Steering column lower joint.
 

Hi Guys,

I just replaced my universal joint.
First thing I noticed that an older one had 4 pieces together,while a new one is made of 2 pieces.
The steering wheel is finally tight and has no play.
After I took a closer look at the old column and my conclusion was that I should've left an old one and saved myself $400 bucks.
Why,you may ask...
Well,after inspecting what was causing the play,I found out that it was a rectangular pin getting loose inside of the upper part of the universal joint.
It's the only place where german engineers used no splines and corners were getting spent after so many kms and potholes.
What drew my attention is that there was some lock tight used,I have no idea if it comes like that from the factory or not,but there it was.No brainer why it was so difficult to undo them and now TIS recommendation to pass a tap before re fastening.
So after cleaning all the torx bolts and re torquing them to TIS values,I found absolutely no play.
So,if you have an older X5 with a rubber boot on the universal joint and a black shaft that fits the steering rack.Then undo the plug in the boot,remove the torx bolt,clean it and try re torquing it to 24Nm and check for any remaining play.
I hope that helps.

Thank you very much for your post.

I have a 2006 X5 4.8is. I have the play in the steering wheel and the knocking sound as well. I have traced it to the Double Joint (Part Number: 32306767166). I was planning to order the part and change it soon.

Are you saying that the older X5 use different double joint compare to the new one? I wonder if I can fix mine. Can you please post a picture of the double joint you’re referring to?

Thanks a lot,

The newer joint is made of some sort of aluminum while the older one is made of steel.
Upper steering shaft's end,that goes into the joint is rectangular on the older one and hexagon on the newer model.
I would suggest you to check for any the universal joint itself by grabbing the upper and lower ends and trying twisting(torsion movement) if there's no play there,then move the shaft(column) up and down and check if there's any vertical/horizontal play at the bushing where it meets the firewall.
That spot had a lot of white plastic powder when I removed the column.there are 2 plastic rings that make some sort of bearing alike support for the column.There may be some play.
If both of those points are good and have no excessive play or wear,then I would I undo the torx and retorque to 28Nm(for aluminum joint).
I used thread locker.I would use it there again I had to remove it.

Good to know, thanks.

Thank you again, I have done what you suggested and I traced the sound to the double joint. This is what realoem shows for my car (Item 2).
http://sdrv.ms/18d26Tq

http://sdrv.ms/18d26Tq

When you said the plastic pieces, are you referring to Item 2,3, and 5?
http://sdrv.ms/18d2cKW

http://sdrv.ms/18d2cKW

For some reasons the images are not shown. So, I included the web address.

I was referring to # 3 plastic rings(didn't know how they were called) in the #5 and #6 from the first diagram.
In your case you'll have to replace just the double joint,because your upper part is already updated with with a hexagon ending one,that's my guess,because I couldn't order just #2 because of that difference in the joint fitting.
it's a bit cheaper than getting a whole thing replaced,like I had to.
When you undo the torx make sure to pull them out of the joint,otherwise you won't be able to detach it from the shaft on the steering rack and the #1 on the diagram.There is a groove that contacts the torx bolt and doen't let the shaft pop out with the bolt still in.

Great, Thank you...

just replaced mine awhile ago and now my steering is solid, always awesome to view the older threads that helps answer questions!