Steering column joint
 

Hi. Can anyone confirm if the fitting at the top end of the steering shaft UJ is hexagonal or square on 2001 E53?
I heard somewhere that the location hole was changed from square to hex at some point but I don't know if it's true or not.
I may want to replace mine but I'm not going to remove it to find out I've bought the wrong one..

Mine was square (replaced a couple of months ago)

Sent from Embassy network using Tapatalk

OK but what year is your car? Did replacing it stop any clunking? I'm not sure if its the uj or bearings in the column.

2005 4.8is
I had a little noise, but mine was binding due to u-joint being worn out. It was 100% gone after replacement.

Sent from Embassy network using Tapatalk

Not sure what you are talking about, but from my notes when I fixed my 2001 3.0i many years ago,

"Removed and re-installed top E10 bolt above steering column double u joint. Used red loctite. This eliminated the ~3/4" play in the steering wheel."

So that means an External Torx E10 socket was used.

In general, the problem I had was a loose steering wheel - about 3/4" play with no effect on the wheels. Re-centering and tightening this bolt solved it perfectly.

And this is a USA, left hand drive car. It is a double-u-joint in the steering column.

Seems that some steering columns have a square shaft at the lower end and some have a hex...

https://a.d-cd.net/5d19436s-960.jpg

I also read that there are at least three part numbers for this joint, so it seems to have undergone at least two revisions in it's life-cycle.

If you look at the joint currently in your car, you might be able to spot if it's a square or hex shaft as the shaft extends through the joint a small amount... (this image is upside-down - upper shaft is at the bottom)

https://a.d-cd.net/8ae4284s-960.jpg

Images from drive2.ru