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TR2/3/3A TR3 steering question

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jdubois

jdubois

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A few years ago I bought a '60 TR3A for my mother (she learned to drive on her dad's '59 and always wanted one of her own) and when we bought it the steering made it pretty much undriveable. It had a huge flat spot in the middle and would often grab suddenly and throw the car in a random direction. If you twiddled the adjustment screw, it would remove the flat spot but make the steering so tight it was almost impossible to steer.

Well we had somebody go through it and completely rebuild the steering, and the random grabbing is gone but it still has a small flat spot in the middle and the car gives you a bit of a workout trying to steer it.

Now my question- is this normal for the TR3's worm and tooth steering system? I'm used to the nice easy and precise rack and pinion on my Spitfire. Should the TR3 feel the same? Is there possibly still something messed up with the steering?
 
Welllll..It's not correct, but it's pretty common. I've driven enough TR3s to have had experiences with steering all over the board. some were heavy, some were uneven and some were just set up sweet and felt almost as good as a rack and pinion. It's very possible that the worm gear has a worn spot. It can be replaced, not easily, but it can. I don't have a reccomendation as to who to contact, but it may be worth it to try and find a gearbox that has been refurbished by a specialist.
Also, if you have the original TR3 shop manual it does a pretty thorough job of describing and explaining the operation and problems with those gearboxes.
Also don't foret the rest of the front end. everything from tie-rods to ball joints and trunnions can effect the steering on those.
best of luck
 
I presently own 2 TR3s and added 2 different items trying to improve the steering on them. First all worn steering parts must be replaced. Then, The one that I presently drive, I added a new/improved spring loaded steering box cover (item# rtr3075lk) sold by RevingtionTR/UK. It seems to have improved the smoothness of the steering, but I can't say I noticed a great difference. The other TR3 that I am doing a body off restoration on, I added a rack and pinion steering setup. I've been told that this will make it steer like a completely different car. I know that I can move the wheels without any trouble.
Only time will tell how it steers, when the body is back on and engine back in. The steering cover is around an $80-$100 item that takes very little time to install compared to the rack and pinion that costs over $1000 and requires you to remove the front nose. I'd try the $80 item first. Good Luck
 
Sounds from your replies like my situation is pretty common. We did rebuild everything including a new worm gear and all front suspension parts. Sounds like maybe I want to find somebody really good with TR3's to look at it.

I've heard rumors that a TR4 steering system is a bolt in replacement, is that true? Is that the $1000 rack and pinion you're talking about bluemiata?
 
The TR4 to my knowledge is not a bolt in replacement. When I started looking for my steering improvement I looked into the TR4 rack, but was told that it is to wide. I actually paid about $650 for my rack from Moss/UK shipped, but that was about a year ago and the exchange rate has increased considerably since then, so I'm just quessing on the price. I did do research and found some companies in the U.S. that sold them, but they wanted $1100 over a year ago, so I paid the shipping from the u.K..
I know that Moss/UK, Revington/UK sell the racks. There are 2 different models. One bolts on and one has to be welded on. I elected to buy the bolt on. As I said earlier, mine is attached and it didn't take to much work, you do have to take part of the front steering arms apart and reverse them and I do believe you'd have to take the front nose off, but I was told it can be done without removing it. I did mine with the body off, so I had complete access to everything. I also haven't gotten the car back together, but the steering seems smooth and easy. Good luck
 
I found the rack and pinion conversion at Moss that bluemiata was talking about- Page seven (labeled page thirty) of the following PDF . It has the note: "Long column cars will need an additional upper column kit to fit." So... what's a long column car vs a short column car?
 
Actually, there's a one piece column, and a split column. They changed to the split (two piece) unit at about TS42,000. When you go over to the rack and pinion conversion, you use the original upper section of the split column. If you car doesn't have a split column, then you need the upper half along with the bracket that holds it.
 
I converted mine to Rack & Pinion about 5 years ago, aligned it and haven't touched it since. It was about $1000 then with a front anti-sway bar. I got it from a company in Virginia who's name escapes me, but I see ads for them in Classic Motorsports every month. If I remember right the rack is from England out of a small Austin or Morris that was RHD so you mount it upside down.You also need to swap the tie rod levers to the other side and replace the fan with an electric.It's expensive and takes about 10 hours to do, the other side of the coin is that it drives great and my 100 pound wife can drive it without problem.
 
Make sure that they replaced the idler arm because it is an often over looked part on a suspension rebuild. If it is frozen, the steering will be extremely difficult to operate. Take a look under the car just opposite the steering box and see if it is new. The idler arm is basically what actuates the other side of the suspension opposite the steering box. The tr3 steers hard in a parking lot at low speed, but if you are driving and moving the steering is actually very good.
Sp53
 
karls59tr said:
The spring loaded steering box cover is also available from British Frame and Engine on an exchange basis.
Click to expand...

Also available from Hermann van den Akker...

https://www.hvdaconversions.com/

I have one... might have been about 60 bucks but that was a couple of years ago.

It does help but isn't a cure-all and sure as heck isn't R&P steering.
 
Also make sure that the idler arm is full of new grease; there's a grease fitting on the bottom of the arm.

Probably not a bad idea to remove the arm bracket (2 bolts through frame bracket) and clean and flush out any old grease with brake cleaner and replace with new. Old grease tends to harden and make things bind. The grease actually forms a hydraulic cushion between the arm and bracket threads.

The idler arms unscrews from the bracket just like a trunnion. After cleaning the threads and socket, apply a generous coating of new grease (I use Mobil 1 synthetic) to the threads and inside the idler bracket socket. Remove or loosen the grease fitting, then screw in the idler as far as it will go before interfering with the bracket, then back off and tighten the grease fitting. The manual says to back off one turn but as long as it has full motion from lock to lock, the setting is good to go.

There should be a rubber dust seal between the bracket and idler. Mine was missing so I used a flat rubber washer and punched a 3/4" hole in the center and this worked fine for a replacement.

Made mine smooth out nicely. Hope it works for you too.
 
Thanks for the idler arm suggestions. I'll give those a shot, and then probably see about the new box cover. If all that fails, I may look into the rack conversion.
 
My old TS74011L really steered pretty hard despite rebuilding/replacing most of the front end components.

I recently drove a later TR3B that drove like a dream...easy steering and all. This just showed me that an early sidescreen TR CAN steer easy if all the components are up to snuff...
 
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