Sword removal on RHD Manual Cars?? Cant slide it out..

[henryw525i]

Hi Guys,

I have searched the archives and cant seem to work out how to slide the sword out. It hits the steering column. Im afraid to pressure it downwards...just dont want to break anything.


Has anyone come across this before?

Thanks in advance.

[kev535i]

ahh the dreaded RHD sword removal - mines an auto so one less pedal in the way- but pressure downwards their tough buggers - to get mine back in i needed to cut a small slot at the top of the hole with hacksaw blade- try reading these links for further ideas http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/91956
http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=19274

[henryw525i]

Ahh. Thanks for that. I have picked up the yoga vibe and got some bonus wet kneees because its been raining all day!

When you say you hacksawed the "hole" I presume your talking about the hole where the top screw goes? Because my train of thought was telling me to just cut the whole thing off because it seems to sit snugly in there with the one screw on the bottom?

Solder fix sounds like a good plan of attack too. Would hate to think of replacement price from stealer...

[pundit]

Henry,

What are the symptoms of your sword problem?
Does the variable speed work occasionally or not at all?

The solder joint problem is not an isolated one as several people have now found.

I would suggest that once you remove it, lay it down on the driver's floor and plug it back in.
Then turn on the fan and try flexing and tapping the PCB to see if you can determine if the problem is intermittent. - Cheers

[henryw525i]

Fan Blower only works on full speed. Actually it did this about 2 years ago and I fixed it by pulling out the fuse for it and leaving it for a while. But now the gremlin has returned.

I wont actaully see the car till next weekend as it has been retired to weekend driver status. However when I do get it out I will have a poke around and see if I can find some sort of cold or broken solder joint on it. Will post what I find.

Thanks heaps for the heads up on the procedure!!

[pundit]

Hi Henry,

I disconnected the steering coupling under the dash.
This is a diagram of the lower section of the steering shaft.
The upper section (not shown) has a splined end which locates in the universal joint coupling (item no. 7) as is held in place by bolt and nut (items no. 4 & 5)



You need to remove the coupling clamp bolt (item no. 4) and loosen the large collar nut (item no. 1) to allow the shaft to slide forward away from the steering wheel in order to seperate the upper and lower sections of the shaft.

You can then drop the upper steering shaft down out of the way which will allow you to remove the sword.

Good Luck pundit.

[Podmore]

Just did a sword replacement on my RHD auto - and with a little persuasion it will come out without dismantling the steering column, which is a PITA. Just wiggle it downwards as you draw it towards the column - it's tight but it will drag past the steering column. Before you go to put it back in, just cut away a little of the plastic at the top of the slot with a Stanley knife. Good luck with trying to re-solder dry joints - my recommendation is do a search on Ebay, there's an auto electrician who reconditions them, often has one up for $100 Buy it Now. 2 year warranty, just send your old core in. That's where I got mine.

[henryw525i]

Whats the search critera on ebay? I typed "BMW Sword" and couldnt find anything. You wouldnt have a link would you?

Cheers..!