Steering overhaul

[4tecdog]

My Mot man has been a little concerned about my steering box leakage and play in the bushing for the past couple of years ( As usual Healey advisories are always expensive) So this Christmas after dinner I may make a start! My question is are their any posts on this forum where I can get an A-Z instruction on how to do it ? I don’t want to go to the work of stripping or removing components unnecessarily, ie rads and trafficators. I know their are some very good posts on repairing the individual parts but cannot find a full removal. I must admit I have not consulted my Haynes manual as I have misplaced it, in any case this forum is far more informative especially when I managed to remove my gearbox from inside the car and not from under it as the manual suggested ! Thanks to the forum.
The steering is adjustable in a rhd BJ8.

 

[pkmh]

My Mot man has been a little concerned about my steering box leakage and play in the bushing for the past couple of years ( As usual Healey advisories are always expensive) So this Christmas after dinner I may make a start! My question is are their any posts on this forum where I can get an A-Z instruction on how to do it ? I don’t want to go to the work of stripping or removing components unnecessarily, ie rads and trafficators. I know their are some very good posts on repairing the individual parts but cannot find a full removal. I must admit I have not consulted my Haynes manual as I have misplaced it, in any case this forum is far more informative especially when I managed to remove my gearbox from inside the car and not from under it as the manual suggested ! Thanks to the forum.
The steering is adjustable in a rhd BJ8.

One good piece of advice I will offer you is, even with the best workshop manual out there and whatever videos that may exist in further aiding removal of your steering assembly, I always made it my habit to take progress photos of every step taken when taking apart, especially when it came to removal of the trafficator. I also went further to tag each wire by their color and their respective location. Many photos and notes. Very important. It makes reassembling effortless and painless. It is not going to be fun reassembling only to find new issues come about.

Good luck

 

[4tecdog]

Thanks �� good advice usually do this anyway and lay everything out on a sheet count the parts and count how many I have left when finished ��

 

[pkmh]

4tecdog,

Here is another example of what I was suggesting in terms of taking photos, notes and even making sketches, as I like to do. This sketch worked for me (simple as it may seem but served me well when it came time to reassemble the trafficator, considering I had more than just one "green" wire to deal with)...Other factors to consider but hopefully, the sketching idea can also aid you in some way as well.

Paul

 

[4tecdog]

Thanks Paul good advice, I would really like to know if the connections you show really need touching or can it be done by disconnecting at the steering box end and pulling up as one unit disturbing as little as possible? Everything is working as it should at the moment I would not like to break the trafficator it looks a bit fragile and parts don’t look easy to locate.

 

[mgtf328]

I think you'll need to remove the trafficator to remove the steering wheel to get the box out of the car. You can disconnect the wires at the box and pull them thru the column with the complete trafficator. It's easier if you remove the bullet connections and tape the wires together. I'd advise attaching some string to the wires so you can pull the wires back thru the column.
I think you have to also remove the rad grill to get the box out. I didn't do it myself I took mine to John Chatham who put in a new constant clearance box.
If you look in the archives there's some advise on how to set them up.

AJ