Steering Column Bush?

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Warner Bigend · #1 Post by **Warner Bigend** » Mon May 08, 2006 11:27 pm

Am I right in thinking there should be a bush at the lower end of the steering column, where it passes through the body? Only when I got in the car today I noticed the steering wheel moves up and down rather too easily, with a lovely clunking where the lowerend is hitting the bulkhead

I want to make sure I order the right part, and any tips on fitting it would be nice too - Can\'t seem to find a mention of it in my Autodata so any forewarning of pitfalls is much appreciated!

French rep · #2 Post by **French rep** » Tue May 09, 2006 12:14 am

Yes, you should find a \"steering column support bush\", ref. 153240 (from Rimmer catalogue), between the column and the body. Ask Chris (Witor), he may have a polyurethane one.
 

#3 Post by **Alec** » Tue May 09, 2006 1:05 am

Hello Warner, 
 
if the column moves up and down then the bearings in the end (possibly both ends) need looking at. 
Triumph used loose ball bearing (About 18\"  to 316\"  dia)
in cups either end of the column (very bicycle like) and the
inner  shaft  is tensioned with a spring at the bottom
retained by a circlip.  I know  that  removing a column
from a MK 1 is not too difficult but can\'t  remember what a MK 2
is like as there  is a steering column lock which may get in the
way. 
As you know the steering lock is fixed to the column by \'shearhead
bolts\' so there is no head left once installed. I have successfully
removed these by cutting a slot across the head and using a screwdriver
to remove them. It will cut into the body of the mounting but that is
of no consequence. 
 
Alec

Warner Bigend · #4 Post by **Warner Bigend** » Tue May 09, 2006 1:29 am

I\'ve just had a look, and though I was worried it was column bearing, thankfully it looks like it\'s definately the lower bush

I deduced this by getting the carpet out the way and finding a circle of rubber hanging loosely around the column! Managed to press it back in a little top and bottom, and the play at the wheel end was down to virtually zero - Till it popped back out of course. I\'m not sure why it failed quite so suddenly, it looks like it\'s mostly complete and has just fallen out the hole. Also had a look at the Rimmer and Witor catalogues now I know what to look for (thanks - Different terminology confuses me!), believe it or not the poly one seems to be about half the price of the Rimmers one! Will be emailing Chris to order one this evening, and trying to find some enthusiasm for the job while waiting for it to turn up... Next jobs when money allows are engine and box swap, new rack, and finding out just what the heck is allowing the front left corner to shift back enough to let the spring foul the turret when turning left over bumps. I think I also need to work out what\'s going wrong at the back that cause some rather nasty rear end steer effects when booting it and changing gear. I guess that could be the infamous splines in operation, another job I don\'t really relish the prospect of!

#5 Post by **Clifford Pope** » Tue May 09, 2006 8:27 pm

Is it a Mark 1 or 2?
Mine\'s a Mark 1, and Chris Witor told me the bushes very rarely fail. What happens is this that the spring at the bottom needs setting up properly so that the ball races are properly tensioned in their tracks.
It has always seemed a bit of a mystery exactly how to achieve this, but he was right - after some fiddling around I suddenly found that the \"play\" had vanished.

Warner Bigend · #6 Post by **Warner Bigend** » Thu May 11, 2006 1:08 am

mk2 - and I can see daylight and some engine bay from inside the car, looking along the column, so with luck it is just the bush that\'s gone! The steering is stupidly heavy on my car for some reason I\'ve yet to get to the bottom of, so I suppose it\'s possible the extra heaving on the wheel has put too much pressure on the bush and caused it to fail. Still, one bit at a time I must be getting closer to getting it all sorted.... That\'s what i keep telling myself as my intended rebuild project quietly rots away in a muddy field...

Warner Bigend · #7 Post by **Warner Bigend** » Fri May 19, 2006 10:17 pm

Well, the bush arrived this morning, and I\'ve just spent a little over an hour fitting it - The old one had completely disintegrated around teh lip that hold it to the bulkhead. I stupidly tried to follow teh Haynes instructions to start with - Was much quicker when I ignored that and worked it out for myself. Had problems seperating the UJ from the column, and then the column didn\'t want to slide through the clamp/ bracket under the dash, but go there in the end. I was amazed how easy it was to get the UJ back on on my own, although getting it spot on to get the pinch bolt back through was a little tricky. Unfortunately all the banging and wiggling to do the job seems to have loosened the top column bearing, so that\'s another job to do sometime - It\'s not serious, but I can feel a trace of play that obviously shouldn\'t be there. Edit - Just re-read the replies. Interesting about the spring, I wonder if I messed that up shifting teh column, and if it can be re-set somehow? It\'s not urgent enough for me to bother in the near future though, unless it\'s immensely simple! 
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