An update on the increasing play on my loose steering column :)

[sideways]

Yes, pop off the wiper arm caps, take off the two 13mm nuts, wiggle the arms up and down carefully until they crack loose (Grease the mounting faces when you re-assemble as bi-metallic corrosion builds up there, you'll most likely already have some) remove the wiper arms. Then undo the 6mm bolts each side on the scuttle, self tappers along the front edge, a couple of plastic locking rivet things to pop out at the sides, then carefully lift up the scuttle. You'll need to be careful with the washer jet pipe, carefully unclip it as needed and twist it off at the tee junction.

When you find the bolt, as shown above, it may seem already tight, but go ahead and tighten it some more, until it's really tight, you might hear some clicking/creaking of the metal as it compresses the sandwiched layers, this takes out the play.

Re-assembly is the reverse of the above obviously. I will stress, I'm not convinced this alone will solve your issue, it will stop any flexing of the crosspipe under the dash, that the column bolts to, but on mine, the column itself had play too and needed its bolts tightening a little more as well.

Be careful, if you have a "feel" for this type of thing, with an engineering background, you'll know how much you can tighten the bolts, to get them what I'd call good and tight, but without risking shearing them. Do this at you own risk and all that, if in doubt, get a (competent!) mechanic to do it for you.

Many thanks Paulie.

Kevin.

 

[Allen78]

Mine has been in 3 times for knocking noise on the steering column. Last time it was in for a week, it's still faulty and getting worse. I did show them this thread and they have checked all the bits as far as I know. They are waiting to hear back for MG UK for further advice at the moment. If it's not fixed on the next visit I might start the process of rejecting the car, which is something i don't really want to do as I love the car.

 

[sideways]

Many thanks Paulie.

Kevin.

Hey Paulie.

I tightened the bolt under the scuttle panel because it was the easy 1st option, but sadly i still have the click!

May have to get under the binnacle now.

Thanks for your information.

Kevin.

 

[Gwynfor Hughes]

The steering column on my MG ZS has a creaking steering column. The sound of creaking plastic.
Not massive but enough to cause me irritation.
Could this be the same issue?
Many thanks,
Gwyn

 

[Paulie68]

The steering column on my MG ZS has a creaking steering column. The sound of creaking plastic.
Not massive but enough to cause me irritation.
Could this be the same issue?
Many thanks,
Gwyn

If it's only creaking with no play in the column, (test this by pulling the wheel up and down floor to roof) it's unlikely to be down to insufficiently tight bolts, so probably not.

 

[Gwynfor Hughes]

If it's only creaking with no play in the column, (test this by pulling the wheel up and down floor to roof) it's unlikely to be down to insufficiently tight bolts, so probably not.

Thanks.
I have tried readjustment but the creaking continues. As I stated previously only minor but still noticeable.

 

[Kithmo]

I think I may have this knock. Intermittently, a very light knock when changing lock and sometimes as I get in or out of the car and nudge the steering wheel.
Should I see the dealer or "let it develop" as they used to say back in the day when you had an intermittent fault.
I am ok with the tools, but I'm reluctant to try and tighten it up myself in case the problem comes back after and they say I've voided the warranty by DIY.
I'd rather have a more permanent solution than just nipping it up, maybe some uprated plastic bushes for the ones that came loose. But if the dealer did the "nipping up" then I could always go back to them if the problem came back.

 

[Gwynfor Hughes]

I have booked my car in for next week to get this checked out.
I will update then.

 

[CDR]

You might remember my post about play in my steering column from a while ago. well it got gradually worse until it could be moved up and down about 5mm.

Today, I had the plastic panels off to wire in my auto dimming mirror, and sort out the buzzy rattle from the A pillar cover, so had a good look at it whilst I was under the dash.

The height adjustment lock seemed the most obvious starting point, it seemed fine. I did tighten the nylock nut just a little to make sure, but there was no play from the lock mechanism.

After much searching I did find the causes, which were twofold, and the second part of the reason wasn't at all obvious to see! I suspect a lot more people will be getting this issue over the coming months as the mileage increases and the wheel gets pulled around. It'll be interesting to see how good the dealer technicians are at getting to the bottom of it.

The steering column is attached to a reinforcing bracket that is welded to the cross tube that runs the full width of the dash with 2 bolts. The bolts actually go through nylon inserts that sit between the two pieces of metal. Although the bolts were tight, the inserts seemed to have settled allowing play between the column and the cross tube bracket. Further tightening of these bolts removed this play. So for so good. I should have taken pictures, as that probably sounds as clear as mud, but forgot to!

This alone though only removed about half the play, something was clearly still not right. After much head scratching and staring at everything with a bright torch whilst pulling the wheel up and down, I realised the remaining movement was the cross tube under the dash itself flexing, even though it is solidly bolted at each end of the dash. Now, it shouldn't be able to do this, as it has a significant structure welded to it bracing it at the point above the steering column....

