unclepete Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 anyone have experience of having both steering box and then converting to a steering rack ? is there that much difference for 'nomal' road use? i have a good 'tightish' steering box and changing to a rack and pinion setup is relatively expensive! being of the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' and the 'tight as a tick' mould, are the benefits that exceptional? if so would it be worth going down the changes to steering geometry as well? peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest benran Posted July 18, 2004 Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 HI Peter DONT do it till you have to change it, its a lot of work and cost. I feel it realy takes a lot of fun out of driving the car. Oh I brought the car to you. drop me a e-mail with your phone number and I will give you a call. Cheers dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted July 18, 2004 Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 Keep it as a box. Converting it to rack means that you have to add extra indicator/horn switches changing the total driving experience of the car. Revingtons, whilst obviously advising a rack conversion, can also sell you a number of excelent modifications to the original steering box, drag arm and idler. Hopefully this will make a big enough difference to allow you to keep the indicators where they ought to be! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unclepete Posted July 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 cheers chaps obviously everyones on line after the rally championships on Chan 5!! clive i am intrigued! what mods can be carried out to a standard steering box? tell me more!!!! also whats a good method for filling the box with oil without soaking the garage peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Les Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Peter For filling anything awkward like gearbox, diff, steering box etc, I use a plastic "plunger" type of pump which screws straight onto a can of EP90. Push a length of plastic pipe over the spout. Into the open end of this pipe is a short length of copper fuel pipe which can be bent to suit the application. I never spill a drop. Always fill the steering box up via the hole in the steering column below number one carburettor. Regards. Les. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest chris jameson Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Peter, I use Penrite Steering Box Lube in my steering box. It comes in a plastic bottle, and is in a `sludge' form.... Just prior to filling your steering box, you place the plastic bottle in a saucepan of hot water....After a few minutes, the substance takes on the consistency of gearbox oil, enabling you to pump it into the hole in the column..... I use a very large medical type syringe, with plastic hose attached to the spout. When the oil cools (almost immediately) in the steering box, it turns back into sludge, and does not leak out the bottom end! Penrite make a lot of great oil products for vintage and classics here in Oz, and no! I don't work for the company... Now if I could only find something similar for that rear seal Cheers, Chris P.S. If you really want a rack and pinion, just get a TR4! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 I'm also using the Penrite "sludge" in my steering box. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonlar Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 I use a very large medical type syringe, with plastic hose attached to the spout. I use the same technique for various applications on cars, adding/removing battery acid, brake fluid oils etc.. I've got access to 50ml syringes, and use them with windscreen washer tubing, you can see the fluid as well then, in the tube. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unclepete Posted July 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 large medical syringes? sounds like fun! thanks chaps, any other little improvements that can be made to a 'box'? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Les Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 You can get these syringes from any farm supplies outlet. No big sharp needles are involved!:laugh: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest chris jameson Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 thanks chaps, any other little improvements that can be made to a 'box'? Peter, You might like to look at the modified steering box cover plate that Revington manufacture. I haven't got one myself, but it appears to address one of the main issues with the old box arrangement..... Cheers, Chris P.S. Oops, I see that Clive mentioned this earlier..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 For improvements contact Revingtons. One thing that is vital is to make sure you have a straight steering column and a straight stator tube. Revington's can re-build your steering box,a nd provide straight columns and stator tubes. They can also add a spring loaded cover plate which takes up that ware in the worm and peg, making the steering more precise. They can also replace the worm and peg. The bush at the top of the steering column, originally felt, can also be replaced with a much better version. (This is sounding like a Revington Press Release, but I'm not sure of any other suppliers who do this type of work) Revingtons also do a rebushed version of the "drag arm" which has brass bushes and grease nipples added, rather than the original style rubber bushes. They do something similar wqith the idler arm. This makes the steering a little lighter and perhaps more precise. They will still advise that you fit a rack, but we will graduallty educate them on this point! Who wants the indicators on a stalk or a dash mounted switch? Not me... One important thing to remember, and this is so obvious and so not obvious depending on your perspective on mechanics, is that the oil is poured in about half way up the steering column, not through the top of the steering box. It should be poured in untill no more can be poured in, if you get my meaning. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest mikemd Posted July 22, 2004 Report Share Posted July 22, 2004 I have recently added the Revington bushes and idler to my system, plus a new drop arm bush, and found that it has much less play than before - currently about 20mm at the steering wheel rim - but you will feel the bumps more, and to be honest there isn't much self centering. The big advantage with a rack, as far I can see, is the better quality steering, plus my better half would not be able to avoid driving back from the pub once in a while! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted July 22, 2004 Report Share Posted July 22, 2004 Self centering... you mean that you'd happily et the wheel find it's own centre... in a tr.. rack or box... brave man! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unclepete Posted July 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 thanks for the advise all. i don't think revingtons and i are talking just at the moment! the point is my steering box is virtually new! no play to worry about. i find on bumpier surfaces the whole car tends to skip about a bit. something i will have to live with! she is also sensitive to road camber and i do not find a smooth transition when changing the weight from one side to the other. eg. on a right hander with the weight on the left side changing to a left hander, her weight will tend to dip/jump to the right. I have grown used to this and drive accordingly (which is all part of the fun) but would like her to handle a little more predictably. She has spax adjustable front shocks, should i maybe soften or harden these a little? what about changing/adjusting the front steering camber? is this just 1958 handling - i don't remember i was only two at the time? peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
