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Steering rack maintenance

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Michael Oritt

Michael Oritt

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My LHD Elva uses an (inverted) RHD Sprite steering rack. There is only one zirk fitting just inboard of the right rubber boot and I just can't imagine that pumping grease into that is going to get all the way over to the steering gear.

What is the recommended maintenance--both method and lubricant?
 
The steering rack is supposed to be lubed with 90 weight gear oil, but because there is a Zerk-type "grease" fitting, I'd guess most people use chassis grease.

The fitting you found is the only one.
I guess, because it's oil (rather than grease) it can make its way all around the rack via that one fitting.

The manual says 10 strokes of oil every 3 months.

Later cars (like my '78) have a different style rack and use grease instead of oil.
 
Thanks Nial.

I have an adaptor that I can use to shoot oil into a zirk fitting. So let's see, 10 for every three months on a 1958 car equals 2000 or so strokes, right?
 
My '78 seems to have a plug.
I can't find a grease fitting.
I looked it up in Haynes and it shows exactly what I've got - a plug. What's the point of that? Did people remove the plug and put in a zirk fitting?
 
What's the cutoff for later cars? My factory manual says 90 weight. Haynes says 140 weight for early cars, grease for later cars.

10 strokes of oil every three months? Where does all the oil go?
 
I've had my BE for 25 yrs and haven't stroked the rack but several time through the yrs. After all these yrs, I've finally got it to where it doesn't spot the floor. Now that I know about this proper maintainence sequence, I'm afraid it will have a new spot to leak. Darn the luck.
 
Should I pull the plug & try to put oil or grease in there?
How?
 
RickB said:
Should I pull the plug & try to put oil or grease in there?
How?
Click to expand...

Your '78 (like mine) uses a newer-style rack that is lubed with grease. I think it is sourced from a Spitfire or Marina...it looks different from a Sprite rack.

For '78s, the factory manual suggests sliding back the accordian gaiters on a regular basis and applying grease to the rack teeth and ball end swivel manually after wiping off all the old grease. Messy job.
All the 1500 cars have the newer style rack and I *think* some of the last 1275 Midgets have it too.
 
The fittings were dropped from the racks after it was found that folks were pumping grease in where gear oil should go. Later racks (not certain it makes a big difference) went to grease as the spec. lube.

As long as ~something~ with lubricating properties gets to the "busy" parts it shouldn't matter. Gear oil propagates more easily than grease, hence the "manual application" instructions with the 'later' racks.
 
Changeover occurred around 1972
 
I pushed a tube of 90 weight oil into the rack this morning via the zirk fitting on the right end, then turned the steering back and forth from lock to lock a number of times. The right side boot took on the look of an inflatable doll at full left lock and a bit of old grease started oozing out of a small hole in the top of the gaiter. Looks like they are up for replacement.

I can't tell whether any oil worked its way down from the zirk fitting to the pinion on the left end of the rack but it must be doing something in there and definitely displaced some of the old grease.
 
Old grease may be "valveing" and keeping the gear oil from going where it should be.... may be time to disassemble and clean it of grease, relube with gear oil only. It'll keep the gaiters from exploding. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
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