I've located my "missing" power steering fluid
Discussion
For the last few weeks I've noticed that the seal at the top of the steering rack (is it called the input seal?) has started to leak again.
Now that's not surprising as the shaft was pretty badly scored when I took it out the last time.
Whoever had replaced the seal before me had butchered the shaft to get out the seal.
I got it smoothed off but wasn't fully happy and did indeed expect the leak to re-appear so no surprise there.
What was surprising however was the actual amount of fluid that was leaking this time ..... about an egg-cup full per week which was way more that I'd have expected from the weeping seal.
And there was very little fluid on the ground under the car so it didn't seem like it was all leaking while the car was parked in the garage.
I'd put it down to the pressure of the pump while the engine was running and turning the steering wheel causing the seal to leak worse and losing the fluid on the road as I was driving along but I was wrong.
BIG TIME.
I was under the car tonight doing a "routine visual check" to see if anything was falling off (as you do seeing as it's a TVR) and discovered where the fluid all went ..... into the gaiter on the drivers side of the steering rack.
It was like a balloon filled with water.
So it looks like the rack is going to be coming out fully this time and will be getting a complete refurb.
It just goes to show how poor the build quality of some of TVRs own parts is.
I had something similar happen to a 3-series BMW I owned a few years back but that was after 200,000 miles whereas the Cerb has only 50-something thousand on it now.
For what it's worth, have any of you managed to fit any other steering rack into your Cerbs?
If so what was it off and is it a straghtforward replacement or is there much modification to be done to get it to fit?
Now that's not surprising as the shaft was pretty badly scored when I took it out the last time.
Whoever had replaced the seal before me had butchered the shaft to get out the seal.
I got it smoothed off but wasn't fully happy and did indeed expect the leak to re-appear so no surprise there.
What was surprising however was the actual amount of fluid that was leaking this time ..... about an egg-cup full per week which was way more that I'd have expected from the weeping seal.
And there was very little fluid on the ground under the car so it didn't seem like it was all leaking while the car was parked in the garage.
I'd put it down to the pressure of the pump while the engine was running and turning the steering wheel causing the seal to leak worse and losing the fluid on the road as I was driving along but I was wrong.
BIG TIME.
I was under the car tonight doing a "routine visual check" to see if anything was falling off (as you do seeing as it's a TVR) and discovered where the fluid all went ..... into the gaiter on the drivers side of the steering rack.
It was like a balloon filled with water.
So it looks like the rack is going to be coming out fully this time and will be getting a complete refurb.
It just goes to show how poor the build quality of some of TVRs own parts is.
I had something similar happen to a 3-series BMW I owned a few years back but that was after 200,000 miles whereas the Cerb has only 50-something thousand on it now.
For what it's worth, have any of you managed to fit any other steering rack into your Cerbs?
If so what was it off and is it a straghtforward replacement or is there much modification to be done to get it to fit?
HRG. said:
Is it the same as the Griff/Chim one as they are equally pants!
I don't know.I've never seen one of those.
The Cerb one is a TVR in-house product (well at least it has TVR stamped on it and the last time I did a search nobody had any idea if it was off anything else "sensible").
BertB said:
Thanks.Now I know what those big Rovers were actually called.
So basically we have a steering rack that was designed in the early '70s.
And designed by Rover at that when they certainly weren't at their engineering best.
No wonder it breaks so often.
Is there any alternatives we know of?
had the same prob on a cerb, on full lock i could get the fluid to squirt out of the gaiter about a foot 
i though the rack was unique to the cerb (2 turns lock to lock) but i could be wrong, got mine refurbed by power steering services 135 pounds. new racks seem stupidly expensive but can't belive TVR didn't rob the parts from somewhere!
i though the rack was unique to the cerb (2 turns lock to lock) but i could be wrong, got mine refurbed by power steering services 135 pounds. new racks seem stupidly expensive but can't belive TVR didn't rob the parts from somewhere!
Gazzab said:
I've e-mailed them so we'll see what happens.Also surely there must be some place that sells steering racks that get fitted to kit cars / racing specials / etc.
Do any of you know of such a place?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RECONDITION-OF-TVR-POWER-STE...
This place claims to refurb TVR steering racks.
This place claims to refurb TVR steering racks.
As far as I can remember the actual rack is from a BMW 3 series in a TVR casting. The track rods, not ends, are from a Ford Granada. I got this information from a company in Greenwich called Power Steering Services. They were recommended to me by a local Aston restorer as its the only place he sends his racks too. Really great service at reasonable cost.
(I have nothing to do with them just had great service)
(I have nothing to do with them just had great service)
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