[adjmcloon]

Hello,

I pulled a steering column to do the elv delete on an '07 328i, and for the life of me I can't get the steering column back in. It's like it's too long. I've tried angling the lower coupler every which way, but I'm consistently 4" away from where it needs to be (on the plate on the top of the column where it mounts to the dash) Does anyone have any pointers on getting this thing back in?

I have the splines and notch lined up, and it will set into the coupler all the way. This should be easy but I'm a little stumped.

-N

[galahad05]

I can't say I've ever done a steering column removal.

That said, here's what my bentley manual says.

[galahad05]

[adjmcloon]

Still trying to fix this. My lower splines are installed with the notched placed correctly. My front wheels are straight but the steering wheel is rotated 90 degrees? When I had the column out of the car and unlocked, the upper and lower ends rotated together, so I'm confused how this happened. The steering wheel was straight when I pulled it from the car.

I think the front wheels got moved after I had the column out. How can I align everything correctly?

[adjmcloon]

Bump. The lower arm that's attached to the rack doesn't seem to move, I'm not sure exactly why this steering column is too long. I've tried every which way to remount the column, but I can only get the holes within about 3-4" of where the mounting plate needs to be. I did try to move the front wheels back and forth to see if the lower arm would move further back toward the engine, but no dice. Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated, I'm at a loss! This should have been a no brainer, it's only 5 bolts!

I'm thinking about taking it to an indy so they can get it on a lift to see what the deal is.

[Donutz]

Not sure if this helps, but try extending the column from inside the car, then reinstall. When I dropped my subframe for the oil pan gasket replacement I pushed the column all the way down from inside the cabin, and when I reinstalled everything I couldn't get the column to compress. Not sure if that makes sense. But after extending the column from inside everything slipped back into place easily.

[adjmcloon]

So does the column compress in some way? I didn't think it moved. I've slid the plate forward/backward and up and down trying all the angles.

[iliketurtl3s]

How did u fix this mang. I'm having the same issue

[dmatre]

Originally Posted by iliketurtl3s

How did u fix this mang. I'm having the same issue

Check your PM.

[dmatre]

Also, try here: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...eering-column/

[Swhittick]

I am having this same issue. Please can anyone help me to resolve this issue.

[assassinsbrotherhood]

I had this issue 3 wks ago and thought I was going mad. Why it was shorter out than when it was in? The following link posted by another member solved it for me. It was the sleeve that was the issue. I had to slide that on first regardless of length and then it all bolted up fine! Thanks to the member posting this link. https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...lumn/:thumsup:

[dsayer]

Hi guys, when I replaced the rack & pinion on my son's 2006 e90, I had the same problem. Not exactly sure what the mechanism is called -- saw something about anti-plunge elsewhere. Could be a safety feature.

Anyhow, tried everything I could think of including consulting an engineer I know, and could not figure it out. Ordered one from my favorite top-notch salvage -- wouldn't work. 2008 e90 doesn't have the same electronic lock on the column (see other posts about that). Ordered another -- fully-extended. Salvage guys told me to go at it with a hammer. I told them, you go ahead and try it right here --I've been trying that for three weeks. They couldn't figure it out it either.

Point is, if you get a column with the spline end of the shaft fully extended, YOU ARE SCREWED. No fixes or tricks found. You will need to buy another.

Got lucky and found a 2006 in a u-pull salvage that hadn't been touched. Pulled it myself, switched over the wheel. $45. All good.

[Mister Shaky]

All the links to tis are dead on this post. What's the resolution?
I had the steering column out and it slid in & out easily. Removed it again, and it's stuck in the extended position.

[Mister Shaky]

I looked over the whole steering column and couldn't find anything intentionally keeping the telescoping part of the column extended.

I took off the lower part of the shaft and the boot and used a heavy hammer with small taps to extend the column more, and it moved! So I used a small amount of spray lube on the splines and sure enough, got it to slide back in. I applied a little more lube and worked it in and out just to be sure.

In a nutshell, it was just stuck. Put some lube on it.