duggan Posted July 27, 2004 Report Share Posted July 27, 2004 Best improvement to handling is the addition of antiroll (or sway) bar to front suspension. Had one on my 3A in the 60s and the only time I spun it was when it was removed for straightening after bending it on some rebar on a bomb site parking lot. Have one fitted to my 2 at the moment and it goes round bends like on rails even with a slightly worn box. You just get used to anticipating bends and take up the slack before them. :laugh: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unclepete Posted July 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 ta duggan! got an anti roll bar spare with the car. looks like another little? job for the winter! peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Les Posted August 24, 2004 Report Share Posted August 24, 2004 My TR2's MoT has just expired and the steering box needs a major overhaul. Do any of the major TR specialists supply recon boxes on an exchange basis? What is the approximate cost? I may rebuild the box myself as the cost of all the moving bits is about £160. Do any of the rack conversions which are available allow for the retention of the original fan and extension? The Moss kit which apparently uses a BMW/mini rack seems to allow this and I am awaiting confirmation from them. Before Clive screams "Don't do it" I think that the horn and indicator boss can be retained somehow. ( After all, it works with split-column 3a's. ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest mikemd Posted August 28, 2004 Report Share Posted August 28, 2004 Les, Bear in mind that split column TRs have a hollow upper and lower column, so the wiring from the control head can go down via the stator tube to through the box. Not so easy with a rack conversion. It appears there is no easy answer, I know of one conversion where to maintain originality the cable comes out of the upper column and is then wrapped a couple of times around the shaft and then to the inner wing - relying on the slack when turning, if you get my drift. It seems to work, but I am not sure about longevity. Also, with a rack you will find the control head rotates with the column, so the original indicators are not self cancelling. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest longjohn Posted August 28, 2004 Report Share Posted August 28, 2004 Dont pay over the odds, Morris oils supply Penrite and sell the stuff under there own name at a fraction of the price. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Les Posted August 28, 2004 Report Share Posted August 28, 2004 You're right! Thanks Mike. I never thought about the wiring below the UJ. I have decided to rebuild my original box and have already stripped it down. I am replacing the worm, peg, both bearings, plain bush, seal and gaskets. Total cost from Abingdon parts at Oldbury, about £130. They could rebuild my own box for about £70 + parts. The most worrying part, removing the old worm, turned out to be quite easy using a home-made puller. ( I have a well-equipped workshop ). I noticed that amongst the numbers stamped on the old worm is "55" so I assume this to be the original worm. It is well and truly knackered , but 49 years ain't bad going!!! My request to Moss for more info on their r&p conversion seems to have fallen on deaf ears......well.....deaf email anyway, but I'll be happier keeping the original setup anyway, so Clive, the horn and indicator switches will stay in their rightful place. Les. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Elliott Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 A friend here in Montreal was charged $150.00 CDN (£60) by a local TR repair shop to get his old worm off. They put it in a lathe and turned it off. They put on the new worm he had brought back from England. It is made of brass !!!! Anybody know more about these brass worms ? Don Elliott Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 Less, About Moss... ring Bristol branch and ask for Tom or Owen if you want information/parts. I have found this the most reliable way! All of the modifications that hve been mentioned above (uprated cover plate, idler arms etc... ) are what I have had done by Revingtons, so I will be able to let people know how more accurate the steering feels and if it's any lighter once my TR2 is back on the road! The one thing that has gone wrong with the steering box since it came back, which resulted in a return to Revington and a very quick rectification, is that when the wheel was turned left, the car turned right, and visa versa. I am told that this may be caused byu the accidental fitting of a LHD worm instead of the correct RHD version. So, a word of advice... check which way your wheels turn before you drive off... JUST IN CASE! :cool: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Les Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 Hi Don. I would be very wary about fitting a brass worm. All the ones I've seen are hardened steel which are then plated with what looks like copper, even my original looks like that. Hi Clive. I won't bother chasing up Moss now that i've decided to stick with the old box, but I am getting fed up with suppliers that can't be bothered to reply to emails. There's been lots of praise on another post for TR Bitz, but I mailed them for info on exchange/rebuild boxes or parts and got no reply. I then mailed them again explaining that my email maybe had gone astray, and repeated my info request. This was last week and still no reply. Les Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clive Posted August 29, 2004 Report Share Posted August 29, 2004 All I know is that e-mails to various suppliers can go astray. In one case I sent an identical e-mail to three supliers, only one answered. What I'll say from that is that I wish I'd phoned one of the other suppliers and asked the same question rather than going with the supplier that did answer... If you want to know more then you'll have to contact me directly! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.