steering pinion loose

[Woodie]

I have noticed that my steering wheel can "turn" about 1" freely before getting any resistance. I did a bit of looking and see that when I turn the column by hand from the engine bay the steering column can turn on the pinion allowing the 1 inch play in the wheel, before the pinion starts to turn.
I put a wrench to the pinch bolt and it seems tight. Is this telling me the pinion is worn out and I may loose steering soon? Are there ways to tighten this without replacing the rack?

When looking at the steering column sleeve, how far onto the pinion does it slide down? is if almost flush with the rack or is it pulled up the pinion a bit, say 1/2 in or so? Mine is raised away from the rack.

 

[tony barnhill]

Lubricant in steering rack? Steering rack pinion bolt tight? Enough shims in it?

 

[Woodie]

Tony, I tried to tighten the pinion bolt, it is tight.

Shims...no parts shown in the manual, nor listed by the usual sellers. What are they , what size, where do I get em, and where do I put em....Be nice on that last question....

 

[tony barnhill]

#12 in the drawing below...they come in different sizes....if the play isn't in the box, you possibly need to contact Gerry Masterman and see if his column bushing kit will help.

 

[Sportsdoc]

Isn't this also known as backlash? And I believe shims are the answer. I think the factory manual has info on how to fix that with shims.

I just got a reconditioned rack that I have not yet installed. They included the shims fortunately.

 

[Woodie]

That dwg is not my rack and column
see
https://www.spridget-tech.com/service_manual/Section-J.pdf

diagram on pg 2. The column comes too a bolt and nut which clamps onto the pinion which passes through the rack. The play I have is there, where the column clamps to the pinion. The bolt seems tight. I have the original factory manual, same one as at the link above. Nothing in it specific about shimming this clamp.

 

[tony barnhill]

oops, sorry - I just automatically go to the MGB catalog...here's a Midget dawing...#8 is the shim; comes in .003", .005', .010":

 

[Sportsdoc]

Are you seeing motion between the pinch clamp and the pinion itself?

 

[jlaird]

I also think that's what he said. If so do not drive it till it is fixed. If that comes off you loose all control.

The clamp bolt should be a hardened one.

Is the prob the splines on the rack or the splines on the stearing column?

 

[Woodie]

Spssortsdoc and Jack, yes the motion is between the pinch clamp and the pinion. I have not had it apart so cannot tell you which side the problem is on. I just know I have some slop there. So now that this is clear how do I fix it?

 

[JerryB]

Woodie:

The steering shaft has female splines and it slides over the male spline in the pinion shaft and is secured by a pinch bolt.

The pinch bolt not only compresses the female splines for a tight fit but ALSO fits in an annular groove in the pinion shaft.

Many times the pinch bolt is tight when wrenching it BUT is not really tight...the bolt MIGHT have too much of a shoulder and the nut is bottomed on the threads. This could be your problem.

Loosen and remove the pinch bolt and slide the steering shaft up an inch..inspect the splines and the bolt. Use a new bolt and nut. Use a Grade 5 bolt with the correct shoulder (grip) length and a Nylock or all steel locknut.

 

[PeterC]

Woodie... Been there, done that, almost died!

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!

The pinch bolt has probably worn and needs to be replace by a PROPER HARDENED pinch bolt.

There is a groove in the circumference of the pinion shaft and either side is splined. The pinch bolt is designed to clamp the column onto the splines AND located the column in and out by filling the groove.

You will see that your pinch bolt has got a matching groove worn in it. It wasn't tight at some point in the past. Hopefully the splines haven't worn too much such that even with a new pinch bolt the column won't be secure. This happened to me. I ended up drilling through both column and pinion and driving in a hardened roll pin, and I still used a new pinch bolt.

When the column pulls out after a hard left hander uphill at 60+, you start thinkin about "stuff".

Do NOT leave this unrepaired, and don't skimp on the repair.

Please.

Peter C.

 

[Woodie]

Thanks JerryB. Now to slide the steering shaft up, do I need to loosen anything else. This sounds like a 15 minute job. (probably take a day) What size bolt? 1/2 by 1 1/2 or so?

 

[Woodie]

Peter, looking at the diagram on the first page of this thread, the pinch bolt is simply that a bolt with a nut on the end, correct? Is the clamp part of the column? If it is worn I guess I would have to replace the column or do like you and drill a hole through both and insert a roll pin.

 

[PeterC]

Woodie... yes to all.

Peter

 

[Woodie]

Thanks, you are a gentleman and a scholar

 

[Woodie]

Done, clamp in place and tight.

New issue Hap.

Ok now I feel and see the slop in the pinion to rack interface. I can again turn the steering wheel 1/2 to 1 inch (but it is a different feel now) before I see any affect on the road wheels. SO....the shims you talked a bout HAP, do I add them the bring the splines tighter together and reduce this slop? If yes do I do it from the cap on the bottom side of the pinion case? Is this just guess work with different sizes until it is tight?

 

[DrEntropy]

Usually if there's rack/pinion wear it will be at a "straight ahead" position. Turn the thing to one lock or the other and see if the "slop" is lessened. If so, a new unit may be the only way to deal with it. If play is the same then the possibility is that the spring/cup need replacing to properly tension the pinion into the rack.

 

[jlaird]

Kind of depends which side the slop is on. New stearing shaft or new pinion or maybe both.

Of course you could try tighting up the clamp bolt first, if it is loose that could be your prob.