C5 steering column revisited.

Post by **Sir Clive** » 05 Sep 2005, 13:50

I posted here a couple of weeks about about the play in the botton UJ of my steering column. I couldn't see how to get the UJ off though, so I was forced to go to the local dealer. Actually the service bloke was very helpful....apparently this is NOT an unknown problem in the C5. The bad news is that the top half of the UJ is integral with the steering column, so the whole thing, or at least the lower half has to be replaced

The price for the job is £370 fitted, and I'm not sure that includes VAT, I was so gobsmacked I forgot to ask.
The problem with the inoperative rear screenwash is a faulty valve assembly, which is a mere £53 to supply and fit.
Regards
Philip

Post by **Peter.N.** » 05 Sep 2005, 13:58

Phew! I thought XM spares were expensive!

Post by **Sir Clive** » 20 Sep 2005, 15:52

Well, I took the car into the local dealer yesterday for the work to be done.
When I went to collect it, the young lad on the reception desk said he'd done one just last week, so reading between the lines, it's getting to be a common problem on older cars [:(]
The good news is that the price quoted did include VAT, and the steering is now totally clonk and rattle free;it's actually made a huge improvement.
And the bad news? The steering wheel doesn't now point straight ahead when you're travelling in a straight line, so that has to be sorted. The electrovalve for the screenwash hadn't turned up either, so when it does they can do both jobs at the same time.

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » 20 Sep 2005, 19:04

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Sir Clive</i>
The price for the job is £370 fitted
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
So what sort of mileage has that lasted?

Post by **Sir Clive** » 20 Sep 2005, 19:15

Column was replaced at 75000 miles, when the problem had become very very irritating, and also when the free play at the rim was such that it would have failed the MOT [:(]
It sort of came on gradually, but must have been noticeable at about 60,000 miles.