Stiff Steering [In one direction]

[spineguru]

Well, it looks like we tracked down the leaking fuel in my TR3 (near the fuel pump), so there is marked decrease in the chances that my house will explode. However, there is one more pesky issue. the car steers very stiff, but only to the right. Turing left seems pretty easy. the car is also pulling a bit left so it could be out of alignment. Since the car has been in storage so long, I thought the stiffness in the steering might work its way out, but it actually seems a bit worse than the day I got it running. It is at the mechanic still for the fuel issue, and he mentioned he was going to take a look at it. Since he and I both found all of your suggestions helpful regarding the fuel leak, I thought I would throw this out and see what comes back. It seems there are no issues that haven't been seen before!

Thanks!

 

[Don Elliott]

I have never had a wheel alignment done on my TR3A. When I restored it from 1987 to 1990 with 80,350 miles on it, I noticed some uneven wear on the front tires. When I put it all back together again, I used the measurements given in all the maintenance/repair books and adjusted the tie-rod lengths as specified in those books. Then I bought new tires and drove those with even wear for 43,000 miles. I'm on my 3rd set of tires now and they have all shown even wear.

If the peg is too tight on its adjustment on the top of the steering box, that will make the steering tight at both extreme lock positions. I have not heard of only one end being tight. I bought and installed a kit that consists of a spring-loaded peg that replaces the fixed peg and I've driven over 65,000 miles with it installed and the steering is straight and without any slack in it. Ken Gillanders sells them at : - bfeken AT copper.net (Change AT to @). When the worm in your steering box wears, it will wear most at the center because while you are driving you make small corrections to the right or left of center so the worm wears there. If you tighten down on the original fixed peg, it will be OK at center, but tight at the extremes where the worm has not worn. The spring-loaded peg accounts for this wear and gives better steering across the range from full left lock to full right lock.

TR3A steering is always heavy at low speed - turning either direction. Have another TR owner drive it to determine if it is "normal" or not.

Don Elliott, Original Owner, 1958 TR3A

https://www.britishcarforum.com/ubbthreads/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/1977

 

[Geo Hahn]

Stiff when turning right is strange. I would have come up with a theory if it was stiff going left as that is the upper portion of the cam which I suppose could have rusted if the car sat for along time w/o the steering box oil topped up.

Certainly a peek into the box is in order as well as observing all the steering bits for binding and slop.

I too use the spring-loaded adjustment pin. Not a fix for a worn-out box but can greatly improve a slightly worn box. I got mine from Herman van den Akker:

https://www.hvdaconversions.com/pgs-final/about-hvda.html

 

[Andrew Mace]

I once had steering in a GT6+ so stiff that I almost could not turn to the right at all. As preposterous as it might seem, turns out that the disconnected tachometer cable had snagged and wrapped itself tightly around the steering column!

But another (and rather more likely) possibility could be a very dry and/or worn trunnion (lower steering swivel).

 

[kennypinkerton]

Is this when moving at speed (or even at slow speed), or just when sitting still?

My MG does something similar, and I know it needs an alignment. But it's worse to one direction than the other. I also need to rebush the entire front end... You can see the old torn/worn original bushings sticking out from the suspension mounting points.

Could be everything just needs a good greasin' though too.

 

[Alan_Myers]

Hi,

There are several good ideas here already. I can only add a little. In particular, I'd look for a dry/worn/damaged trunnion, as Andy mentioned. In fact, if it's ever been apart, it could also be that a trunnion has been screwed back together too far, actually reaches the end of the threads as the steering reaches one extreme. (Note: The trunnion is the steering mechanism below the vertical link on each side... It's actually a large, acme-threaded screw on the vertical link, that screws into the trunnion.)

The very first thing I'd try would be to lubricate all the front steering and suspension joints. The trunnions can be difficult to get grease into, so many folks resort to injecting 90W gear oil and that's even listed in the factory service manual. Oil can be particularly helpful if a trunnion has old, dried up grease in it.

