The steering column in my 2004 XK8 moves up and down electrically fine but the column will move about an inch if the steering wheel is lifted or moved side to side. My service tech says this is common as the electric adjustment motors wear. The car has 68,000 miles. Feels strange to feel the steering wheel shake in my hands if a rough bit of road is crossed. Sound normal to you?

 

Sounds like a bad ball joint to me. My 03 steering wheel would shake real bad when I hit rough road. I replaced the complete front suspension and it solved the problem. The only worn part I found was a bad ball joint but replaced everything anyway.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Replaced upper control arm bushings and front shocks but no change. If the steering wheel is fully forward, it is solid. As it moves towards the driver, it can be moved up and down and side to side proportionally until at max extension, it can be moved vertically and horizontally approximately an inch or so. Normal?

 

I actually have this very same situation and I have nearly rebuilt the entire front suspension.

 

I never use the reach function on the wheel adjustment, with my seat all the way back it's to close to me as is. I'd like about 3 or 4 inches more room.

Now if my wheel is not all the way down it does wobble more. So I guess there is something to the worn out steering adjustment fittings.

 

The underside of the steering column can be inspected fairly easily. You can remove the knee bolster (under-scuttle?), it is just 2 10mm screws at the bottom, then gently pull rearwards to disengage the 2 top pegs. This is best accomplished with the column out and up some to clear the instrument cluster dimmer knob. Then remove a couple of electrical connectors (temp vacuum and valet switch). Once removed, you could start wiggling the steering column and see where the play is coming from. The tilt motor is right there, too, including the sliding plastic shaft. Just 2 more Allen head screws and a connector, and it comes off. Just be smart when you put it back so it is not offset.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

Thanks for the step by step procedure. I still haven't received a reply as to whether movement is normal. If your steering wheel is all the way out, does it have any play? Hate to fool with it if it is common in a ten year+ model.

 

you can remove the cowl around the column and there are 2 set screws to tighten the pivot. you just cant tighten too much as it has to have play to allow movement of tilt and reach.Sorry I havent had to do that in years so youll have to get under there and look. But it is right at the pivot point for the column

 

I went out to check on my car, and there is next to zero play.

 

no play in my car either.

 

Hi Jetjock,

I've had my 1999 XJ8 for a few years, and never had a problem like this. I just bought a 2001 XK8 convertible last week with this exact problem that you described and fixed it today!

I removed the cowl as described above to see if anything had come loose, and found no apparent issues. I cycled the column through all adjustments and came to the conclusion that even though everything seemed tight the bracket that holds the column in place seemed to allow some unnatural movement.

I removed one of the torx bolts and found there are two spring washers and surmised that over the past 14+ years they might have lost their ability to retain sufficient tension. I thought the simple answer would be to tighten the bolts a bit more but they appear to have bottomed out.

I simply grabbed another washer and added it to the stack and tightened it up. The bolt has locktite on it so it takes a bit of effort to get it in and out. The good thing about the locktite is that it allowed me to adjust the tension to the correct amount to prevent the column from moving in my hands, but still allows the motor to adjust position as it should.

I hope this helps, good luck!

 

Thanks for the tip. I've been out of town for the last few days but will get at the job tonight and give it a go.

 

How did that work out? I just bought a 2000 XK8 and my column is slightly loose also. I am pretty sure it's not suspension but rather the column mount or tilt that is loose.

 

It worked out perfectly for me. Zero play now. Be careful not to overtighten. It may cause the movement of the steering column tilt and incline to be sluggish.

 

I have a spare steering column. It is physically sound (really tight - no wiggles) and has all the electrical doo-dads, minus the motors and a possibly repairable turn signal unit. It came off an '03.

If anyone is interested, please PM me. I'll let it go cheap.

 

I took the lower dash panel off as well as the bottom column cover and the two torx bolts in question were tight with no observed play in the column at all except out at the wheel. It might be loose ( I doubt it). I will have to take the airbag off to investigate, so that's a project for another day. At any rate it's not very loose, just annoying for the most part.