Notchy steering
Discussion
I've just replaced both UJ's on the steering column, on a short test drive the steering was very notchy. The new UJ's are correctly aligned with each other on the shaft so I know that's not the problem. The wheels are aligned as that was only done a few weeks ago, so even if the steering wheel was off centre I don't think that would be the cause. When I put the new top UJ back on I fitted it so that the locking bar was horizontal on the triangular steering column in the straight ahead position - could it make a difference if I rotated it to one of the other faces? Justin
when you say that the UJs "line up" do you mean that both are the same as you look at them? They should be lined up so that the yokes on each end of the connecting shaft are in line.
It is important that the UJs are properly "in phase" otherwise the steering shaft can't rotate "in line" and might feel notchy.
I have also heard (although never experienced it) that sometimes you can get that "notchy" feeling even if they are perfectly in phase, and turning one or the other by just one spline can make it smoother.
It shouldn't matter which face of the triangular steering column you clamp the top UJ to - although the steering wheel won't be straight and your indicator self-cancelling will be all to hell as well.
It is important that the UJs are properly "in phase" otherwise the steering shaft can't rotate "in line" and might feel notchy.
I have also heard (although never experienced it) that sometimes you can get that "notchy" feeling even if they are perfectly in phase, and turning one or the other by just one spline can make it smoother.
It shouldn't matter which face of the triangular steering column you clamp the top UJ to - although the steering wheel won't be straight and your indicator self-cancelling will be all to hell as well.
dwhitaker said:
UJ's are universal joints of course, so should not care about orientation. I would look at the rack.
The rack has just been refurbished and is OK - its definitely a problem with the UJs somehow. I replaced the bottom one when I refurbished the rack, but found I couldn't get the pinch bolt done up tight enough, which resulted in the 'new' UJ being replaced and while I was at it I decided to do the top one as well.tvrgit said:
when you say that the UJs "line up" do you mean that both are the same as you look at them? They should be lined up so that the yokes on each end of the connecting shaft are in line.
It is important that the UJs are properly "in phase" otherwise the steering shaft can't rotate "in line" and might feel notchy.
I have also heard (although never experienced it) that sometimes you can get that "notchy" feeling even if they are perfectly in phase, and turning one or the other by just one spline can make it smoother.
It shouldn't matter which face of the triangular steering column you clamp the top UJ to - although the steering wheel won't be straight and your indicator self-cancelling will be all to hell as well.
Thanks, I've checked (again!) and the yokes are in phase, I'm going to jack up the front of the car tomorrow night and see if I can see what happens when the wheels turn and then try moving one of the UJs around by one splineIt is important that the UJs are properly "in phase" otherwise the steering shaft can't rotate "in line" and might feel notchy.
I have also heard (although never experienced it) that sometimes you can get that "notchy" feeling even if they are perfectly in phase, and turning one or the other by just one spline can make it smoother.
It shouldn't matter which face of the triangular steering column you clamp the top UJ to - although the steering wheel won't be straight and your indicator self-cancelling will be all to hell as well.
I've identified the problem - the angle on the top UJ is such that the leg of the clamp side yoke is catching the point between the two legs (!) of the intermediate shaft yoke when you turn the steering wheel over the top dead centre position. I can probably position the yoke further up the triangular steering column to lessen the angle, but for that I will need new shorter bolts for the bulkhead bearing. Any other thoughts? Justin
phillpot said:
...Thought two, turn them around nuts on the inside?..
That's the solution I'd go for. Take one bolt out at a time and reverse it and it saves dismantling the whole thing. The longer bolt will make fiddling the nut on a bit easier as well, especially as the end of the bolt will be down in the foot-well.Haven't read the whole thread, but a few of the UJ's we've had supplied tend to have thicker casings than the originals, which means when they run at more aggressive angles the edges of the casing foul against each other. Normally a kiss with a linisher sorts them out as there is plenty of material to play with.
Thanks all for the suggestions and apologies for not posting sooner, the day job got in the way over the last couple of days. Saturday's jobs are:
- Turn the bolts holding the bulkhead bearing round, so nuts are on the inside, I have some stainless button head bolts for this
- Loosen all the clamps and see if I can move the intermediate shaft down a bit
And if all that fails I'll remove some of the casing to stop it interfering
- Turn the bolts holding the bulkhead bearing round, so nuts are on the inside, I have some stainless button head bolts for this
- Loosen all the clamps and see if I can move the intermediate shaft down a bit
And if all that fails I'll remove some of the casing to stop it interfering
When I replaced my bulkhead bearing last year, I adopted TopGearTVR Steve's idea and tapped out the bearing housing bolt holes to accept bolts from the engine bay side. ( Housing fitted inside the footwell ).
It is then so much easier, saves faffing around with nuts and you don't need inspector gadget arms.
It is then so much easier, saves faffing around with nuts and you don't need inspector gadget arms.
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