So, after suspecting a possible failed weld between this bracket and the cross tube and contorting myself into a pretzel under the dash area, EUREKA!! I found the issue. There was play between the support bracketry and the bulkhead itself. Again I should have taken pictures!

And here is the bolt that holds the bracket to the bulkhead. It wasn't very tight at all! Complete with its two QC paint marks! I suspect they are using too low a torque setting allowing it to work loose. Hidden away under the scuttle panel, It wasn't at all obvious where to find it initially!

View attachment 322

Anyway, the wheel and column is as tight as a drum now Don't know if this will also have cured the slight, random, clicking noise, as I've yet to road test...

Hi Paulie68,
I have this problem too. Its actually getting worse by the day. I have read your description of the fix, which is a great thing to share btw. I just wanted to ask you a few questions as I had a look under the steering wheel at the foot well and im unsure of where to go to tighten the bolts. Would you have any more details that could help me to locate the bolts please?
Also the one bolt under the wipers, do I need to remove the bonnet prior to starting? Thanks a million in advance.

 

[Paulie68]

Hi Paulie68,
I have this problem too. Its actually getting worse by the day. I have read your description of the fix, which is a great thing to share btw. I just wanted to ask you a few questions as I had a look under the steering wheel at the foot well and im unsure of where to go to tighten the bolts. Would you have any more details that could help me to locate the bolts please?
Also the one bolt under the wipers, do I need to remove the bonnet prior to starting? Thanks a million in advance.

Right, the scuttle panel can be removed easily as I described above, with the bonnet just open normally.

Inside, you need to remove the lower dash panel. This is done by first removing the end cap of the dash that you see with the door open. you will see a small slot to use a trim prising tool in, then it just unclips. You will then see the screws you need to remove. I think there are 1 or 2 more screws at the bottom of the panel to take out, and you need to unscrew the bonnet pull lever. you can then carefully unclip the lower panel. Be patient, the clips are really tight! Unplug the electrical leads and you can put the panel somewhere safe

You then need to take out the single screw under the steering column that holds the clam shell trims around it together, and carefully pull them apart. The lower trim will just fall down a little at the rear, it doesn't come off with the wheel in place. Lift up the upper trim thats connected by the leatherette cover and tape it up to the top of the dash out of the way with suitable masking or electrical tape, just so it stays out the way.

Using a torch, you should be able to see the two main bolts that hold the column assembly to the cross tube. I think they have a 13mm head, but can't recall for sure. They go through some nylon/plastic spacer arrangement. I believe this settles over time after the initial factory build, allowing the play to creep in. When you tighten the bolts, they will already seem tight! But you need to go a little more to take the play out of the assembly.

After tightening, check the play has gone, before re-assembly, and tighten a little more if needed.

Be careful!! over tightening can cause damage and if you aren't the type who has a "feel" for this sort of work, best not to do it. Undertake it at your own risk and all that, and remember if you do break anything whilst doing this, MG will charge you to put it right.

This is something a good dealer should be able to do, but generally they don't seem to have much common sense and revert to changing out entire assemblies, only for the issue to then reappear!

Good luck and be careful, the dash plastics can be a little brittle!

Just to also confirm, in my case, I have had no play recur in over 4000 miles or so since tightening.

 

[CDR]

Right, the scuttle panel can be removed easily as I described above, with the bonnet just open normally.

Inside, you need to remove the lower dash panel. This is done by first removing the end cap of the dash that you see with the door open. you will see a small slot to use a trim prising tool in, then it just unclips. You will then see the screws you need to remove. I think there are 1 or 2 more screws at the bottom of the panel to take out, and you need to unscrew the bonnet pull lever. you can then carefully unclip the lower panel. Be patient, the clips are really tight! Unplug the electrical leads and you can put the panel somewhere safe

You then need to take out the single screw under the steering column that holds the clam shell trims around it together, and carefully pull them apart. The lower trim will just fall down a little at the rear, it doesn't come off with the wheel in place. Lift up the upper trim thats connected by the leatherette cover and tape it up to the top of the dash out of the way with suitable masking or electrical tape, just so it stays out the way.

Using a torch, you should be able to see the two main bolts that hold the column assembly to the cross tube. I think they have a 13mm head, but can't recall for sure. They go through some nylon/plastic spacer arrangement. I believe this settles over time after the initial factory build, allowing the play to creep in. When you tighten the bolts, they will already seem tight! But you need to go a little more to take the play out of the assembly.

After tightening, check the play has gone, before re-assembly, and tighten a little more if needed.

Be careful!! over tightening can cause damage and if you aren't the type who has a "feel" for this sort of work, best not to do it. Undertake it at your own risk and all that, and remember if you do break anything whilst doing this, MG will charge you to put it right.

This is something a good dealer should be able to do, but generally they don't seem to have much common sense and revert to changing out entire assemblies, only for the issue to then reappear!

Good luck and be careful, the dash plastics can be a little brittle!

Just to also confirm, in my case, I have had no play recur in over 4000 miles or so since tightening.

