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TR2/3/3A Steering Stiff

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Mike - I found exactly the same problem on the late TR3A I did for a chap in Toronto. I had finished the restoration and that was the only unresolved problem. HE took delivery of the car and I told him all about it. But I don't know what he did. Compared to the steering on my own TR3A, it was really stiff and I had to manually steer the car back to center after turn. If each wheel is separate it sort of proves that the vertical links are not bent. Also when I changed the upper ball joints on mine, I tested the wheels separately as per advice from Herman Van den Akker. Herman had resolved a problem on his daughter Heidi's red TR3A when he found that new upper ball joints which have a small amount of knurling on the shank below the nut were not aligned with the serrations left in the vertical link after removal of the former ball joints and this was enough to cause stiffness. The new ones were not axial with the vertical centerline of the vertical link. I had to fiddle with my new ones until the wheel would freely turn on the ball joint and vertical link. But if you say your wheel steers easily when separated, then this is not where your problem lies. You say that the former owner put in new silent block bushes for the center link tie rod. Maybe the rubber is set at an angle where it resists turning back to center. I have heard that these need to be inserted and secured with the engine installed and the wheels on the floor to be "straight". This past winter I removed (after 22 years) and installed the new design delrin "silent block" units made by Joe Alexander (bought from Roadster Factory) and I find that the steering is a bit more "normal" than before. The rubber silent block units I removed looked and felt good but I thought that the delrin ones with some red synthetic grease in them would make it all easier. I was right. Cheers - Don
 
Thanks for the additional comments. Hope to make some more progress this weekend. Cheers, Mike
 
mgedit said:
as it get to centre it gets a little stiff (but still can be turned with one finger) and then as it approaches end of travel toward opposite lock becomes easier to turn again ... so some level of resistance or stiffness near centre position.
Click to expand...

if your description includes the word "tight", it is adjusted too tight. The center should be barely noticeable...as in the wheel will not rock back and forth with almost no effort. Off center you will be able to spin the wheel...in other words no resistence off center. If it requires noticeable force, then it will get worse under load.
 
Thanks John. Will continue to look at everything as well as steering box adjustment. Cheers, Mike
 
Everything back together and much improved. Can now turn wheels side to side by hand and steering feels much better. Thanks to all for your help. Cheers, Mike
 
Mike,

What did you change to improve it?

Scott
 
What I did Scott was take all joints apart and make sure all were free and properly greased. Then reassembled everything carefully. I also very slightly loosened the adjustment nut on top of steering box as recommended in workshop manual. Not sure what step was the critical one, but seems to work well now. Cheers, Mike
 
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