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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Wobbly steering column

My 1500 midget has a common fault. There is free play at the steering wheel caused by play in the steering column.

The column is of the 3 part collapsible type, with solid sections top and bottom connected by a tubular section. The plastic plugs holding the sections together are still in place, but there is wear between the flat sections of the inside of the tube and the outside of the solid sections, at the points where they meet.

During medium to heavy cornering this results in the column being forced into a banana shape, which makes the steering feel heavy. The car also wanders around when driven in a straight line.

I've tolerated this for years, but it is getting worse.

The solution seems obvious: compress the tube section so that it becomes a tight (interference) fit with the solid sections, and replace the place plugs.

(I'm not keen on the idea of shoving bits of feeler gauge into the gaps, which seems a bit bodgy.)

So, my question is, has anyone else 'fixed' this problem, and/or can you recommend an engineer to to carry out the work?

Thank you.

Michael

M Davies

I like option 2

check the parts for sale section for a whole new column or check ebay

Im just not a fan of hillbilly engineering on things like steering and brakes

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

I like option 2

check the parts for sale fkr whole new column or check ebay

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

The rest of the column is in good condition (it is a second hand 'replacement' I bought from Moss years ago). The splines are perfect, so I'd rather repair it than replace it with an unseen column from eBay

Prop - which is option 2?

Michael
M Davies

What I meant was why not just replace What ever is worn and damaged...dont jimmy rig it

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

I guess because over here in Blighty we still like to make do and mend, rather than, er, replace... I do agree though that it may be a job for an engineer, hence the request for recommendations.

Michael
M Davies

Mike .. I have to Completely disagree...about making due with what you have... ill bet even lawerance would find this appaeling...true I dont know anything about your town ...but im sure the fed exor ups or the yellow vans deliver at leaste on a weekly schedual

if there is a part on your steering colomn that has gone bad and needs replacing, you owe to the motoring public, your family, and your own personal health to fix it properly...this not an area for duck tape and bailing wire

Im all for redneck hillbilly engineering on things like exhaust carbs cooling systems and doors ect. Ect... but when it comes to serious componets like like brakes and steering systems...its not just wrong, morally unexceptable....bringing harm to yourself is one thing... killing a 8 year old little girl in a car crash because you steering colomn busted in half and you lost the ability to steer... is just criminal

trying to fix wornout parts that puts the general public at high risk.is something I can never condone

There is never a good excuse to drive intoxicated and there is no excuse to drive with a dodgy worn out part thats been duck taped that would hsve a direct effect on the genral.public ... loosing control and killing a young family of 4 is something you dont want on your conscious

Just curious what parts on your steering column is worn out that needs replacing and what will those parts cost to fix correctly

When you say your colomn is so badly wornout that any hard turns makes it bend to the shape that resembles a banana ... this is one of the rare times I can say... thank god for MOT and motor car inspections

What your posting scares me

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Returning to my original post...

Has anyone else 'fixed' this problem, and/or can you recommend a UK based engineer to carry out the work?

Alternatively, do you know of anyone selling reconditioned steering columns here in the UK?

Michael
M Davies

I don't know about reconditioned, but I do have some secondhand columns.

daveo138 AT yahoo co uk
Dave O'Neill2

Gday M I had to refurbish my 1500 column sometime back and found that some idiot had put bolts in place of the nylon shear pins, I was lucky that there was no wear on the tube and shaft sections, so putting proper shear pins back in fixed it. Surely there must be some good quality bits around to fix this??

R W Bowers

Michael you say you know this is a common fault, are you aware of lots of other examples and if so how did they get fixed?
If metal is worn away and it's not a bush which can be replaced then the only way I can think of would be to add weld and machine it down.
David Smith

There are lots of worn steering columns out there, and regrettably no new ones. Mine has new bushes, and the plastic (or nylon?) plugs are intact.

The common fix is to weld up the column so that it's one solid piece (!) which I don't like the sound of. Another option (I have now discovered) is to replace the plugs with copper or aluminium, but this doesn't get over the wear between the flats of the tubular and solid sections, which is probably only a few thou.

Adding weld and machine it back (as you suggest) might be a solution, as long as it doesn't negatively effect the structural integrity. Thanks for the suggestion, which I will investigate further.
M Davies

The feeler gage insert above the plastic plugs helps if you loosen the pinch bolt and tap the column down as far as possible over the rack splined shaft. It is not a permanent fix as the it remains too loose for my taste and the bits of feeler gauge tend to work themselves out.

If you can get a low mileage column, this is a great fix until wear creeps into it again.

Another solution is to drill through both pieces (between the plastic plugs) and tap in a rolled pin. It is doubtful that this pin will breakaway in case of frontal impact but it eliminates the slop and the noise. For some of us, quick death by impalement is probably preferable to driving around the rest of our lives with the loose feel and the knocking noise in the Midget steering.
Glenn Mallory

Glenn, I'm still laughing at your highly philosophical approach to the 'wobbly steering vs. long life conundrum' that so many of us face, whether we realise it or not.

I'm currently favouring the '3/16 copper brake pipe inserted in place of the plastic plug' option. I reckon if I fit the pipe, then squash it end to end in a vice it will expand a bit internally and flare externally, meaning it will take up a bit of slack and won't fall out. Perhaps if I fit a shim first and drill a hole though the shim, lining up with the plastic plug hole (so that won't fall out either, I will have reached a steering nirvana and will find that I go where I want to go for the rest of my days...*

*in terms of straight lines or curves - for the less poetic amongst us.
M Davies

This thread was discussed between 13/05/2013 and 14/05/2013

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