is there a way to replace the 'steering rod' that has those two unies on either end of it. The 1 that comes out of the firewall and connects to the steering rack. The steering wheel has play and it also makes noise. where can i get a new 1 and how much?

shaft is easily removed - undo the bolts and remove them using a 10mm spanner/socket and slide up and away from the steering rack then slide down fom steering colum and remove

the "rod" called an intermediate shaft and is available from fraud but is not cheap @ around $300

the uni's are not available seperately and the shaft must be purchased complete

your best bet is to find one here in wanted section or wreckers but there are different splines for differnt "e" series models so be careful wat u buy

The noise may be coming from the lower bearing of the steering column.

Ghia if its for a EL i have a complete second hand steering shaft here, its in good condition. But you will find its the lower steering column bearing that mounts to the firewall as that was the problem with mine and not the shaft!