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MG MGB Technical - Steering wheel problems

I just replaced the old ratty wood aftermarket steering wheel on my 73B with a Mountney leather one. The problem is, the hub isnt deep enough to reach where the slip ring should touch the contact to make the horn connection...as I dont have the OEM set-up to go by, am I missing a spacer or something that makes this set-up work?
Bob T

Bob,
When I replaced my original stock steering wheel with a Mountney leather one on my 74B, I had the same issue. It just would not slide down the spline far enough to allow contact between the pieces. I ended up carefully taking my Dremel to the hub and spline, until it fit well. I was really nervous about messing the steering column up, but it all worked out okay. It seems that the Mountney bosses are not honed out as well as they should be. The other thing that I didn't like about it was the fact that the steering wheel was dished shaped, and thus moved the turn signals/wiper switches that much further away from my short little fingers.
SteveO

How far is it out? Can you not bend the copper spring enough?
Paul Hunt

Well, "how far is far", is about a full inch..i did have to open the i.d. of the hub to even get it on, but if i go further to get the hub all the way down to touch the horn contact,, the splines in the steering shft and hub will no longer line up, and it would just freewheel. The workmanship of the Mountney wheel leaves a lot to be desired, period, as the 6 holes for mounting the hub to the wheel wouldnt even line up, without a Moto-tool...arghh
Bob T

The mountney on our roadster did this. I had the taper machined so that it fit properly. It's a 2° taper, so measure the fattest part of the taper on the shaft and take it to a machinist so they can make it right for you.

It's dangerous to just space 'em 'cos the splines don't end up engaging, or at least not very much. The best solution, of course, is to save up for a motalita :o)

ttfn,
--
Olly
Oliver Stephenson

An inch on a 2 degree taper sounds like the wrong wheel to me. And surely if it won't slide down the splines far enough spacers aren't going to help, the problem is too much space.
Paul Hunt

This thread was discussed between 25/10/2002 and 28/10/2002

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