If lubrication doesn't help, each front trunnion can be isolated and checked pretty quickly and easily just by disconnecting the tie-rods at each wheel and then turning the wheels from side-to-side by hand. Go ahead and try it while the car is lifted if you wish, but for a more realistic test I'd suggest letting the car at least partially back down onto the ground, so that some or all the weight is on the suspension, then grab each tire and trying to turn it side-to-side by hand.

This test should give you an idea if one side or the other is binding and should either identify the problem or eliminate concerns about the trunnions. It could be either side binding. If so, the fix is in the trunnion. If not, it's back to looking into the steering box and the various knuckles and joints on the TR3 setup.

Next thing to do would be to re-attach the tie-rod ends and put the car up on a ramps or a drive on rack with the full weight on the suspension, but with room to get under it with a good bright light and watch all the steering mechanism work, while someone else turns the steering wheel back and forth. You might see some slop or other problem in one or more of the various joints. Alternatively, sometimes you can grab a joint while it's working, and feel the play in it... Just be careful not to get your hand pinched in the mechanisms.

It could certainly be an alignment problem, too. TRs up through the TR4 only have an adjustment for toe-in. Caster and camber aren't easily adjusted. If the car has even been in an accident or hit a curb, there can be bends to the frame or front suspension that cause misalignment. A knowledgeable frame and alignment shop might be able to realign things for you. Try to find a shop with some old-timers who know how to work on old style suspensions and frames!

Hope this helps! Let us know what you find (and what the fuel leak problem turned out to be!)

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[sp53]

Hello yes definitely have the steering looked professionally if you are not sure and preferably by a tr3 person. Tr3’s steer hard at very low speed and have a kinda big turning radius mixed in with a couple of other esoteric old timeie issues. The most common steering problem on a tr3 is a frozen idler arm, but you would feel that both ways. It sounds to me like your problem is in the tires. Perhaps low air on one side or a different type tire mixed in the front. I would first have it lubed up real good by using the manual because there are probably a dozen grease fitting on the front-end.

Sp53

 

[Desperondo]

Hi all, I thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth as I am the fellow who is working on the afformentioned TR3. The fuel leak did indeed turn out to be the fuel pump fittings & screws. Tightening all screws & nuts took care of the problem. It was a bit strange because it would not leak when running. Only after sitting an hour or so would the wetness occur. Sat for a weekend and more & did not leak again.
On to the steering. The steering is definitely tighter to the right. With the front end in the air, you can spin the wheel right to left with one finger. But set it down & you really have to muscle it. Of course its better when driving but still stiff although not so bad that it doesn't return after making a right turn. The front end has all been lubed. All bushings had been replaced in a previous restoration. Two more things; The car had a slight pull to the left when driving but we swapped the tires left to right & this disappeared; also, with the front end raised, you can turn the steering with the steering wheel, but if you grab the tires & try to turn it, the steering locks up & wont move, you have to turn the steering wheel to release it. I have rebuilt these boxes & suspect pretty severe wear in the worm gear, idler & bearings. Also, I checked fluid in the box & topped it off with correct lube. It really wasn't low though. Any other thoughts?

 

[sp53]

Hi, well I will have to use my telepathic powers to see the problem, so here goes. A couple of things to check that have not been motioned are that the inner tie rod ends swing within about a ¼ of the shock tower when you move the steering. If the rebuilder’s did not use the proper tie rods at this juncture that have the grease fittings on the side instead of middle they will drag on the tower as you move the wheel. If the steering box has not been messed with, I doubt if that is the problem other than a leak in fluid. Someone might have tightened down the steering adjustment too much and this could give those symptoms of not being able to muscle the tires by hand because it moves in an ecliptic motion. I would not be too concerned yet with not being able to muscle the steering around by hand until that adjustment is actually a little loose. The steering wheel viva the worm gear provides a lot of leverage. In fact, mine does not move well by hand either. I use the wheel when it is in the air. In addition, check that the long rod from the steering box to the idler arm is not too bent.
Sp53