Steering rack..

ToyTrainGuy

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162
The bellows on my steering rack are torn & I have new bellows to repalce them, but what about the oil inside? Without removing the rack from the car, when I remove the old bellows, will ALL of the old oil run out? If not, how do I get all the old oil out? What is the proper way to refill it, the correct amount, & what kind / weight oil is it? Thanks!
 

Moondoggie

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569
I have not messed with a stock rack but I do have a shop manual handy, if you don't have one I suggest that you buy one. The manual says the rack uses 1/2 pint of shell spirax 90 E.P..
You must remove the rack in order to refill and also replace the convolute covers...that's British lingo for bellows !!

Moondoggie
 

ToyTrainGuy

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162
I have not messed with a stock rack but I do have a shop manual handy, if you don't have one I suggest that you buy one. The manual says the rack uses 1/2 pint of shell spirax 90 E.P..
You must remove the rack in order to refill and also replace the convolute covers...that's British lingo for bellows !!

Moondoggie


I've had my Tiger for Forty years & yes I do have a shop manual, but what the heck is "Shell Spirax 90 E.P? Does anyone know?

Also, anxiously waiting to hear about Bill's tranny in your car. I've already ordered the fine-spline Centerforce disc (Plate & Flywheel) for the conversion. My motor is being rebuilt right now (1st time) & waiting for that tranny-kit to be available for the rest of us. youtube video soon? Thanks...
 

hottigr

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The bellows on my steering rack are torn & I have new bellows to repalce them, but what about the oil inside? Without removing the rack from the car, when I remove the old bellows, will ALL of the old oil run out? If not, how do I get all the old oil out? What is the proper way to refill it, the correct amount, & what kind / weight oil is it? Thanks!

I filled mine about 25 years ago- don't remember the oil I used, but I do remember how I did it.

I read the shop manual, the tech tips (jacking up one side of the car, loosening the clamp on the high side, et al) and thought I would try something else. The boots on my rack looked very stout. I moved the rack from side to side, noting which accordian section of the bellows moved the least. I took a big syringe with a hefty needle and poked it into the highest portion of the accodian section and proceeded to inject the oil into the rack. It took a few syringes and a little time to do. I put a dab of butyl rubber on the injection site and it bonded with the rubber. 25 years later, the boots haven't torn, the tiny hole is still sealed, and you'd really have to look to even find the spot I did the work. Kind of unconventional, but it worked for me in this instance.
 

65beam

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rack

shell spirax 90 EP was a 90 gear oil with extreme pressure additives. todays name would be an 80/90 gear oil.
 

cadreamn67

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Messages
608
And get the oil in a GL4 grade, not GL5 like most of the stuff over the counter today, just in case there are any brass components in the rack. Most GL5's have anti-high pressure additives that unfortunately attack brass. Great for rear axles though that have no brass components.

Gene
 
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65beam

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rack

conventional gear oils ( non synthetic ) have a sulfur/phosphorus extreme pressure additive. that's the reason for the awful smell. this is what attacks the yellow metals and starts a corrosion process that can't be reversed. if you have syncro rings in your trans never use conventional 80/90. gear oils being blended today do meet API GL5 specs .
 

drbill

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Messages
124
I have not messed with a stock rack but I do have a shop manual handy, if you don't have one I suggest that you buy one. The manual says the rack uses 1/2 pint of shell spirax 90 E.P..
You must remove the rack in order to refill and also replace the convolute covers...that's British lingo for bellows !!

Moondoggie

OMG! So, if the convolute covers on mine are torn, that means I have no oil (or less than ideal) in the rack?
It looks like those could be replaced without taking the rack out, but to refill the oil, it has to come out anyway.... correct? :(
 

Moondoggie

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569
drbill...Yeah but it's not like it's running up to 6500 rpm....

toytrain guy...relax we are just days away on the tranny..crap we have a whole
concours car to put together by the 13th and the trans is just one stage...important but just one.....it's coming and awesome

Moondoggie
 

drbill

Gold forum user
Messages
124
I filled mine about 25 years ago- don't remember the oil I used, but I do remember how I did it.

I read the shop manual, the tech tips (jacking up one side of the car, loosening the clamp on the high side, et al) and thought I would try something else. The boots on my rack looked very stout. I moved the rack from side to side, noting which accordian section of the bellows moved the least. I took a big syringe with a hefty needle and poked it into the highest portion of the accodian section and proceeded to inject the oil into the rack. It took a few syringes and a little time to do. I put a dab of butyl rubber on the injection site and it bonded with the rubber. 25 years later, the boots haven't torn, the tiny hole is still sealed, and you'd really have to look to even find the spot I did the work. Kind of unconventional, but it worked for me in this instance.

