Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 17:54:01 -0000 From: Paulo Mateiro Subject: RE: 535i steering issue > There is about > an inch of play in the steering wheel when turning the wheel > left to right > or right to left before there is an actual directional change > occuring in > the wheels of the car. I mentioned this to my mechanic (BMW > only shop) and > while the car was on a lift he moved each front wheel looking > for play or > steering issues and didn't seem to think anything was wrong. Two things: rear subframe to unibody bushings and front-end rebuild. I have the same problem with an E21: too much play at highway speeds and not much play when weels are lifted from ground. I know the rear bushings are fine, but the front end probably needs a rebuild: I would start with the tie-rod ends. Bye, Paulo Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 13:38:25 EST From: Atkin11J@aol.com Subject: RE 535i Steering There are two items that need to be tightned up. First the steering box iteself needs to be adjusted tighter. This is a real easy procedure takes about 5 mintues to do. It is just closing the tolerances on the steering gears, simple adjustment. Second there is a collar nut at the base of the steering column that needs to be snugged up. You might be able to get to it without dropping the trim panel, I just used a huge adjustable wrench and turned the steering wheel. These two items should get of about 90 % of the play. Derek A 90 5358 BMW CCA 136755