Steering warning

[tahoe healey]

Any slack when straight forward? I have1/2in of play and was thinking of tightening it up.

 

[red57]

I had to do the same as John 20 years ago- - reground bearing races and all. I also set mine up on the bench to be as snug as I could without drag but when I put it in the car and drove it it developed a slight bind at center. Lots of subsequent fiddling convinced me that the heat from the engine when driving expanded something (possibly the ali raised lid?) in the box and it got tighter. It took a while but I would drive it until everything had a good heat soak and feel some bind, back off a teeny bit and drive it some more, et cetera until there was no bind even when fully heat soaked. Once I got to the point it didn't bind even when hot I found I had about 3/8-1/2 at the rim of the wheel and any tighter would start to bind. This is the only one I have rebuilt so I may have been fighting other issues I didn't recognize. YMMY
Dave

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I tried adjusting away the slack with the pin in the top of the box. With most/all of the slack gone, the wheels--steering and front--would not return to center.

 

[steveg]

One of the things I was doing wrong - not backing the lock nut off far enough. I was tightening the screw up against the nut before it would seat in the worm.

Also, like Dave, there seems to be a warmup factor. I finalized the adjustment after driving several miles and it seems to be stiff when I first turn the wheel, but frees up right away.

The difference between too stiff/no return and correct seems to be as little as two minutes of angle on the screw.

 

[steveg]

I tried adjusting away the slack with the pin in the top of the box. With most/all of the slack gone, the wheels--steering and front--would not return to center.

Bob - is that where you left it, or is there more to the story? How much play in the wheel did you wind up with?

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I backed off the adjustment, and have had about an inch of total play for as long as I can remember. My cars track true, so in a straight line two fingers on the wheel does it with little to no movement.

I've got power R&P in my Mustang; of course it's more precise, and faster, and has a sound system but I always enjoy driving my Healeys more than any other car. If I ever need to replace my steering box, though, I'm getting the DWR box.

 

[twas_brillig]

Steve - any further comments regards your steering upgrade? I think that the Jule frame uses a Mustang II (?) steering assembly to get the rack and pinion; I also believe that you need to move at least the signal lights. Every once in a while I think about the DWR collapsible steering column modification as it's a dang good idea, but... Doug