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MG MG Y Type - shake and rattle

Hey all, The YT drives pretty good up until about 35 or 40 MPH. At that point I get a lot of shaking and vibration in the steering wheel. I have had the tires/wheels balanced and the alignment done on a modern "laser" machine. Also, at his point, I start to hear a noise "like a chain dragging". I have gone over the car with spanners and visual inspection but found nothing loose. Any ideas? Thanks as always, Tom

Thomas McNamara

Thomas
How much play do you have in the rack and pinion?

Attached is a photo of the R&P that was in my TD before I replaced it. Notice the wear on the teeth, I believe the result of a PO using grease instead of oil in the R&P.

Stuart

Stuart Duncan

Hey all, does anyone know if a "TD" rack and pinion is the same as the "YT"? Tom
Thomas McNamara

Thomas

I am not sure but I seem to remember that the "steering shaft" with its triangular flange is of different length. Maybe someone out there can confirm?

cheers
Anton
Anton Piller

Anton,
You are correct, the Y steering shaft/pinion is shorter than a TD's, but the rack is the same.

Some years ago when I replaced my TD R&P, I used one from a Y, but need to have the pinion extended. This was done by a professional hot rod restorer and will never come apart - press fitted sleeve and pins.

Tom, have you pulled the R&P apart to check on wear.
cheers
Stuart
Stuart Duncan

Hi Tom

I presume you have had the wheels checked for ROUNDNESS too? Also look at the studs on your hubs and the holes on your wheels too.

As to the dragging chains ... I presume you check to see you weren't actually dragging any LOL??

Paul
Paul Barrow

Hi Tom,
What is the condition of the rack rod ends - the ball & socket that screws into the end of the rack. If these are worn, you can get a clatter at speed as the wheel harmonics cause a load/unload effect. No amount of rack oil will stop the noise.

You can reduce the effect by increasing the toe-in, but then you get excessive tyre wear.

Cheers

Tony
A L SLATTERY

Dear all, thanks for the input and ideas. The entire front end has been replaced, tie rod ends, bushings, boots & etc. I pulled the rack and pinion oil fitting last evening to find that it contains grease, not oil.

I doubt that is the issue but......is there a way to "de-grease" the R & P without removal and disassembly? What if I could find an oil "gun" and pump it full of oil? Curious Tom.

Thomas McNamara

No short cuts Tom with Racks. What you might call a "mission critical" component. Full strip & re-build is my strong recommendation.

You could do it in situ with a high pressure cleaner, but very messy.

Cheers

Tony
A L SLATTERY

Tom sorry for this tardy reply but did you check the fit of the rack bar in the housing. With the rack in the straight ahead position grab the large ball joint at the end of the rack opposite to the pinion end, can you move it up and down bit and does it clunk? If so the housing is worn and it is probably where your shimmy and wobble is coming from. There are a couple of options to remedy this. Have a machine shop bore and sleeve the housing or as I did on our YT and TD fit a large adjustable screw into the rack housing to stop the free-play or float. On a RHD rack housing there is a large casting knob at the opposite end to the pinion. I drilled a hole in this knob so I could tap a half inch whitworth thread and insert a large brass set screw with a lock nut. The idea is to wind the screw in so that it barely touches the bar but removes any significant free-play and then lock it with the nut. Then you must check that the rack can move freely up and down the housing without any binding. It is very important that you ensure the rack does not bind otherwise the steering may lock up. I vaguely recall that others may have installed a spring loaded bush similar to the arrangement at the pinion end but a lot more work.
Cheers
Richo YT3208
R A Prior

This thread was discussed between 17/10/2018 and 21/12/2018

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