Steering arm to vertical link

[Roger K]

I'm attaching my old steering arms to new vertical links.  There are two bolts, one that threads into the steering arm and another that has a bolt with a nut on the end.  The steering arm doesn't seem to sit quite right against the vertical link, rocking slightly - should there be a shim/washer between the steering arm and vertical link where the bolt with the nut on the end goes through?

[Colin Lindsay]

Have you fitted the brake shield? It takes up the gap between the arm and the upright.

[Roger K]

Ooops, thanks Colin

[Roger K]

Just been out fiddling... on my car the brake dust shield doesn't fit between the steering arm and the upright.  The steering arm fits through the 'square' hole on the inside of the upright casting, and locates on the two lower bolts.  The dust shield locates outboard of the upright, on the hub side.

I've put a thin washer on each bolt, between the upright and the steering arm, which have spaced it back from the upright enough to seat properly.  I don't want to grind the metal in this area unless absolutely necessary.

[Colin Lindsay]

Same as the early Herald I'm working on at present, then. There is originally no washer between the upright and the steering arm, just metal to metal contact with the nyloc on the longer bolt that goes straight through, and the shorter one is screwed into the threaded steering arm. As long as you have sufficient threads left on the bolt a thin washer to take up the gap shouldn't do any harm. Like you, I'm always very reluctant to grind anything until I work out why it doesn't fit together as originally intended.

[Roger K]

My distant memory tells me I had the same issues in the early seventies with my Vitesse, and possibly in the eighties with my first GT6.  Working on this thing is dredging up stuff from my dim, distant past...

I can't see the thickness of a shim washer will make much difference.  I'm fitting new TREs anyway so will need to get the tracking gauges out.