Midget with heavy steering and no recoil.

Midget with heavy steering and no recoil.

Hi, I have only had my Midget for 6 months but the steering is getting noticably heavier and there is no recoil.
can anybody suggest possible reasons for this?

Re: Midget with heavy steering and no recoil.

Welcome to the best forum for British cars anywhere.
Probably the most common cause for this problem is lack of lubrication at the kingpins. Sometimes the grease gets hard, and the steering becomes a chore. Try forcing grease in there, and see if that helps. An extreme measure is to <u>gently</u> heat the kingpin area, after removing the zerk fittings, and try to melt the solidified grease out, then try to pump fresh in.
Another possibility is that someone has pumped grease rather than gear oil, into the steering rack, with the same result. Binding of steering components, or mis-adjusted upper trunnions may also be the cause, but I would go for the kingpins first.
I would disconnect the tie rods from the steering arms, and try to move each wheel individually to isolate the rack as being the cause.
You have come to the right place, and we should have the problem isolated and resolved shortly.
Jeff

Re: Midget with heavy steering and no recoil.

Welcome aboard !
i guess i would check the obvious first...Tire pressure.

as far as recoil, i dont have much return to center force as well. not sure why.

mark

Re: Midget with heavy steering and no recoil.

Am waiting to have one kingpin replaced in order to get tracking corrected. Once done I will check out the grease situation. hopefully once work done steering will be much improved.
Friend of mine who drove car recently seems to think lack of recoil is dangerous. Maybe I'm just used to it being the way it is.

Re: Midget with heavy steering and no recoil.

If you are replacing one kingpin, I would do both, unless you are just repairing accident damage...maybe even then. One quick way to see where it may be binding is to jack up the front end work the steering wheel...if it still is stiff, chances are it is in you steering rack. I am betting it is your kingpins though and would seriously consider a rebuild of both this winter.

Bruce /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

Re: Midget with heavy steering and no recoil.

Thanks for the advice guys.
hoping to get some work done this weekend. I'll let you know how I get on.
Unfortunately my other 'reliable' german car has just cost me a fortune so 2nd kingpin replacement will have to wait a while. c'est la vie.

Steve aka Fretslider

Re: Midget with heavy steering and no recoil.

The good news is that now I've replaced the kingpin, fitted two new tyres and had the tracking sorted the steering is a lot lighter and a lot more positive. Just need to do the front springs now to stop the wheel rubbing on the wheel arch.

Re: Midget with heavy steering and no recoil.

hi Fret, do you have big tires in the front or just weak springs?.. how about the recoil? i am beginning to think they dont have much to begin with.


mark