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MG MGA - Stiff Steering

I find the steering on my car is very hard even when the car is in motion. Apart from this the car steers perfectly throughout. Is this normal on mga's or could it be that my rack & pinion is in need of adjusting. BTW the rack is filled with gear oil SAE90.

Frank

F. Camilleri

No, the steering may not be as easy as that of a T-type but not hard. There is some adjustment, with shims, under the primary and secondary damper caps. But I have never had to adjust my rack. I would check the king pins to see that they move freely in the upper and lower links.
David Werblow

Frank, it should be easy.
Jack up the front, both wheels off the ground and it should be almost no effort to turn the wheel. If that is OK, it is likely your tyres, soft or worn, or alignment- too much toe in.
Art Pearse

I was plagued by this for many years. Try loosening the mounting bolts for the steering rack just slightly, and see if it frees up. If so, undo a high corner and shim the bolt. Retignten it all to spec. My frame was off about an eighth inch from a crash early in the car's life and was causing the rack to bind when fully tigntened in place. This cured the problem.

Once solved it feels like power steering!

Good luck,

Ted
Ted Persons

Jack it off the floor and see if it turns with one finger. If still stiff, then loosen the two damper nits on top of the rack just one turn. If still stiff, then its not a problem with these dampers.

Set it down, then put a floor hack under the A-arm, directly under the coil spring, and lift it off the floor. This unloads all of the suspension joints (except the lower A-arm inner pivot). Then try greasing the upper and lower trunnions. Grease should (in theory) come out at three points at the same time, two trunnion end steals and the swivel link seal (king pin). If you can't get grease to come out of the swivel link seal, this may be the stiff steering joint.

If that doesn't give it free motion, then next step is to disconnect the tie rod ends from the steering arms (or from the track rods). Then see if the steering wheel will turn with one finger, and if you can steer the wheel by pulling ob the steering arm with one finger (with wheels of the floor). This will tell you if the stiffness is in the rack or in one of the swivel pins. If you haven't fixed it by that time, the offending part may require some disassembly for cleaning and re-lube.
Barney Gaylord

Another possibility is that the steering shafts don't line up at the U-joint, requires shimming the rack.
Art Pearse

Thank you all for your comments. When I say the steering is hard, I mean it's so hard that I have to really struggle to turn it even with the car in motion. I have noted all the comments and ideas above, and no doubt I shall tackle them all one by one until the defect is put right. If there are any more ideas please keep them coming. One way or the other I must sort this problem out.

Frank
F. Camilleri


Frank,
there is a very good description in the workshop manual. Send me your email add. will send you a scan.
Siggi
ym3 at gmx.com
Siggi

Tks Siggi, my email is:- fcamill@hotmail.com

Frank
F. Camilleri

For Ted Persons.

Thanks Ted, but may I ask you to explain to me in layman's terms, what you mean by "If so, undo a high corner and shim the bolt". What is a high corner? I shall be having a go at trying your method first, since you have experienced the same problem before.
I shall be obliged for your help in this matter.

Frank
F. Camilleri

Here's a John Twist video on Youtube, explaining how to shim the rack on an MGB. The same principles apply to the A.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIenGzrU02M
Dave O'Neill2


Frank,
not necessary for me to scan the manual, you will find a complete description at Dominics homepage:
http://www.clancy.ch/Workshop_Manual.html

Sorry Dominic,
Siggi
Siggi

:-)
dominic clancy

Frank, I think Ted meant that the rack could be warped if it did not fit the frame exactly so shimming the fourth hole could eliminate this problem.
Art Pearse

Is this a new problem? How are your felt bushings inside the steering column? If someone replaced them, chances are they are too tight because the replacements are (or were) too thick. I had to use a razor blade and reduce the thickness of the bushings.
Mark J Michalak

Art I'm not sure I know what you mean by 'shimming the fourth hole.' Which hole is the fourth hole?
Mark, at time of restoration I did change the top felt bushing, but I doubt if that's what's causing the problem. Since the top bushing is easily accessible from the top, I will lubricate it the best way I can.
Thanks.

Frank
F. Camilleri

Will removing the radiator give enough access to undo the steering rack bolts?
F. Camilleri

Frank, the rack is held down by 4 bolts. Think of a 3-legged stool, it sits on any surface and does not rock. Add a 4th leg and it may not. So the "4th hole" is any one of the 4, if the rack soes not exactly match the surface it is bolted to. Tightening up a slack 4th hole without shimming can distort the rack.
Art Pearse

As the shims are riveted to the chassis, they should still be there unless they were mistakenly removed during the restoration. Thy are just a few little angled sheets attached by a rivet to the mount for the steering column.

My bet (if the shims are there) would be on the felt, or an urgent need for lubricating the king pins. Does the rack turn freely when the Track Rod Ends are released from the steering arms?
dominic clancy

Thanks Art, I fully understand now what is meant by shimming the fourth hole.
Dominic, I cannot say at this stage if the shims are in place or not, I have not checked anything yet. I shall wait until after the Christmas/New year before I tackle the job. Thanks again, I really appreciate your help.
Before I sign off, I want to wish everyone on this forum a very merry Xmas and a prosperous new year.

Frank
F. Camilleri

Sorry to be a nuisance, but I wish to know if by removing the radiator only I will have the necessary access needed to undo the four rack bolts.

Frank
F. Camilleri

Yes, easy with radiator out.
Barney Gaylord

Thanks Barney, Merry Xmas.

F. Camilleri

Sorry for not responding. In my case, the frame was warped! The car was hit front left from the side in its earlier life and the very slight bending of the frame was causing the steering rack to bind. By shimming up one corner of the rack it released the pressure and moves freely. The warp was not serious enough to cause other problems in the suspension.
Ted Persons

also, removed the rack, disassembled, cleaned, reasembled and reoiled! but the problem was the warp and shimming was the cure. The rest was needed maintanence.

Please let us know how it turns out.
Ted Persons

Thank you Ted for all your info. At the moment I'm on a festive break. I shall check the rack in the new year. May the new year bring you nothing but joy & happiness throughout.

Frank
F. Camilleri

My hard steering was solved with new tie rod ends.

Ken
k v morton

Thanks Ken, will check these too.

Frank
F. Camilleri

Mine was caused by partially seized steering shaft "U" joint. Easy enough to check....
Mitch Smith

I'm not sure what is meant by tie rod ends. Are these supposed to be the outer ball joints which connect the steering rods to the swivel links??

Frank
F. Camilleri

yes
Art Pearse

Thanks Art.
F. Camilleri

This thread was discussed between 05/12/2011 and 07/01/2012

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