Discussion
Hi Barry,
Rain stopped play & seeing as nobody has replied yet, I've been trawling through Useful Links & FAQ's.
It seems that spare 'S' steering racks are rarer than S1 exhaust manifolds!
The info says that the main centre section is a modified Chevette item, the internal connector bushes are Lotus ( model not specified ), & the trackrods are Cortina Mk3. So a bit of a hybrid.
Reconditioning is probably the best solution, try any of these guys:
Kiley-Clinton Engineering Ltd. of Birmingham. ( www.steering-racks.co.uk )
Kelly Bray Steering ( www.kellybraysteering.co.uk ) Not sure where they're located, possibly S West.
BAR Propshafts ( www.barpropshafts.co.uk ) of S. Wales.
HTH
Will you still be able to get to breakfast OK ?
Rain stopped play & seeing as nobody has replied yet, I've been trawling through Useful Links & FAQ's.
It seems that spare 'S' steering racks are rarer than S1 exhaust manifolds!
The info says that the main centre section is a modified Chevette item, the internal connector bushes are Lotus ( model not specified ), & the trackrods are Cortina Mk3. So a bit of a hybrid.
Reconditioning is probably the best solution, try any of these guys:
Kiley-Clinton Engineering Ltd. of Birmingham. ( www.steering-racks.co.uk )
Kelly Bray Steering ( www.kellybraysteering.co.uk ) Not sure where they're located, possibly S West.
BAR Propshafts ( www.barpropshafts.co.uk ) of S. Wales.
HTH
Will you still be able to get to breakfast OK ?
Edited by glenrobbo on Monday 12th August 12:48
glenrobbo said:
The info says that the main centre section is a modified Chevette item, the internal connector bushes are Lotus ( model not specified),
Elan I believe (the old style)glenrobbo said:
Kelly Bray Steering ( www.kellybraysteering.co.uk ) Not sure where they're located, possibly S West.
Funny old thing they are in Kelly Bray! (sorry Glen - couldn't resist sarcasm - the lowest form of whit I know 
) That is just into Cornwall between Callington and Saltash. It was these who rebuilt mine and gave me the info on the rack make up - note the Lotus bushes had to be made which they did on siteEdited by mep12345 on Monday 12th August 15:52
Barry S1 said:
can it be done with the rack still on the car ?
Yep, literally a 5 minute job, mine had two thick and one very thin shim. I've taken one of the thick ones out, maybe a little too much, I've lost a bit of "self centreing" on the steering now, will try just the thin one next. phillpot said:
Barry S1 said:
can it be done with the rack still on the car ?
Yep, literally a 5 minute job, mine had two thick and one very thin shim. I've taken one of the thick ones out, maybe a little too much, I've lost a bit of "self centreing" on the steering now, will try just the thin one next. Wow. what a transformation.
I removed the plate on the rack. On my car there is a sandwich of spacing shims. Very thin plastic ones on the outside, and 4 metal ones in-between.
Under the plate there is also small coil spring that sits in a white plastic cup.
I removed and cleaned the cup, and added a bit of clear grease to all the components as I re-assembled it. After a bit a testing I found I needed to remove two metal shims to remove the play. Will take it out for a drive to see how it feels later, when I have cleaned the rusty water deposits off the chassis and rack (the joys of having a swirl pot cap that did not fit very well - but now sorted).
I removed the plate on the rack. On my car there is a sandwich of spacing shims. Very thin plastic ones on the outside, and 4 metal ones in-between.
Under the plate there is also small coil spring that sits in a white plastic cup.
I removed and cleaned the cup, and added a bit of clear grease to all the components as I re-assembled it. After a bit a testing I found I needed to remove two metal shims to remove the play. Will take it out for a drive to see how it feels later, when I have cleaned the rusty water deposits off the chassis and rack (the joys of having a swirl pot cap that did not fit very well - but now sorted).
Surely if you remove play in the steering you are going to get more feedback through the steering wheel.
When mine was loose, I would turn in, and there felt like a delay before the car pitched in to the corner more sharply than I expected. It also wandered a bit on bumpy country lanes even though I had the wheel held tight.
Although I do not know the full workings of the steering rack, from what I could tell having taken mine to bits this afternoon, removing the shims pushes the white plastic cup further in to the rack. The white cup, has a curved face inside the rack, which I assume pushes the rack down on to the pinion. Therefore by removing a shim, the rack is pushed further down on to pinion.
The shims are extremely thin, almost like paper, but removing just one makes a lot of difference.
I initially took two out, and although there was no play the steering felt a bit tight with the car jacked up.
When mine was loose, I would turn in, and there felt like a delay before the car pitched in to the corner more sharply than I expected. It also wandered a bit on bumpy country lanes even though I had the wheel held tight.
Although I do not know the full workings of the steering rack, from what I could tell having taken mine to bits this afternoon, removing the shims pushes the white plastic cup further in to the rack. The white cup, has a curved face inside the rack, which I assume pushes the rack down on to the pinion. Therefore by removing a shim, the rack is pushed further down on to pinion.
The shims are extremely thin, almost like paper, but removing just one makes a lot of difference.
I initially took two out, and although there was no play the steering felt a bit tight with the car jacked up.
Spent a bit more time on adjusting the rack over the last few days.
I found that taking two of the original 4 metal shims out left the rack with a tight spot just left of middle. Taking one out left it with some play still.
I used one of the metal shims as a template, and armed with my wife's sharpest scalpel from her art and craft cupboard, cut some new shims from some tin foil.
After some trial and error, I now have two metal shim, and a few foil shims in between, all sandwiched between the original plastic shims. No play, and no tight spots.
I found that taking two of the original 4 metal shims out left the rack with a tight spot just left of middle. Taking one out left it with some play still.
I used one of the metal shims as a template, and armed with my wife's sharpest scalpel from her art and craft cupboard, cut some new shims from some tin foil.
After some trial and error, I now have two metal shim, and a few foil shims in between, all sandwiched between the original plastic shims. No play, and no tight spots.
Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff