More help and advice please

[wooly350i]

Hi folks, have jacked up front of car and firstly we have tightened the front wheel bearings as there was a little too much play (mot advice)
Secondly we can feel and see movement between the bottom steering shaft spline and the uj it slips into, the securing nut and bolt are FT so no remedy there. I will need a new bottom uj but feel we should also change the splined shaft the stretches between top and bottom uj's, any idea if and where these items are available from? I am going to try David Gerald on Monday unless anyone can help with another source, cheers for now, John

[ElvisWedgely]

R T Racing maybe?

Tony. TCB.

[Wedg1e]

Ooooh dear, sounds like someone has fitted the wrong UJ there! It's an odd size, something like 9/16" where most are 1/2" or 5/8".
Waste of time trying local motor factors, nor is it something you'd expect like MGB or Austin Maxi. I've never changed one, in the past I just renewed the cruciform joint itself.
Don't see why you'd need to change the intermediate shaft though?

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Mate..Not sure where you would get the joining shafts from but apparently the UJ bolt holes can be drilled out to a slightly bigger bore so that a larger nut & Bolt can be used so that you can torque it up a bit more...Ziga

[wooly350i]

Wedg1e said:

Ooooh dear, sounds like someone has fitted the wrong UJ there! It's an odd size, something like 9/16" where most are 1/2" or 5/8".
Waste of time trying local motor factors, nor is it something you'd expect like MGB or Austin Maxi. I've never changed one, in the past I just renewed the cruciform joint itself.
Don't see why you'd need to change the intermediate shaft though?

Hi Ian,As I can see there is actually movement between the spline and the uj I would be concerned that the spline on the shaft may be damaged perhaps, could try a new uj on the spline first and check it for movement. I have a recollection of having the uj replaced on it about 10 years ago with a mention that it was hard to get hold of and a Griffith one may have been used, you could be right there.

[wooly350i]

mrzigazaga said:

Hi Mate..Not sure where you would get the joining shafts from but apparently the UJ bolt holes can be drilled out to a slightly bigger bore so that a larger nut & Bolt can be used so that you can torque it up a bit more...Ziga

That could be an option Zig, cheers.

[Danny Hoffman]

wooly350i said:

Hi folks, have jacked up front of car and firstly we have tightened the front wheel bearings as there was a little too much play (mot advice)

Don't tighten them too much, at my last MOT they said mine need tightening a touch but when I told them they were supposed to have a slight amount of play they said "ah ok then"

May be these younger mechanics are only used to front wheel drive cars with bearings that don't have any play......

[wooly350i]

Danny Hoffman said:

wooly350i said:

Hi folks, have jacked up front of car and firstly we have tightened the front wheel bearings as there was a little too much play (mot advice)

Don't tighten them too much, at my last MOT they said mine need tightening a touch but when I told them they were supposed to have a slight amount of play they said "ah ok then"

May be these younger mechanics are only used to front wheel drive cars with bearings that don't have any play......

Noted, ta.
As far as the steering uj goes it would seem the excess play in the bulkhead bearing has contributed to the bottom uj wear so once my uj is here I will be fitting wedg1es new modded kit which looks lurvly.

[RCK974X]

Steering UJs - unfortunately it indicates wear, and it should be replaced.
If you don't mind the time, It's worth having a real good look and wire brush splines, scrape the grooves out etc, as rust CAN stop the clamp grabbing properly, but typically it's knackered. I have got one or two back with a good clean and needle file down the grooves though.

Wheel bearings -

Here in NZ, I take my wedge to a classic car place for its WOF (=MOT), because I had loads of arguments with mechanics saying exactly as above...

"Nah, can't have any play in the wheel bearings mate"..... (young mechanic, about 25)
"Look, this is a 30 year old car, these are SUPPOSED to have a slight but detectable play in the front wheel bearings. Yes, REALLY" Ad bloody nauseam.

First time I took it to the classic place, the mechanic said " Wow, A TVR, don't see many of them over here...." after jacking it up he said "Cortina Front, Jag rear diff, 2.8i capri engine...OK...." and we had a chat about where the other bits come from.

Then I knew it was somewhere I will go to again and again ....

Edited by RCK974X on Monday 24th June 06:30

[voltage_maxx]

Had a similar conversation about wheel bearings on most of my cars.
All my Landys have taper roller bearings, which of course must have a little bit of play in them.

Guaranteed, every MOT, 'there's a bit of play in your bearings mate'

As a family, we now use a dedicated MOT station that gets all our cars, classics included.
They're much more understanding of old cars, and even let me adjust the carb mixture once before declaring it a fail

[wooly350i]

Steering uj's and splined rod all off the car,after a number of phone conversations with Dvid Gerald they finally have all the dimensions asked for and uj's should be dropping through my letter box before the weekend,just the poxy fpr to sort then, bbwf???

[adam quantrill]

Ditto on the front bearings - when I do mine I repack with grease too. They will last forever.

[GV]

I got my steering UJ from Car Builder solutions.