What is this?

[AlexMozza]

Is it an MoT fail.

Ill have it checked out any way

[Leon27]

Change it. Based on water getting in and rusting the steering joint! And water could also get in your driver's footwell from here.

MOT fails are normally things that are corroded that you can see - when you remove the gaiter then assess how bad the joint is yourself. Need someone to confirm but I doubt it is a failure

[AlexMozza]

Ahh, okies.
Howe hard a job do you think this is?

Ive got a Haynes Book so i (should) be sorted lol

[Leon27]

Never done one but have done plenty of E36 recalls and 1series columns.

Would assume you'd have to release the connection off the PAS rack
*Dont spin the steering wheel or you may damage the slip ring*
Wrestle boot off and remove over lower column
Spray lots of slippery stuff (silicone spray) and put boot back up making sure its perfectly sealing
Put lower connection back on so you have steering  and done.

Thats the jist of doing a BMW one however haven't looked too closely at the VW one so hopefully someone else can give a few pointers.

Looks a little awkward with regards to space and hot stuff! Must be done cold and probably a lot of it from underneath the car

[Woppit]

yeah dude, chill out!

its just the protective boot that covers the universal joint from your steering wheel to you rack, and seeing how smooth them edges are its been like that a LONG time. it can be a pig to change!! best to change it, and itll be a learning curve, have fun with the UJ

As far as my MOT tester mates says .. it isnt a fail unless he see's it and you know they will miss it everytime.

[AlexMozza]

Lol,

Well I feel a lot better now.

Ill probably change it when I put a S/S Manifold on.
As for the MoT, ill get a friend to do it and hes about 60 :p

[AudiA8Quattro]

It won't fail, just on the advisory list.
The car will only fail if there is excessive play in the steering UJ.

[Wayne]

It won't fail, just on the advisory list.
The car will only fail if there is excessive play in the steering UJ.

+1 I would not change it as it is not easy.

[rubjonny]

you can do it without dropping the subframe, but its fiddly.

remove the wheel, stalk trim and stalks, then undo the bolt holding the lock housing to the outer column tube, this is usually a shear bolt on a mk3, but luckily its usually fingertight so not hard to undo.  next remove the undertray in the drivers footwell, then undo and remove the bolt holding the uj to the bottom of the column, dont loose the spring.  yank the column out of the car, and set aside. make sure you disconnected all the electrical bits, not sure how the airbag hooks up to the column but it should be self evident.  if not, you only need to pull it up enough to release it from the UJ really.
now go into the engine bay, if you look thru the boot hole there is a bolt which holds the UJ to the rack, remove this and pull the uj inside the car to release it.  now remove the rest of the boot and fit the new one, refitting is the reverse of removal as they say.

oh and for the ign lock shear bolt replace it with a suitable allen bolt, or just tighten it up as best you can with mole grips. doesnt have to be mega tight just enough to stop everything wiggling about