-
Notice: If you're posting to get rid of the little man (Lucas), please post A NEW TOPIC with something meaningful. Tell us about yourself and your interest in British cars. You need not share anything too personal. NOTE: this New Member's Forum is only to introduce yourself. If you have specific questions about your little British car, please post those in the appropriate marque-related forum.
Thanks and welcome to BCF!
Basil -
Hi Guest!
You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
There are some perks with a member upgrade!**Upgrade Now**
(PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
Just Joining Today!
- Thread starter RGW
- Start date
Share this page
TR3driver
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
Hi GW, welcome to the asylum!
Is the steering still real stiff with the front wheels off the ground? If so, the two places I would be looking first are the control head, and the idler arm.
But if lifting it makes it seem fine, my first suspect would be the steering box. There is a bushing down in the bottom, item 2 below, that has to hold the shaft 15 in line, but the shaft is only supported at one end. If the bushing gets worn (often as a result of no lube), the shaft can tilt when steering force is applied and then the peg 15a will bind in it's slot in the worm, 4. The drawing doesn't make it clear, but the peg has straight sides that match the straight sides of the groove in the worm pretty closely.
Unfortunately, the box has to come out to replace that bushing, which means removing the front apron and associated components. I have managed to do it without removing the apron, but IMO it's easier to pull the apron.
PS, that diagram is from the factory Spare Parts Catalogue, which is a useful document to have. You can download a PDF of it, as well as several others, from
https://drive.google.com/drive/fold...yMy00ZDhkLTliOWEtOWU1OWRhNDZhYmRl?usp=sharing
The SPC doesn't always illustrate all the parts (especially production changes), but it at least lists the vast majority of them. I'm slowly trying to add the missing illustrations, but since I'm a lousy artist, it's rough going.
Is the steering still real stiff with the front wheels off the ground? If so, the two places I would be looking first are the control head, and the idler arm.
But if lifting it makes it seem fine, my first suspect would be the steering box. There is a bushing down in the bottom, item 2 below, that has to hold the shaft 15 in line, but the shaft is only supported at one end. If the bushing gets worn (often as a result of no lube), the shaft can tilt when steering force is applied and then the peg 15a will bind in it's slot in the worm, 4. The drawing doesn't make it clear, but the peg has straight sides that match the straight sides of the groove in the worm pretty closely.
Unfortunately, the box has to come out to replace that bushing, which means removing the front apron and associated components. I have managed to do it without removing the apron, but IMO it's easier to pull the apron.
PS, that diagram is from the factory Spare Parts Catalogue, which is a useful document to have. You can download a PDF of it, as well as several others, from
https://drive.google.com/drive/fold...yMy00ZDhkLTliOWEtOWU1OWRhNDZhYmRl?usp=sharing
The SPC doesn't always illustrate all the parts (especially production changes), but it at least lists the vast majority of them. I'm slowly trying to add the missing illustrations, but since I'm a lousy artist, it's rough going.
Online
By Brother-in-Law still lives in Jerome.
Regarding your steering issue - this forum (New Member Introductions) is really just meant as a meet and greet for new members. To get help with specific issues for your TR, you should post in the Triumph forum here. Our TR forum is very active and you will likely get lots of help, but not all TR folks visit this new member forum.
TR3driver
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
Basil is the boss, and he's quite right (as always). I'll add that it's a good idea to add your car's details (preferably commission number) to your forum signature, since it's hard for some of us to remember what car we're working on, let alone what everyone else is working on! And they aren't all the same 
But my next step would be to disconnect the outer tie rod ends, to make sure one of the vertical links isn't binding. If they seem OK, I'd probably try disconnecting the silentbloc joint between the Pitman arm and center link. If the steering still binds, disconnect the coupling in the steering column (assuming you have a split column). Since the steering box is by far the hardest component to service, I'd make sure it's not something else before tackling it. Divide and conquer.
But my next step would be to disconnect the outer tie rod ends, to make sure one of the vertical links isn't binding. If they seem OK, I'd probably try disconnecting the silentbloc joint between the Pitman arm and center link. If the steering still binds, disconnect the coupling in the steering column (assuming you have a split column). Since the steering box is by far the hardest component to service, I'd make sure it's not something else before tackling it. Divide and conquer.