go all the way up to the lower decking. And we know the consequence of that. My point being that things are often overlooked.
The Jinx
I know what you mean, but this isnt overlooking something if theyve put something in that isnt normally on a steering column.
Has anyone actually tried speaking to someone at Renault themselves about these? And does no-one make a solid column at all?
hi
the alloy of the rubber joint is a very mild steel. if welded properly, perhaps two spots in the two narrow sides, there is no safety issue.
my guess is that the reason for the funny joint, its design and the soft alloy is for the joint to deform and absorb some energy if there is an impact on the wheels, to avoid damage to the drivers hands and arms. a spot weld in 2 places will keep this feature (if needed at all) but immobilize the rubber damper.
gm
Quote: Originally posted by Rossa on 26 January 2004
Thank you all for your comments.Are there heavy-duty columns available?Welding - wouldnt this remove the columns hardness/temper properties? Although this does fix the problem, Im not sure about the implications regarding MOT / insurance etc. Interesting option all the same.
Mine was welded by an ex renault mechanic who says it is a very common problem. It has lasted over a year and only cost me £20.
The Jinx
Right then. Anyone local to Manchester had anyone do the weld that they can recommend?
