Note: this is different than the issue I described in a prior thread titled "Steering Dead Spot".

Oftentimes when I turn the wheel more than a quarter turn or so, upon turning it back the other direction, I'll feel a slight knock or "pop" in the wheel - very muted and 100% not the usual suspects under the car.

I looked underneath the dash while turning the wheel, not expecting to see much, but behold: that little "pop" was correlated directly with the upper column shaft rising and falling (I don't know how else to describe it, hence the video below).

The lower column shaft that goes from the footwell u-joint to the rack tower of course rises and falls the same way since the two are connected but I can rule out that this up/down motion is rooted in something happening underneath the car at the lower u-joint or rack. I can grab the lower steering shaft (aka intermediate shaft) and tug up and down in-line with the shaft and nothing happens.

Anyway, the video:
Why is this behaving this way? It doesn't scare me from a safety standpoint, but it's annoying to hear & feel the clunk when turning. Just a little confused as to why the spring is compressing and releasing on a shaft that is simply turning inside of it.

Thanks

- Anderson

 

Underneath the boot near the floor, is a plate that attaches to the floor.
That plate has a bearing that holds the shaft from moving.
If you can get that boot out of the way you will see more about what is going on.

 

That 'bearing' isn't there to stop the shaft moving, it is a sleeve and it is simply there as a seal to stop air from the engine bay entering the cabin, there is no bearing there. In your video I don't see the sleeve either.

See if you can get a video of the joint under the car where it meets the rack.