328 -- sudden grinding in the steering column

Hi gang.

All of a sudden I'm getting a nasty grind in the steering column on my 328. Doesn't seem to affect the steering, but the sound is unnerving as heck.

This happened on the way back from lunch today, and so I've got to get it home before serious troubleshooting. I have a stethoscope and will try to narrow the location. There was no prior indication of any problem at all.

Anyone run into this before?

 

There is a bearing at the firewall. Spray some lube on it. I have gotten occaisional squeaking or scraping noise from there in the past. Lube it, and it went away.

 

Also, there are 2 u-joints on the steering column that may need grease. The should have Zerk fittings.

 

Same for me...
Ciao
Eugenio

 

my mechanic told me that sometimes the mechanism binds

You should try to get it looked at ASAP

 

Are you sure the care is not stolen
and the steering lock is trying to lock itself ..............

 

Tillman had PM'd me about this since I had a similar problem but I wanted to share why mine was grinding.

My problem was the horn ring rubbing where the ring makes contact with the electrical contact on the stalk. I sanded the copper ring down a bit and that helped. The other problem was the contact on the stalk was misaligned on the ring so I had to bend that to fix it.

In retrospect I should have put some type of grease in there (Lithium or Graphite??).

It would of course be much easier to lube the firewall bearing first since the steering nut has to be removed which can be a pain.

Gene


In the picture you can see the backside of the copper ring. If you look closely in the center, the ring snaps over the center plastic. It will also rub there and could use some lube.
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I recall now a similar noise in either my 328 or 308 years ago (I forget which one). I did spray a little lube into the area shown in the picture above (I did not take anything apart) and it got rid of the noise. Warning, have lots of towels around if you try this!

 

I have just gone through this with my 1985 GTS QV. It drove me mad one day and ruined a nice lunch out with the wife (hold the comments). It was my horn ring/contact.

If you look through the stalk on the right side of the column you can probably see where its rubbing, I took a small pick and pulled it away (you may set the horn off if it makes contact)

I did this a few times until it stopped as I did not want to pry too much at first, the dealer had never heard of this problem???? yet I see a few others have had the same problem. Its a nasty scraping noise like metal on metal and does not sound like a squeaky bearing.

If it comes back I'm planning on pulling the steering wheel (if I can find someones socket to borrow, its quite odd) and fixing it once and for all.

 

My symptoms sound just like what you're describing.

Unfortunately I can't get to it before the club event tomorrow, so I'll just turn up the stereo. It doesn't seem to be a safety issue.

Thanks
T

 

I like the idea of lubing it through the wiper stalk. I was actually taking mine apart to troubleshoot failed turn indicators.

Macro,
I did a write up somewhere on how to make a socket for the steering wheel. If you have an angle grinder (or lots of time with a Dremel) you can cut one out of an 1 1/8th socket. Mine worked great! Once you get the socket off you will need a brass drift to whack the center shaft. That will dislodge the hub and you'll be off and running.


Gene

 

Same thing happened to my 328. I removed the steering wheel and cleaned the horn slip ring contacts with spray contact cleaner (from Radio Shack). To remove the steering wheel you'll need a ring nut socket -- Ricambi carries them--and then I used a pulley puller to pull the wheel off of the spindle. Never had the noise again. I suspect the the awful noise was just a bit of dirt causing the slip ring wipers to vibrate.

 

As a follow-up, I sprayed the heck out of it with silicone lube through the wiper and turn signal stalk openings, and that seems to have resolved the issue.

 

Good to hear, that is what worked for me as well.