So, where does the oil sit in the rack? Does it just sit in the rubber bellows? How do the gears get lubricated?
Thanks, Bill
 

67 Tiger

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Messages
298
There is a brass damper pad inside the rack. 30 some years ago the brass damper pad in my rack wore out. On a hard left turn the lash between the rack and pinion increased to the point that the pinion "striped" the last 2 or 3 teeth off the rack. It only took 6 months to find a replacement, but that was before mazda or mustang racks. Im not sure what caused the pad to wear out in the first place. Soft brass on a steel rack I guess. Maybe the PO used the wrong oil.
 

hottigr

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816
Bill, I don't think the recommended amount of oil actually 'fills' the rack- it just has to be enough to touch the gears- too little and it will just sit in the bottom of the rack bellows- after you replace the bellows just add the recommended amount and you'll be fine.
 

dude234

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Messages
182
To replace the rack bellows, you will have to remove the radiator. Also, you can fill the rack by removing the cover on the top of the rack on the passenger side. For UK cars, the steering column is inserted here and the cover is on the other side. You slowly pour in the oil while moving the steering wheel back in forth from lock to lock. This distributes the oil from one side to the other in the rack. The shop manual has the rack capacity for the oil which isn't very much.
 

hottigr

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816
To replace the rack bellows, you will have to remove the radiator. Also, you can fill the rack by removing the cover on the top of the rack on the passenger side. For UK cars, the steering column is inserted here and the cover is on the other side. You slowly pour in the oil while moving the steering wheel back in forth from lock to lock. This distributes the oil from one side to the other in the rack. The shop manual has the rack capacity for the oil which isn't very much.

I should probably look before I type, but isn't there a spring loaded tensioner with shims and such under that cover? If you don't already have an issue with the steering rack, might it be a bad idea to take that cover off just to add oil? I'm pretty sure there was a reason I didn't pop that cover 'just to add oil'...
 

67 Tiger

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298
Thats what Im talking about.

I dont know how to do that Quote thing.
hotiger- the spring sits in a brass damper pad. the pad pushes down on the rack. The shims control the lash between the rack and the pinion. When the brass wears out, the lash will increase, and in my case the last 2 or 3 teeth, dont remember, will break off, and my car was stuck making a left, the steering wheel just spun freely around and around. I had to jack up the front end and turn the tires back, by hand, until the pinion made contact with the rack.
 

hottigr

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816
I dont know how to do that Quote thing.
hotiger- the spring sits in a brass damper pad. the pad pushes down on the rack. The shims control the lash between the rack and the pinion. When the brass wears out, the lash will increase, and in my case the last 2 or 3 teeth, dont remember, will break off, and my car was stuck making a left, the steering wheel just spun freely around and around. I had to jack up the front end and turn the tires back, by hand, until the pinion made contact with the rack.

Just click the "quote" button off to the right and 'voila'!

What you said! If toytrainguy and DrBill have a rack that is o.k., I don't know if it's a great idea to fill the rack by taking off that metal cover (like dude234 suggested)- wouldn't there be the possibility of NOT getting all the hardware back in there the same way and change the wear patterns and dynamics of the rack? If your rack needs a rebuild, that's a different story. I've never had the cap off of mine, so this is just hypothetical from my standpoint.
 

ToyTrainGuy

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162
After replacing the bellows & filling it with oil, I found the rack to be rather "clunky". Not very smooth, you can feel the teeth as you turn the shaft, has some play, & I wonder if I should go a step farther & try to have the rack rebuilt. I have a high-speed chimmey & I know that my front end is tight & wheels are balanced, so I am thinking that this is where this problem may be.
I also have the original rack to the car that I removed 35 years ago after a fender bender that bent one of the arms.

Can anyone point me to someone in our community that will rebuild the rack?

Thanks!
 

Tiger tamer

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Messages
318
I have been going through the pains of rebuilding the steering rack. The pressure pad under the cover is made of a softer metal than the rack so it does not wear the rack. Mine was not brass though. Also the shape of it meant it only fitted one way. The outer end of it should be flush with the plate and the shims set the pinion depth. Mine was very worn and is now back getting a new one made.

http://sunbeamtiger.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1415

Here is a short video of it not working as it should.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt0erFo7-g8&list=HL1363387566&feature=mh_lolz

This is a new rack and pinion cut to take straight track rods and MGB steering arms.
 

tiger260

Gold forum user
Messages
425
After replacing the bellows & filling it with oil, I found the rack to be rather "clunky". Not very smooth, you can feel the teeth as you turn the shaft, has some play, & I wonder if I should go a step farther & try to have the rack rebuilt. I have a high-speed chimmey & I know that my front end is tight & wheels are balanced, so I am thinking that this is where this problem may be.
I also have the original rack to the car that I removed 35 years ago after a fender bender that bent one of the arms.

Can anyone point me to someone in our community that will rebuild the rack?

Thanks!

Hi,

Did you have any luck in sorting out your rack?
Mine is displaying the similar lumpy symptoms.
 
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