play in steering

[e30-320i]

when driving on the motorway it feels as though my steering is a bit loose and i'm constantly making minor steering movements to keep the car in a straight line i know alot of it is tramlining due to my wheels and the fact i live next to felixstowe docks so thousands of truck up and down the roads but i'm wondering how much play there should be in this part not sure what its called hence (crap) pic.if i hold it and move it side to side there's about 5mm play each way does something need replacing

[stuartgallafant]

hi there fella, the part you are looking at there is called the steering coupling...

there should be no play in this part at all, so 5mm is bad!! this is due to the coupling 'donut' (not the sugary variety!) being worn or split, allowing movement/freeplay.

the donut is the black rubber disc, btween the two ends of the shaft

to rectify this, the bottom of the coupling must be removed from the steering rack, and then the four 13mm nuts can be undone. then you can change the donut, and put everything back together

hope this helps mate

[e30-320i]

cheers mate that sounds pretty staightforward and hopefully not expensive as it's just a bit of rubber

[stuartgallafant]

i think its about £4 from the dealers!

let me know if you need any advice on the work, ok mate

[e30-320i]

cheers dude will do