MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - steering rack tight

Good day to all,
My TD refurbished steering rack is in the chassis, but when I tighten the pinion tail bearing bolts, the pinion shaft is locked tight. It has the same shims as when I disassembled the rack. I am "positive" that I have both thrust washers with the chamfer toward the pinion gear. The only difference that I can establish is that the felt washer was missing when I disassembled the rack, so I fitted a new one. I
thought maybe the new felt just needed to be compressed, so I tightened the pinion tail bearing bolts for a few days to compress the felt seal. I loosened then retightened the bolts. Still tight. I added a .005" shim...no go. If I loosen the pinion tail bearing bolts, the shaft rotates just fine.
Advice?

Thanks for all your help,
Jim TD 17744
JV Smith TD17744

HI,
There is a top and bottom thrust washer on the pinion shaft. In my memory, they are different.
Maybe they are reversed ?

Laurent.
LC Laurent31

Laurent,
I had that thought earlier and I realized that they are different inside diameters and cannot be reversed.
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

Have you had a look at this:

https://mossmotors.com/media/instructions/263-134_263-138_INST.pdf


Graeme

G Evans

Jim
I'm a little concerned that you might have your felt washer in the wrong spot
The bolts on the end cap shouldn't be compressing the felt, The felt ring fits in a groove right out near the outside end of the pinion housing, you have to collapse it to get it in the groove as mentioned earlier and a smear of grease to hold it in the groove,and twist the pinion through it to assemble
Where abouts did you fit your felt ring
William Revit

William,
Oh, I see the possible confusion. Yes, the felt seal is in the groove. I used a little grease to hold it in during assembly. My comment about compressing the seal was that I surmised that tightening the bolts presses the pinion shaft upwards and the upper thrust washer would press against the felt seal, thereby compressing it. On reflection, maybe that doesn't happen since the seal is in the groove. The only thing I can think of at the moment is that somehow during assembly the felt seal slipped out of the groove. That seems unlikely to me since I used the "grease smear" method to hold it in. I am trying to avoid disassembly until I have some avenues to pursue.

Thanks for your observations and help,
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

Graeme,
The Moss instruction sheet is very informative and I noticed some things that I didn't know, particularly that the 3 lobed flange has threaded holes (oops, pretty sure mine has been drilled out).
But it doesn't seem to address my current issue.
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

Hi Jim

Check the John Twist videos on this subject, I think he has answers for you.

Graeme
G Evans

I'm still a bit confused about where you might have put the felt, the thrust washer shouldn't be anywhere near it, the thrust washer is below the bush abd the seal is above---
Just to be certain,---2pics stolen from the net.
Does it look like this --and have you fitted it in this groove




William Revit

Ok William,

You may have hit on it. From the exploded views I thought that the felt seal was in the depression in the housing below the bushing. between the top thrust washer and the bushing. There is a depression there that the seal fits neatly into. Your bottom photo looks like it is in the very top of the housing.

If that is right, you just put a little grease on it and work it into that groove, and put the pinion shaft up through the housing?

Now that you mention it, it makes no sense for the felt seal to be below the bushing.

I think this might be the second time you have saved me by stating what should have been obvious.

Thanks so much,
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

Ok, same topic, different angle. Somewhere on the BBS I saw someone mention putting a rubber o-ring in the groove just above the bushing. I looked on mine and, sure enough in addition to the groove that the felt seal fits into, there is another groove just above the bushing. Anyone have experience fitting a rubber o-ring in here, or am I looking for a solution without a problem?

Thanks,

Jim
JV Smith TD17744

photo

JV Smith TD17744

Overthinking it a bit Jim
I'd be sticking to just the felt in the top groove
John Twist did one with two "O" rings and it was too tight, The second groove isn't really a groove as such just a vacant space and isn't as deep as the top groove, --A single 'o' ring might be ok but the felt washer does the job perfectly
The felt works fine, just a bit of grease to hold it in the groove during assembly and oil the shaft up so it slides through nicely and your job is done

cheers
willy
William Revit

Thanks Willy. I like it when the solution is the simplest.
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

Thanks Willy,
Rolling chassis finished. It's amazing how easy the pinion shaft was to install when I put the felt seal in the correct location.
Jim

JV Smith TD17744

Good result Jim, The car's looking great,
Nice to see someone who knows how to keep a workshop clean
I like looking at pics of other's shops and trying to identify stuff
I've got you down for something I don't know, the tapered round thing with the black ball shaped top over on the left of the pic has got me guessing-?
Then we have a floor creeper, an upside down radiator box and a couple of rolling shelves
Actually ,I have a question if I may
On one of your rolling shelves there you have what appears to be an older piece of Bosch test equipment, I was wondering what that is, (possibly volt/amp meter)-I have a Bosch cabinet with oscilloscope, gas analyzer etc but don't have that particular unit, but have an empty spot so I'll chase one up if I know what it actually is------------
Bit of a milepost getting your car on it's wheels, it always feels good, a nice feeling of achievement
When I rolled mine outside it was the first time it'd seen daylight for over 60 years-It didn't seem to mind though and it felt great to have it rolling
Cheers
willy
William Revit

Also , on the other engine thread, I didn't comment there but just be carefull you're not being, influenced by those trying to sell you stuff
There's nothing wrong with cylinder sleeves if the bore measures up ok, them rods are crap(in the bin) for sure, why would they do that, the cam looks a bit dodgey as far as I can see but yeah ,get it all measured up and see what you've got
There is an ongoing issue with the circlip that holds the oil pump gear onto the drive shaft
Someone(I'm not going to name them)is suplying inferior circlips that don't fit properly and some have come off resulting in the drive shaft pulling out of the gear and getting back into the engine far enough to tangle up and wreck a conrod etc
It's a weak point that really needs checking
There is a foolproof fix for it-that your engine reco guys can do easily
willy
William Revit

Thanks Willy,
Keeping the shop somewhat clean is an act of self preservation. It's amazing how quickly I can lose a tool that I JUST used.
I also like to look at what is in the background. With all of the video calls going on these days, It is interesting to get a glimpse into people's houses.
The ball-shaped thing on the left is a vibrating polisher for bolts, nuts, etc.
The carts are from my previous business. I love them. I can put things like a mig welder on the bottom shelf and do small welding on top. Plus, they are easy to roll around the shop.
The equipment you asked about is a powder coating machine. I have a kitchen oven to bake the powder coating in. I have powder coated just about anything that I can get into the oven. For example, almost all of the front suspension parts are powder coated, as is the steering rack and shaft. I have even powder coated some bolts and they don't chip when installing them. You just have to be careful not to bake powder coating into the threads. It's very hard to chase out.
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

Yes, I realize that sellers could have a conflict of interest. However, I have corresponded directly with several, and they are knowledgeable and are committed to our cars. It's up to me to decide if I want their products or not.
I was vaguely aware of the oil pump circlip issue. Pretty catastrophic failure. Someone mentioned "From the Frame Up". as a source for that circlip, I think.
Tell me more about the "foolproof fix".
Thanks,
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

Jim
Would you have an email address I can contact you through------?
William Revit

Willy,
smithjvgen53@gmail.com
JV Smith TD17744

This thread was discussed between 02/12/2020 and 23/12/2020

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG TD TF 1500 BBS now