Jonah Posted June 15, 2021 Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 Hello, I have a 69 Mk3 Spitfire. Do you know if there is an acceptable amount of steering wheel ‘play’, I have about 1inch either way? thank you julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted June 15, 2021 Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 Julian Important to find out where the play is, steering rack or knuckles or steering column or column joints or the steering wheel? Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Posted June 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 Thanks Doug, that’s my afternoon sorted 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 15, 2021 Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 thats a lot to think of the rack so as Doug says you need to do a physical check start with is the wheel secure on its shaft is the collapsible sli joint set correctly (just below the end of the outer tube) has the UJ lost is bushes (hidden under the suspn turret ) is the clamp bolt secure colun to stg rack there is adjustment of the rack / and rack damper but do the simples first let us know what you find get someone to wiggle the play and you follow all the above back down to the rack Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Posted June 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 Pete ive made some checks, the steering nut is tight on the shaft the bushes are good, and the clamps are tight the movement in the shaft transfers right down to the rack itself where the grease point is full of grease ive attached a few pics that might help btw the steering feels very heavy but never having driven a spitfire before that may be how it’s meant to be i haven’t checked the adjustment of the collapsible joint yet best Julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 15, 2021 Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 that looks like you have a modern UJ fitted that dispells the UJ bushes of the olde originals as the play is at the rack pinion i would remove the big nut under the grease plug and remove a shim or two ( theres astrong spring under it) https://www.canleyclassics.com/?catalogue=triumph-spitfire-mkiii&diagram=triumph-spitfire-mkiii-steering this is the rack damper and it keeps the rack in mesh with the pinion its a easy fix take out too much and itgoes very stiff general spitty steering is quite light what tyre pressures are using the book/manual spec is too low and most with modern tyres add 6psi , its a bit trial and see too soft heavy stg, too hard poor ride /teeth chattering but the figs for tyres from 50 year ago have changed a lot pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Posted June 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 Pete you’re a star, that was an easy fix! removed the shims and now no steering play at all tyre pressures were 21psi so I’ve increased them to 27, now for a test drive many thanks Julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted June 15, 2021 Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 19 minutes ago, Jonah said: Pete you’re a star, that was an easy fix! removed the shims and now no steering play at all tyre pressures were 21psi so I’ve increased them to 27, now for a test drive many thanks Julian Just check that you can freely get full lock in both directions. Racks tend to wear in the middle where they spend most of their time, much less at the ends, so if nice and"tight" in teh middle often too tight at the ends. You know what I mean........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Posted June 15, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 Thanks Clive I’ll check it tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted June 15, 2021 Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 2 hours ago, Pete Lewis said: this is the rack damper and it keeps the rack in mesh with the pinion its a easy fix take out too much and itgoes very stiff Hi. Interested in this, as usually, removing shims, makes things looser/more play?. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted June 15, 2021 Report Share Posted June 15, 2021 not here the screwed cap loads the spring the spring loads the slipper plunger the shims control the nip on the spring and the slipper this all pushes the rack into the pinion , so more shims equal a rattling good pinion there is also a small plastic plunger held under the passenger side rubber rack mount if narrow alloy mounts are fitted this plunger ends up in the road common fix was to fit a hose clip over it only ever seen it in a moss parts listing it stops rack end rattle on rough surfaces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanT Posted January 1, 2022 Report Share Posted January 1, 2022 Hi All, Out of interest, what is an acceptable amount of backlash at the steering wheel? My resto has about 10mm. Would like to know before I start looking at the shims. UV joint and balljoints are new. Thanks Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 1, 2022 Report Share Posted January 1, 2022 3 minutes ago, AlanT said: Hi All, Out of interest, what is an acceptable amount of backlash at the steering wheel? My resto has about 10mm. Would like to know before I start looking at the shims. UV joint and balljoints are new. Thanks Alan Zero backlash. Check the lower column UJ, you may need to hold the bottom part somehow, as small movement equates to much larger movement at the wheel. It can be tricky to get the clamp bolts to tighten teh splines adequately. Worse, I had a solid UJ that had significant play, which meant another replacement (new one sourced from CHris Witor, who has an enviable reputation regarding honesty/quality) You need an assistant, good light and good eyes to see what is happening. Lastly, check the inner to outer column clamp by the pedals. But you can pull/push the wheel in/out if that is not tight enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 1, 2022 Report Share Posted January 1, 2022 the rack is made with the straight ahead portion giving less float ( like none) as you apply lock there will be some backlash show up so its quite important the rack is centralised when setting/checking backlash with 10mm ( at the stg. wheel rim ) you could try remove a 0.002" shim , you dont want it to be dead or you will constantly be correcting direction try just remove the big damper nut and take a thin shim out and try it Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanT Posted January 1, 2022 Report Share Posted January 1, 2022 Thanks. The clamps are good so I’ll look to remove a shim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 On 15/06/2021 at 18:35, Pete Lewis said: there is also a small plastic plunger held under the passenger side rubber rack mount if narrow alloy mounts are fitted this plunger ends up in the road common fix was to fit a hose clip over it only ever seen it in a moss parts listing it stops rack end rattle on rough surfaces https://jamespaddock.co.uk/damper-steering-rack145108 Paddocks have it; it's only used where there's an actual hole in the rack tube. Most of mine don't have one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 so you're Ho Ho Ho Hole less pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted January 2, 2022 Report Share Posted January 2, 2022 Bet you racked your brain for that one... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted January 5, 2022 Report Share Posted January 5, 2022 Happy New Steering Gear. So, does removing shim/s, compensate for wear, or was it not set up correctly in the first place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 5, 2022 Report Share Posted January 5, 2022 3 minutes ago, daverclasper said: So, does removing shim/s, compensate for wear, or was it not set up correctly in the first place? Either/both. Plenty of recon racks are not great. And it can be tricky as the centre part of the rack wears most, so set it up nice there, and at the ends of lock it will be tight. So important to determine the tightest area, set it up for that and having to live with how the rest is. (For reference, the Dolomite Club does recon racks. Out of 30 sent in, only 2 were good enough to be reconditioned, the rest needed new racks (as in the bit inside) But many places are not as fussy, and probably use heavy grease so the racks feel good when supplied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted January 5, 2022 Report Share Posted January 5, 2022 Does the horn work without the cable that should run from the grease nipple on the rack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 5, 2022 Report Share Posted January 5, 2022 we have a nice local mk11 spitty ...NO horn no wire on the Uj no pencil no rack earth so fight to refit all the bits NO Horn ....whats this press toggle on the lower dash Toot Toot OMG !!!!!! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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