Hi Paulie68,
Thanks a million for that break down, its certainly detailed. Im going to give it a blast tomorrow. Wish me luck, and thanks again for sharing this with me and the community

 

[Mark Holmes]

God that sounds quite awkward, wouldn’t it be best to share this with the main dealer and get them to do it....it’s under warranty....

 

[CDR]

God that sounds quite awkward, wouldn’t it be best to share this with the main dealer and get them to do it....it’s under warranty....

I agree, but if it takes an hour to do it at home it would save on the trip and at least I know it would be done right. From reading some of the posts online, it seems that most MG technician's are just not trained on these cars. As these cars are relatively new, and from China, it seems plausible to suggest that the training was fairly limited, especially with the covid crisis, there is no way any of these guys travelled to any specialist training courses.

 

[Mark Holmes]

I agree, but if it takes an hour to do it at home it would save on the trip and at least I know it would be done right. From reading some of the posts online, it seems that most MG technician's are just not trained on these cars. As these cars are relatively new, and from China, it seems plausible to suggest that the training was fairly limited, especially with the covid crisis, there is no way any of these guys travelled to any specialist training courses.

Just be careful

 

[Paulie68]

Just be careful

I absolutely second that! Do please be careful, I'm very experienced at automotive work and have an engineering background, so it's sometimes easy for me to forget not everyone has the pre requisite skill set to match their enthusiasm!

As for dealers... Here's my take on the sort of issue you run into, it's just a hypothetical....

A dealer faced with such an issue as this will refer to manufacturer guidance. Lets say the manufacturer advises a given torque setting for the bolts in question, but they are already at that level of tightness. So they move on to changing out whole components, steering column assembly and so on. This is installed as per the manufacturer settings. All is well until the now new versions of the components that caused the issue settle under compression and the same issue returns a few months later....

This has already been reported as happening by some owners! I suspect they are suffering with a similar issue to what my car did (at least in some cases) and just needed mounting bolts re-tightening, a little beyond the official manufacturer specs.

Most dealer techs will just do as they're advised, they won't deviate from instructions, even if they are out of date or flawed as they don't allow for an issue that's arisen needing initiative... This is also why a good independent garage can often run rings around main dealers regarding problem solving.

 

[Allen78]

Hello

MG are ordering steering column parts and the joint that attaches the air bag which rotates with all the wiring as it's broken and catching when the wheel is turned on mine. The clicking noise started after 3 months of having the car so it should be fixed next week. I'll report back once it's done with the names of the exact parts replaced.

 

[CDR]

I absolutely second that! Do please be careful, I'm very experienced at automotive work and have an engineering background, so it's sometimes easy for me to forget not everyone has the pre requisite skill set to match their enthusiasm!

As for dealers... Here's my take on the sort of issue you run into, it's just a hypothetical....

A dealer faced with such an issue as this will refer to manufacturer guidance. Lets say the manufacturer advises a given torque setting for the bolts in question, but they are already at that level of tightness. So they move on to changing out whole components, steering column assembly and so on. This is installed as per the manufacturer settings. All is well until the now new versions of the components that caused the issue settle under compression and the same issue returns a few months later....

This has already been reported as happening by some owners! I suspect they are suffering with a similar issue to what my car did (at least in some cases) and just needed mounting bolts re-tightening, a little beyond the official manufacturer specs.

Most dealer techs will just do as they're advised, they won't deviate from instructions, even if they are out of date or flawed as they don't allow for an issue that's arisen needing initiative... This is also why a good independent garage can often run rings around main dealers regarding problem solving.

Hi paulie69,
Are these the bolts you tighten?

 

[CDR]

Hi paulie69,
Are these the bolts you tighten?

Sorry Paulie68, the bolt with the green on it, or the one with yellow? There was alot of play in the green one so I tightened it enough so that the steering wheel can be adjusted nicely. The yellow ones cannot be tightened any more.
Thanks in advance

 

[Paulie68]

Hi paulie69,
Are these the bolts you tighten?

Yes, I believe it's the one with the yellow wax check mark, along with it's counterpart at the other side. There are only two prominent bolts that clearly attach the column assembly to the cross member.

With regard to the height adjustment lever, lower in the picture, with the bolt head check marked in green/blue. Just check this for play as well. You can tighten the nylock nut at the other side of that through bolt just a little too if needed, but only a little or the height adjustment lever will get too stiff.

Edit, you just beat me to it!! as above

 

[Paulie68]

Sorry Paulie68, the bolt with the green on it, or the one with yellow? There was alot of play in the green one so I tightened it enough so that the steering wheel can be adjusted nicely. The yellow ones cannot be tightened any more.
Thanks in advance

The yellow ones on mine seemed properly tight as well, but on mine these were actually the issue! I took them up about 1/8th of a turn and it took out the play. I'm not saying this is the case with yours! it could differ, so be cautious.

Obviously pull/push the wheel up/down to see if the play has gone, if it has, what you've done so far has solved it.