Steering play

[sprint95m]

http://www.chriswitor.com/proddetail.php?prod=145377RM
The kit car suppliers sell these UJs too.


I wouldn't buy a copy of the original joint because of all the feedback on here indicating these are poor quality.





Ian.

[AlanH]

ANG are in Nottingham so I may be able to go and have a look at it.

http://www.chriswitor.com/proddetail.php?prod=145377RM

Like the look of that and it's cheaper than the pressed steel ones. Will it fit without any hacking/ shortening etc. of the shaft?
I tried the shaft in the other end of the joint and, it did not move sideways at all but was able to slide up and down is that how it's meant to be? I'm going to change it anyway because there is play in the knuckle.

[Toledo Man]

There are grooves around the circumference of the splined shafts which line up with the pinch bolt holes. Have you tried Fitchett's? I ended up replacing both parts of the coupling on my Dolomite 1300 and I may well do the same with my 1850 just for total peace of mind. I heartily recommend the Super Flex bush for the lower coupling if it can be reused. I paid about £50 for both parts back in 2006 so I would imagine that it is a bit more these days.

[Jon Tilson]

When clean the splines should slide in with some pressure and then lock up when the pinch bolt is tightened.

After a while rust and dirt makes them stick even when the bolt is undone and it can take some force to get them out again.

There should never be lateral play in the splines.

Jonners

[sprint95m]

http://www.chriswitor.com/proddetail.php?prod=145377RM

Like the look of that and it's cheaper than the pressed steel ones. Will it fit without any hacking/ shortening etc. of the shaft?

You will probably have to shorten the intermediate shaft.





Ian.

[geeksteve]

After a while rust and dirt makes them stick even when the bolt is undone and it can take some force to get them out again.

Amen to that. Getting the shaft off my rack when I was replacing it was damned near impossible. Pry bars, ball joint seperator forks, hammers...

Steve

[AlanH]

Amen to that. Getting the shaft off my rack when I was replacing it was damned near impossible. Pry bars, ball joint separator forks, hammers...

I think this confirms that someone must have already had a go at mine. I have had the steering column out several times and the shaft and bottom joint pulled off without any problem.

I was interested to hear that the shaft should be solid in the bottom joint. There is a flat cut away to allow the bolt to go through but it is about 1/2" long and I noticed that the shaft slid up and down slightly as I turned the steering. Probably just play in the knuckle joint. As I said before, not much surprises me with the car now.

[Karlos]

I have a spare intermediate shaft and bottom joint. Good used condition. PM if interested.

[sprint95m]

Alan

There are several lower steering knuckle around -
Solid type knuckle - which I am assuming Wins have is it like this one http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-FAM1718P,

The other two are very similar to look, they have rubber bushes fitted on the securing screws for the two half of the knuckle (Fram 1718) http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-FAM1718. This one cannot be repaired where the model prior to this one
can be - a replacement poly bush kit can be purchase from Chris Witor http://www.superflex.co.uk/proddetail.p ... F374-1179K

I suspect the type you have a earlier FAM1718 model and the rubber bushes have perished which is causing you to have the rotational play in the steering.

A picture would help to identify which model it is.

Paul

This post is misleading because Rimmer Brothers do sell a proper forged steering UJ, it is part number 145377.
It will be on offer from 15/12/14 until 31/12/14 for £29 inc. VAT if you quote the discount code UK2014D (normally it is £35.50).

Similarly, if ordering from Winns, ask for a T2000 manual steering forged upper UJ.


Yes, I know I should have really checked this out earlier.


(Please note, if employing a forged UJ it is probable that a Dolomite intermediate shaft will need shortening (a little).)




thanks,

Ian.

[Flyfisherman]

Alan

There are several lower steering knuckle around -
Solid type knuckle - which I am assuming Wins have is it like this one http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-FAM1718P,

The other two are very similar to look, they have rubber bushes fitted on the securing screws for the two half of the knuckle (Fram 1718) http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-FAM1718. This one cannot be repaired where the model prior to this one
can be - a replacement poly bush kit can be purchase from Chris Witor http://www.superflex.co.uk/proddetail.p ... F374-1179K

I suspect the type you have a earlier FAM1718 model and the rubber bushes have perished which is causing you to have the rotational play in the steering.

A picture would help to identify which model it is.

Paul

This post is misleading because Rimmer Brothers do sell a proper forged steering UJ, it is part number 145377.
It will be on offer from 15/12/14 until 31/12/14 for £29 inc. VAT if you quote the discount code UK2014D (normally it is £35.50).

Similarly, if ordering from Winns, ask for a T2000 manual steering forged upper UJ.


Yes, I know I should have really checked this out earlier.


(Please note, if employing a forged UJ it is probable that a Dolomite intermediate shaft will need shortening (a little).)




thanks,

Ian.

So then why is it misleading then clever clogs - the one I posted a shortcut too is an aftermarket one suitable for a dolomite.

[Karlos]

The daft thing is we are replacing a shock absorbing coupling/joint with a UJ. I am thinking: "Why don't we just remove the rubber/plastic bushes from the silly bottom coupling/joint, weld it together and refit it?" - problem solved permanently. The intermediate shaft has the UJ that is needed to accommodate the angle between the steering column and rack input shaft. The idiotic lower coupling/joint only provides some cushioning and vibration damping, that is all, it doesn't need to provide any flex for location or negotiating any corners/angles so another UJ is superfluous.

[tony g]

Anyone used Kiley Clinton stuff? Looks nice
http://www.steering-racks.co.uk/ujs/

Tony

[GrahamFountain]

"Why don't we just remove the rubber/plastic bushes from the silly bottom coupling/joint, weld it together and refit it?"

Considering what happens if it fails (got that T shirt as a result of one of those fake FM1718s), the risk can't possibly be worth the 20ish quid you save in parts.

Graham.

[AlanH]

Considering what happens if it fails (got that T shirt as a result of one of those fake FM1718s)

What happened to it?

[GrahamFountain]

There's a thread on it here somewhere. But both bolts holding one of the castings to the round disk failed, and I was left with no steering at all. Fortunately I'd just pulled out of a rather tight space on a road with a fairly big camber, and it failed just as I straightened up. So I was only going a couple of miles an hour. But if, as me and one of our production engineers suspect, it was a fatigue fail, even if had I parked somewhere less stressful on the steering, it would still have gone at a much lower load later, and that might have been bad news.

The problem is that these fakes are held together with 5 mm black steel cap screws, whereas the one I took off the car, was held together with 5/16ths" stainless ones (40 years in the engine bay, and still not rusty), roved over to lock them in place.

If you do the calcs, the CSA of a 5/16th bolt is over twice that of an M5F bolt, never mind the difference in materials, which I reckon was another step in the wrong direction. So it's no surprise one of them failed – and if one fails, the other will fail in fairly short order. I also think, if you look at the component, even the real ones, putting all the steering load through two 5/16ths bolts is a poor bit of design. Replace these with M5s and it's disaster waiting to happen.

Graham