Steering column problem

[THBMW]

The tilt steering column on my 1999 540i makes a loud noise everytime it moves up or down automatically when I turn on/off the ignition.

I have had the motor in the column replaced by a BMW authorized shop three times and it keeps coming back after a few months.

Has anyone else experienced this ? Any suggestions on how to fix this ?

[Bono]

bump and I have the same problem. I took off the cover, lubed what I COULD FIND....of moving gears....and the problem went away for 4 months....then bam...it slowly came back....soft, then louder and louder..and now it is back to the same embarassing LOUD. "eerrrrrrrrrrrr......" ........every time I turn the car off. I saw chicks run away yesterday when it happened because they thought it was an oozie..... I'm going to do the same thing again, but more thorougly and this time with GREASE instead of WD40....I'll post pictures of the process. I've seen MANY people complain of this problem with this car since I've been on this board....I'm going to solve the mystery once and for all......stand by peeps.

[atl540i]

I have a similiar problem in my 1999 540i/6. When I turn the wheel to the right, at certian points, it makes a "rrrrrr" sound. It doesn't matter if I am sitting still or in motion. Is there something I need to grease in the column or what? Any ideas?

[Bono]

Well....it's been a while, but here are the pics of what I did.

I don't know what else to do. Remind you, I am SOooooooooo not a mechanic. I am a DIY'er with basic knowledge.

I took the speedo out, then I took the bottom gray panel below the steering wheel off....there are a total of 8 or 9 screws to get it off. Then I laid a some drip cloth down and started to spraying white lithium grease pretty much anywhere that looked like it moved.

In the process of doing this I noticed that with the steering wheel extended all the way, I could spray all day long, and when I moved the wheel up and down, it still squeeked.

BUT THEN....I moved the steering wheel all the way into the dash, and then sprayed moving components, gears, pivot points etc....then moved the wheel up and down...and the squeek slowly went away....then I just kept playing with the wheel, up then out, then down and in.....I did it about 30 times, and finally....THE SQUEEK WAS GONE! I re-assembled and now I have a factory SILENT steering wheel column.

Be careful what you spray the grease on. I was careful not to spray any electrical connectors and or stuff on the interior. After I was done spraying I wiped excess grease off before it hardened up.

Sweet!

Sorry, no pics yet, apparently they are too big...

[bigugly]

grease the hell out of the leather part above the column. the WHOLE thing.

[Bono]

The leather was not the squeek...trust me. When you hear the squeek...you know it's not leather. It's actually more like a creeeeeeeeeek.....do what I did and it will be fixed. Mine is still quiet!

[Al's540i]

Bono,

Have you found a way to upload those pics you took? Could you just email them to me? I really want to take care of this annoying problem. It sounds like the car is farting or shooting a submachine gun or something. Very embarrassing when you have guests in your finely tuned German work of automotive excellence.

[Al's540i]

Bono was right! White Lithium Grease in a can is all you need to rid yourself of that annoying creaking, groaning sound when the automatic tilt engages upwards or downwards. I sprayed some of the lithium grease on all moving parts and joints (making sure not to get any on electrical connections) and moved the wheel up and down about 40-50 times. And like that, voila!!! The noise is gone and i have a factory silent steering wheel column. Let's see how long this lasts but at least now I know what to do if i ever have to do it again...and it won't take me as long

[Black528i]

Bump from the dead. I could really use those pictures. My car is doing the same thing now.

[Al's540i]

I have no pics but I can run it down really quick for you.

Remove the wood trim pieces on either side of the wheel. Next remove the big bottom portion where your knees meet the dash....about 4-7 screws. Then remove the screws behind the trim pieces you removed in step one along with I belive 2 more screws above the big piece you just dropped. Next, remove the plastic pieces that surround the steering wheel colum under the cluster. Now you can see everything perfectly. Cover the ignition switch area with a rag or something and any exposed electrical connections.
Next move the wheel up and down several times to see how everything works and moves and then spray white lithium grease where you feel its needed.

Note, it takes about 30-50 tries moving the wheel up and down before the squeel goes away.

INterestingly enough, I did this back in Dec (cold season) and the problem went away. Now that it's warmer I'll have to do it again because I get the squeel but it'll go away when I excercise the wheel up and down a couple of times.....I know....it gets frustrating. I'm hoping a second application in warmer temps will get rid of it forever.

[Black528i]

Thank you sir.

[LBMotoring]

I also Will be doing this, its slowly getting louder!

[bimmerfiver]

I sprayed mine when I first bought it a year ago. There was a little squeak and I was able to get rid of it entirely.

When you do a grease job, consider the WURTH HHS 2000 (the red can). It is the best imo, do it once and do it right. You'll use this stuff on all of your door hinges, door locks, trunk hinges, trunk lock, hood hinges, hood lock and hood cable release.

Read here, from WURTH'S website:

Q. What is HHS-2000 used for?

A. HHS-2000 is a Silicone Free spray grease. It has a unique feature. It is a long lasting lubricant that starts out as a penetrant and sets-up into a white lithium grease. If you need to get grease to a part and you don’t want to take your machine apart, especially if you have a spline, gear, or a screw, use the HHS-2000. The HHS-2000 will creep up the thread - adhere to the metal as it flashes off, and then set-up into white lithium grease. To see how this works – if you have a forklift, first degrease the chain with either the Super Spray-All or the Super Spray Degreaser, wipe it down using the EZ-wipes, and then apply the HHS-2000. You will see it creep into the chain – after a minute, touch the chain and you will see that it has set-up into grease. The Super Spray-All, EZ-Wipes, and the HHS-2000 are a great combination of items to maintain your equipment.

http://www.goodspeedmotoring.com/?pa...nd%20Adhesives

http://www.stableenergies.com/prodin...ber=CC-HHS2000

http://www.amazon.com/Wurth-HHS-2000.../dp/B0002XRDLE

[Bob S]

I just did this "fix" this past Saturday. The only thing I did differently from Bono was that I didn't remove the instrument cluster. That may have given me a better, top angle on the gear. At that point, the only thing holding in the cluster were four Torx screws on the top of the bezel...I hadn't read this thread at that point. Anyway, I used PB blaster to clean the worm gear (and whatever else it got on) and then spread on some white lithium grease. I operated it up and down many times and tried to smear both ends of the gear as well as possible.

BTW, the drive motor/cable/gear are on the right side of the column. You can leave the top of the column cover on. Bottom is held on by one screw and clips into top. However, it's attached to the knee panel. You carefully finesse the two woodgrain pieces out to unscrew the top of the knee panel. When you unscrew the bottom of the knee panel the bottom shrould comes out with two big zuus (sic) fasteners at the firewall.

That Wurth lube would have been nice to have. So far, it's been silent.

-Bob

[Al's540i]

Bump from the dead.

Has anyone use Wurth 2000 like bimmerfiver did? I like to know your results.

Also, anyone have any other solutions to this problem????

[White94RX]

usually it's not the motor, but the column itself. like where the hinge/pivot is. I've stopped many of them from squeaking by backing off the bolt one or two turns (but mostly been on E65's).