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I have searched this forum for any similar types of problems to no avail.
There is a pivoting collar midway down the steering shaft under the dash that has a teflon sleeve inside that is wedges tightly inside the collar to hold the shaft and keep it from wobbling. Mine has had the teflon sleeve come part way out and when you turn the steering wheel, it moves up and down. I crawled underneath and worked it back in as well as I could and it worked for about a year. Then,, for some reason, the steering shaft started to rub and the outside edge of the firewall when turning left. I was able to put a couple of washers on top of the pivoting collar where it attaches to the frame, but at a n autocross on Sunday, the teflon collar popped out and the wobble returned. I checked Mazda motorsports and their catalog only shows the whole shaft is replaceable, not just the pivot.
I am thinking that I can drop the steering shaft down and get a better angle at the sleeve and collar and then maybe wrapping a clamp around the column to hold the teflon sleeve inside the collar.
Thanks, but that was the first thing I checked. There is no slack in the steering itself and the joint is clean and tight.
The loose bracket is inside, under the dash and I would like to know if anyone has figured out a good way to repair the pivoting bracket under the dash.
Thanks anyhow.
Last edited by Hi Flying 8; May 21, 2013 at 03:53 PM.
No I did not try a repair. I got mine used from a 2007 RX-8 for like $100.00. You have to drill out the security screws that hold your key cylinder/ignition switch, etc. and then install it on your new shaft with new screws from the dealer.
I repaired the steering column and it is working perfectly at this point. I will update later on the long term success.
I dropped the column down by taking off the plastic surround and taking out the four bolts that hold the column up, two bolts at the top and two bolts holding the pivot where the problem was. That gave me good access to the plastic sleeve that is inside that pivoting collar. There is a nipple on the plastic sleeve that fits into a hole on the collar that holds one side of the sleeve in place. However, there is nothing to hold the other side. I worked the sleeve back in place inside the collar and tapped the collar back into place using a 12" long 3/8" extension and hammer until the bottom of the collar was flush with the bottom edge of the outer steering column. I needed to make sure that the pivoting collar was aligned with the top mounting bracket to ensure that they both lined up to be able to remount them.
At that time, to ensure that the sleeve won't slide back out, I installed a screw clamp around the column next to the top of the collar to hold the plastic sleeve in place which I hope will make this a long term repair.
Steering is back to being very smooth and the column is completely adjustable without any roughness.
My steering column has play at the top inch of it. I raise it all the way u pock it and it falls down an inch and will free play in that area but won't go down further unless I release the lever. Will this work or do I ha e to replace the shaft
That's exactly what it is. Like 9k I replaced mine with a later model used one from Mazmart back in late 2009 for the same problem. A friend with a 2004 had one fail several years before so I pretty much knew what it was. The plastic collar on mine had split and I couldn't see how it wouldn't eventually just break completely and fail bad. Funny thing is, I can't remember the security bolt 9k mentioned or replacing it, but that same day we also dropped the rear subframe out to replace the rubber bushings with solid so that's the part I remember most ...
Same thing happened to me about a month ago. A real PITA when trying to toss a car around an autocross course. Thought it was a tilt lock failure at first. Then saw the same plastic piece in my footwell. I took a couple of strips of aluminum and shaped them into semi circles and wedged them in where the plastic was. Working quite well.
I repaired the steering column and it is working perfectly at this point. I will update later on the long term success.
I dropped the column down by taking off the plastic surround and taking out the four bolts that hold the column up, two bolts at the top and two bolts holding the pivot where the problem was. That gave me good access to the plastic sleeve that is inside that pivoting collar. There is a nipple on the plastic sleeve that fits into a hole on the collar that holds one side of the sleeve in place. However, there is nothing to hold the other side. I worked the sleeve back in place inside the collar and tapped the collar back into place using a 12" long 3/8" extension and hammer until the bottom of the collar was flush with the bottom edge of the outer steering column. I needed to make sure that the pivoting collar was aligned with the top mounting bracket to ensure that they both lined up to be able to remount them.
At that time, to ensure that the sleeve won't slide back out, I installed a screw clamp around the column next to the top of the collar to hold the plastic sleeve in place which I hope will make this a long term repair.
Steering is back to being very smooth and the column is completely adjustable without any roughness.
Thanks for the post boys. This seems to be a pretty common problem. I have noticed my tilt getting worse and worse over the past few months. Went out this morning to move the car out of the garage and what do i find in the floor. The dreaded plastic sleeve. I figured the first place i would check would be here. After doing some searching BOOM! You guys are the greatest.
Sounds like the plastic sleeve issue though.
Thank you, your post help me a lot !
