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Steering rack re-install

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Nelson

Nelson

Jedi Warrior
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I am being challenged with the re-install of the steering rack on my 62 Mk 2 Sprite. Since the attaching brackets are slotted I am not sure how to determine the proper placement within the slots. With the car currently being put together it will be much easier to do proper positioning than when the radiator and other parts are in place. Also, I found a baggie with a steel plate that I had labelled as being part of the passenger side rack mounting. It fits between the mounting and the cross body bar but with it in place the top bracket slot will not allow the mounting bolt to go straight into its hole. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

BTW I had a blast at the Ozark festivities even without being able to have my car with me.

Nelson
(Original owner)
 
That plate is needed to keep the rack and the column perpendicular. Put the plate on the pass. side and push the rack back against the cross bar.
 
Be sire to clean out the mou8nting holes with a bottoming tap. All sorts of gunk will be down there. PAy attention to torque specs this is a pice of aluminum I do believe. Getting new bolts of the proper exact length is critical as those bolts bottom out and rack is not tight otherwise. I used strips of inner tube glued to bottom on clamp to add some extra gripping power.
 
With the plate in place and the two front bolts fully tightened, the top bolt cannot get vertical to enter its hole. It is quite close but not quite there. I guess I'll have to try a little harder. I have had the car completely apart for a number of years and it was stripped to bare metal and that area is newly painted. The rack mounted easily before I found the plate but now putting it back together with the plate is where I had a problem.

Nelson
 
Try reversing the brackets. Can't remember if they are LH and RH.
 
By pushing down on the bolt and applying a little more torque the bolt went into place. Initially it was a little hard to turn but then it went in the rest of the way feeling normal. Thanks for the suggestions.

Now another related question. I'm not sure where to locate the tube that the steering column passes through. Where is it placed relative to the ends of the steering column? Also, is there a grommet or some sort of seal where it enters the body? I wish that there were digital cameras when I took this thing apart.

Nelson
 
2664905038_82b1618a55.jpg

2664906276_1ddb6f4f0a.jpg

The rubber insulator is 8 inches from the end of the column.
The rubber seal mounts where the sleeve exits the body, with the bellows part inside the car.
 
Thanks a bunch for those photos. They were really helpful.

Nelson
 
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