Groaning and moaning in steering wheel while turning, low speed?? (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

As OP, nothing to update on my end. It happened again this winter but mostly when it's cold and humid (like 40 deg F and humid/rainy). I sprayed with silicone again and it went away, possibly until next winter.
 
They were finally able to reproduce it at the dealership after verifying that everything in the steering was functioning and tight. I forgot if they gave me an explanation when I picked it up, but all the receipt says is "misc lube firewall grommet." Hope that helps. Sorry.
 
Apparently, this noise, or at least steering column noises, are a "feature" of many generations of LCs.

This thread had some traction on a DIY fix.


The above thread sort of moved to the following thread starting at the post linked:


@linuxgod might be able to expound on whether he performed this maintenance and if it worked for him. I have a similar noise so am also interested in a fix.

This thread is from 100 series and the final post is about lubing underneath the same boot the above post is talking about lubing under.

 
Apparently, this noise, or at least steering column noises, are a "feature" of many generations of LCs.

This thread had some traction on a DIY fix.


The above thread sort of moved to the following thread starting at the post linked:


@linuxgod might be able to expound on whether he performed this maintenance and if it worked for him. I have a similar noise so am also interested in a fix.

This thread is from 100 series and the final post is about lubing underneath the same boot the above post is talking about lubing under.

I wouldn’t call my noise a feature. It’s an annoying squeak/groan. Spraying some silicone spray under the boot where the steering shaft goes through the firewall seems to help for a month or so but it eventually comes back.
 
Just piling on, I have this too, since I got the vehicle, and would love to resolve it. It hasn't bothered me enough to try to fix it. Seems intermittent and exacerbated by cold. Adding a Watch to this thread.
 
Last edited:
I've been chasing a noise for a bit, and I did something that seems to have helped.

I cleaned the joint between the steering wheel and the steering column where the two plastic pieces get close.

I had a lot of dust in mine from offroad trips and there was some rubbing going on at certain points in the steering wheel rotation causing noise.

To clean it, I used a blue shop towel with plain water, and ran it around between the two parts in the narrow crack to clean it. Then I took another blue shop towel with 303 aerospace protectant and did the same thing. It hasn't made noise since.

Not suggesting mine was the same root cause, or even that this truly resolved my noise, but it seems to have fixed it, at least in the near term, so I thought I'd pass it along.
 
Last edited:
Nah, yet again, posted too soon. Heard the creak again today.
 
Nah, yet again, posted too soon. Heard the creak again today.
Mine is definitely where the steering shaft goes through the firewall. Previously I tried to lift up the boot (which is tough) and spray some silicone spray into it. That did remediate the noise for a month or so, but eventually it comes back.
 
I tried that too with no effect. It is an annoying "bug" for sure.
 
Came back again a few weeks ago as weather got colder and wetter. Sprayed again down into the rubber boot with silicone WD-40 and noise went away. See you in 6 months lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: MoJ
Came back again a few weeks ago as weather got colder and wetter. Sprayed again down into the rubber boot with silicone WD-40 and noise went away. See you in 6 months lol
I haven’t checked it out yet. Is there anyway to get some grease in there for a longer lasting fix?
 
I haven’t checked it out yet. Is there anyway to get some grease in there for a longer lasting fix?
Probably but I suspect it would involve a lot of dismantling. It’s pretty hard IMO to get the boot up enough just to spray some silicone lube in there. And for me it only seems to last a month or two.
 
I used flat tipped pliars to pull the boot back by the tab and sprayed this in there liberally. Quieted it down completely for now. Easy enough to do once or twice a year.

wd40.jpg
 
Probably but I suspect it would involve a lot of dismantling. It’s pretty hard IMO to get the boot up enough just to spray some silicone lube in there. And for me it only seems to last a month or two.
Would it make a difference if applying the grease with a syringe/needle type applicator?
 
Would it make a difference if applying the grease with a syringe/needle type applicator?
When I spray with the silicon wd40, I use the long tube attachment. I'd imagine you could do the same with a thicker lubricant.
 
Would it make a difference if applying the grease with a syringe/needle type applicator?
I dunno. I can’t tell exactly where the noise comes from, except inside the boot.

When I spray the can has one of those thin red straws. But it’s kind of a “wedge up the boot and spray liberally as best I can and hope it worked” effort
 
I dunno. I can’t tell exactly where the noise comes from, except inside the boot.

When I spray the can has one of those thin red straws. But it’s kind of a “wedge up the boot and spray liberally as best I can and hope it worked” effort
Right, and as a reminder nobody knows what exactly we're lubing in there, why it's working, or what the result would be with anything other than a spray lubricant.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom