TR4/4A Steering column Universal Joints

We went on a trip to Queensland for the Triumph National Rally here in Oz over the past 3 weeks. 2800 miles covered including some on the skid pan! On the recommendations of several on the forum, I had replaced the rubber UJs on the steering column with steel ones. They came from the Healey Factory here in Melbourne and I think they get them from Moss. They have enormously improved the steering feel, but they both have play in them from new giving about 1" of play in the wheel. Does anyone have any suggestions for a source of joints that do not have play? It is definitely in the joint and not on the splines.

I ended up re-doing my entire steering colum in the TR6 with Borgeson Universal components. the spline on TR4-6 steering columns is 9/16-36 which they carry, and then I used 3/4-DD stainless shaft inbetween, putting a 3/4 flange bearing in the firewall. Not stock, but much smoother and much more solid. They dont list them as standard, but if you wanted to stick with stock 9/16-36 on both sides, you could probably get them to assemble one for you for just a couple bucks more than standard, since they already make the parts for it.

When I replaced the rubber joints on my TR4A with TR6 joints, I believe I got them from The Roadster Factory. There isn't any play in the joints. Are you sure that is where the play is coming from? The joints would have to be pretty sloppy to give that much play, I would think.

Thanks Justin and Darrell. The play is definitely in the joints. I'm a bit disappointed as they are brand new parts. I think I will try the Borgeson solution. They look like a well engineered product.

Even though U-joints will work and are designed to work when the shafts to which they are attached are not in a straight line, the steel one on the steering column seems tighter if you can line the column up straight from the steering rack to the firewall.. Rotating the steering rack within the mounts will get it done.

It would seem to me that the rubber rag joints would be smoother and remove more vibration.

Dan, when I replaced the rubber joints with the steel ones, I was concerned about kickback and vibration. In fact the steering is lighter and much more precise, because you are not having to compress 2 rubber joints before anything happens. Despite some of the roads that we travelled in the past 3 weeks being very rough, kickback was never a problem. I am also running poly bushes on the steering rack. It was my wife who commented on the play in the steering and started the search for a better UJ. I have now contacted Borgeson and they will do the 9/16-36 joints for the normal price. I will report back in due course!

I have alloy rack mounts, a quick-ratio rack, and the TR6 u-joints. I don't have any issues with kickback or vibration, and I love the directly feel. Maybe not the setup for everyone, but it is what I like!

The Borgeson u-joints arrived and sat on the bench over Christmas. I finally fitted them last weekend. They are a very high quality product, as you would expect from a company that has been making the one product for 100 years. The only reservation I have is that unlike the standard joint, they do not clamp the splines and the shaft. They slide over the splines and are then held by an Allen key grub screw (with a lock nut) which goes into the grooves on the shaft. So there is potential for movement on the splines. I have used Loctite as well as the lock nuts. In the mean time, I have also bought a couple of u-joints from Revington. They are more robust than the Moss ones and have rubber seals on all of the bearing cups. If I have issues with the Borgesons, I will try these. Triumphs - a never ending story!

Let us know Rocky

This is a topic that we have repeatedly done to death on the UK TR-Register forum.

1. there are known to be metal joints from a bad batch that came on the market in recent times. Generally guys have suceeded in getting refunds/replacements for these

2. there is a strongly supported school of thought, not one that I agree with actually, that says that the rubber type offers some degree of better safety in the event of a crash because the culumn buckles up like the factory intended

3. bear in mind that the metal type are not CONSTANT VELOCITY and because they have to tolerate an appreciable
angle some "lumpiness" in the steering action is inevitable. You may or may not be bothered by this but it exists all the same.

4. overall in the UK, the consensus is that replacing the bottom joint is good but the top joint should stay rubber

This Google search term will reveal plenty about this:
site:tr-register.co.uk steering coupling