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MG MGB Technical - steering lubrication

On my 1975 gt the bellows on the steering rack feel very soft. How do I tell if there is sufficient oil in the rack? No idea about service history.

Rod
R E Merrall

I don't think you can tell. The book tells you to put 1/3rd pint of oil in to a dry rack. There is no level marking and no call for routine checking. If the rack doesn't drip it has either got oil in it and the seals are good, or it is empty. As far as I know you can't tell the difference.

I've given up on having oil in the rack. I just couldn't stop it dripping out of the pinion upper seal. New seals made no difference - it still dripped, the only part of my V8 that dripped! So I dismantled it and packed it with grease. No more drips. Is it adequately lubricated? I suspect so. On my other classic car the rack is meant to be greased, not filled with oil. I can't see any difference between the MG rack and that one. Time will tell, but at least my drive stays clean.
Mike Howlett

Thanks Mike. I have no drips and the gaiters are good so maybe I'll just leave it alone.

Rod
R E Merrall

"I've given up on having oil in the rack. I just couldn't stop it dripping out of the pinion upper seal."

Ditto on both mine. They didn't drip originally, but I had to change one gaiter on both. On removal no oil ran out, but the innards of rack and gaiter were plenty wet with surface oil. As part of fitting the new gaiters I put the recommended amount of oil in, which promptly started dripping and did so for a couple of months. I left it at that!

Early original racks had a grease nipple, but it was for injecting oil. Modern replacements from some sources are grease-filled so won't drip, whether they have a nipple again I'm not sure, it wouldn't do to pump more in on a regular basis, unlike any of the other greasing points where excess can escape.
Paul Hunt

Absolutely listen to Paul. That nipple is for oil not grease. When I had mine rebuilt the very seasons British Mechanic made a point to remind me the nipple is for oil.

Max71

Most replacements don't have a nipple and come with a modicum of grease. My '74 V8 didn't have a nipple, but being the contrary type I do do fill it with EP 80, no drips as yet. I also, periodically oil the front suspension with it, on the grounds that it penetrates better than grease, then I grease after, because that's more likely to stay there. I got into the habit of doing that on my midgets, it helped the life of the bottom fulcrum pin, a notorious weak point on Midgets, Sprites and A30/35's.
Allan Reeling

The oil nipple, on the steering rack, was deleted after the '65 model year. All of the currently available racks, made in Argentina, use grease instead of 90W oil. They don't have the passages, for the oil to move from one side to the other, when the steering wheel is turned lock to lock. RAY
rjm RAY

After reading reports on MGB steering lubrication or lack of it, I decided to check mine on my '73 BGT, I know the rack & gaiters are original & have never dripped oil, I didn't want to disturb the gaiters so I removed the two bolts & disc on the rack were it meets the steering shaft,withdrew the spring & bush could not find a trace of oil or grease only a bit of sediment, topped it up with just less than the recommended amount of EP90 moved the wheels from left to right ( jacked up) slowly a few times to expell any trapped air replaced disc & tried it out, What a difference it made, steering was more positive,easier to turn making it much more pleasurable to drive,
I'm sure the oil also acts like a shock absorber on bumpy roads & on manhole/inspection covers, that was in the spring & have no leaks since (famous last words)
Regards
Bill
W M Griffiths

The oil has no damping effect with rack and pinion steering, just lubrication. If it really was dry then you may well feel the difference as a smoothness, but I would have expected significant wear and damage without it. Really you should have removed the big end of the gaiters from the rack body and noted what ran out, allowed it to drain, refitted, then put the recommended amount in. Too much can burst the gaiters.
Paul Hunt

This thread was discussed between 13/10/2015 and 18/10/2015

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