My 53 plate Octavia TDI has a bit of play in the steering and it can be felt through the steering wheel particularly on rough roads. There is no play in the ball joints, struts, strut mounts or bushes, so it would appear that the only place that it can come from is either the column itself or the universal joint at the bottom.

Anyone had this before and if so what was the fix?

The car has done 83,000 miles.

I think mine needs this as well.

It's the last thing on the list for me as well.

I've been working my way through the front end for years

Mines slighty odd as the play is only on the left, the right is quite sturdy ???

U/J is part of the column and yeah I've changed a few on the mk1 Octavia for knocking noises.

U/J is part of the column and yeah I've changed a few on the mk1 Octavia for knocking noises.

Funny .............

You told me it was probably this on mine about 2 years back iirc.

You are God when it comes to these cars

He he, could be wrong still

U/J is part of the column and yeah I've changed a few on the mk1 Octavia for knocking noises.

Just realised that with the pics of one on eBay

Any thoughts on difficulty / cost to replace?

Pretty easy to change tbh, few security bolts to chisel off.

Pretty easy to change tbh, few security bolts to chisel off.

Thanks, sounds like fun!

Any idea of the cost of the column?

About £300 new last time I priced one, not sure these days.

I did changed mine about 4 months ago,bought one second hand from a 1.6 Golf....now is perfect no play in the steering wheel

it costs about 40 pounds

I think mine needs this as well.

+1

Mines slighty odd as the play is only on the left, the right is quite sturdy ???

I'd noticed this as well, but thought I was being a bit daft!

I've had a look on eBay this lunchtime, there are a few steering columns from breakers for £25-50 plus postage.

I did changed mine about 4 months ago,bought one second hand from a 1.6 Golf....now is perfect no play in the steering wheel

it costs about 40 pounds

Did you change it yourself? How experienced are you with the tools? Is it something that only an expert can do?

Thanks,

Martin

my mecanic has done the job....but I would say is not that easy...

removing the ignition from the old column and mount it on the new one was a little bit tricky.Ajusting the screw clack is important to find just the right tightness when is closed,otherwise when you want to ajust the steering and close the clack it might be too lose or not be able to close it at all

Edited 21 September, 201015 yr by IulianE

Of course buying a used one you might well end up in the same situation.

Does the steering column also provide the locking for the rake/reach system? If I don't have the steering set to the highest position, there is a fair bit of movement of the steering wheel even when "locked" in position (I don't mean the steering lock when you remove the key, I mean locking the rake/reach)

Would this movement also indicate a problem with the steering column?

Thats exactly how mine is as well.

What puzzles me is that it's only to the left, surely if the joint was borked it would knock both ways ???

My front end has been rattly for a long time and slowly I have ruled most bits out, changed the shocks and springs recently which made the biggest differnce as the near side was battered, the new setup even cured my arb bushes squeeking as they don't move as much now due to the shock doing it's job properly. Theres still the play when wiggling the wheel though and a knock over very rough roads, but overall it's much better.........................Still not quite perfect though !!!

What puzzles me is that it's only to the left, surely if the joint was borked it would knock both ways ???

That's what I don't understand either!! I thought I was imagining things, but it looks like it might be a "feature"

you can check the play in the steering column very easy....so you will know for sure if that is the problem

grab the steering column very tight with the hand on the joint on the cassete ,that's on the floor near the pedals (it is masked with some rubber ) AND with the other hand make some play with the steering wheel ..... IF there's some play in the column you'll notice easy

it is very possible to have a little play in the cassete too,so is very important to grab very tight the colunm with the hand

Tard time here ......................

What bit is the cassette ??? lol

English would be nice for a dullard like me, all this technical mumbo jumbo ........

sorry about my bad english...is not my birth language

sorry about my bad english...is not my birth language

Only kidding mate lol

You're english is better than most of us around here lo. It must be good as I only just noticed you're from Romania when you said

thanks :cheers:

is not easy for me to make myself understood