Steering

[maverick]

Hi All,

2 questions:

Can anyone tell me how easy/difficult it is to replace the tie rod bushes(MOT advisory),the bushes are rubber and have cracked at the point the go into crossmember?.Instructions welcome as not much in Haynes

Do the uprated steering column ring to replace the star washer work well(as seen on EBAY) /make much difference?



Regards,

All help appreciated

[stagmoneypit]

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Hi
To remove the bushes on my car I used a bolt through the metal sleeve and put a nut on one end and tightened it as much as i could until it gripped the metal, then turned the bolt making sure it didn't slip until the bond between the sleeve and rubber gave way. remove the bolt and drift the sleeve out leaving the rubber in the arm. Then heat the area with hot air gun and lever/drift the soft rubber out with a screwdriver.

To fit the new ones I cleaned the holes in the arms with emery cloth and doused the bush with wd40 and used a longer bolt and nut and small spacer to wind in the new bushes with a ratchet and socket.

Hope this works for you.
Cheers
Glen

PS I have fitted the top column kit and it works very well with not play apparent anymore.

[maverick]

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Hi Moneypit,

Thanks for a prompt reply,and I must say whata fantastic underside you have got!.

Which bit do you mean by metal sleeve?

Im not much of a mechanic,so at the risk of sounding daft,at the other end of the tie rod,ie the end near the balljoint set up, or front of the car,is it a straight forward unbolting of the nut that retain the rod at that end.

Or put another way,which end is best to undo first,I can feel a nut inside the crossmember.

Thanks again,and for takin time to include pic,hope mine will be that nice eventually.

Mark

[Sheepdip]

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maverick wrote:

Do the uprated steering column ring to replace the star washer work well(as seen on EBAY) /make much difference?

Worked well on mine (I think they come from Tony Harte), although had trouble easing it on where the previous star washers had scratched the column. Pull up on the column at the same time pushing down on ring before securing

BTW be very careful with steering wheel thread, very easy to damage and render unuseable even with rubber mallet (spoken with experience....)

[maverick]

imported post

Thanks Sheepdip,Looks like being my next purchase then.



Can anyone else please help with my Tie Rod Question,I really need an idiots guide to doing this job.

I did mamange to do my own track rod ends ,so would like to do this myself,frustrating when there is nothing in the manual,

So PLEASE PLEASE any help out there?



Thanks in advance Mark

[NickA]

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Sheepdip wrote:

BTW be very careful with steering wheel thread, very easy to damage and render unuseable even with rubber mallet (spoken with experience....)

<sigh> also been there done that and spent four hours with a needle file re-cutting the thread. I really don't want to have to take the steering wheel off ever again.

[Kevin Garrod]

imported post

Mark

Last year I replaced all the bushes on my car with poly ones. Getting the old ones out is harder than getting the new ones in!

Each rubber bush has a metal tube inside, get this out and the rubber bit comes out fairly easily. If I remember correctly Kingpin suggested burning the rubber away with and oxy-acetylene torch! Not everyone has one in their garage! I used a drill to seperate the rubber from the metal sleeve, not exactly engineering excellence but it worked, take care if you try this! The other way that I used was to gather together various bits of old pipe and washers and threaded studding with appropriate nuts. You need to rig up something that will pull the bush out, I'm not being very clear, sorry!

If you have a large piece of pipe or a large socket that is just bigger than the bush, then a socket that is just smaller than the bush, you can use the stud and nuts to wind the bush into the large socket. I hope that makes some kind of sense, I should have taken photos when I did mine, there may be something in back issues of the club mag, I got inspiration from there.

[stagmoneypit]

imported post

Hi Mark
To replace the tie rod bushes firstly undo the bottom ball joint nuts (1) and split the ball joint taper by levering down on the tie rod with a long bar whilst hitting the casting it sits in or use a ball joint splitter. Then remove the bolt and nut from the drag strut (2) and the the inner pivot bolt and nut through the crossmember (3).

Once the bar is off the car I would recommend drilling the rubber art away with a 10mm drill until the tension is released and the metal part of the bush can be removed, the rest of the remaining rubber can be removed from the void in the arm.

Clean any rust etc from the hole with abrasive paper and fit the new bush by lubricating the arm and bush with rubber grease or wd40 and wind in with a vice, you will need to have a spacer on the opposite side to allow the bush to emerge a little on the other side so an equal amount of bush is exposed each side.

Assemble with copper grease on bolts to prevent seizure of the nuts and bolts in future.

Alternatively, I think Paddocks (01244 399899) do a reconditioned Track control Arm with a new ball joint and a polyurethane bush already fitted for £40 which might save you alot of grief.
Hope this helps
Glen

[Rubce]

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Kevin Garrod wrote:

Mark

Last year I replaced all the bushes on my car with poly ones. Getting the old ones out is harder than getting the new ones in!

Kevin

When you say all the bushes, do really mean all? Even the ones that hold the steering rack and differential? What type of poly did you go for as I see there are different grades available?

Regards

Bruce

[Kevin Garrod]

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Yep! All of them! the steering rack and diff bushes are the easiest (relatively speaking)

I used superflex bushes (purple/blue), and voided ones on the diff which are supposed to reduce NVH (noise, vibration and harshness).

I bought the large chassis bushes from, dare I say it Rimmers, and the rest from Superflex direct. I have since found out that you can get exactly the same cheaper from Chris Witor. ( If memory serves)

I'm happy with the results.

[Sheepdip]

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NickA wrote:

Sheepdip wrote:

BTW be very careful with steering wheel thread, very easy to damage and render unuseable even with rubber mallet (spoken with experience....)

<sigh> also been there done that and spent four hours with a needle file re-cutting the thread. I really don't want to have to take the steering wheel off ever again.

Lucky I've got a spare column from my rebuild in the shed. Whoops just remembered I mauled that as well! I tried filing the threads without success, cut a slot in thenut to help it on and act as adie, didn't work but the nut jammed on so I left it there for 3 months!