Steering Rack Play & Refurbished UJs

[Vanya]

Hi all,

 

So with the car laid up over winter I've decided to tackle a number of things which have needed doing since I bought it. One such challenge is the annoying 1 cm of free play at the wheel. A Supercar demands, in my opinion, ZERO play, so I won't stop till it's done.

 

The lowdown:

car on axle stands, unlocked steering column. Got brother to jiggle steering wheel in free play area. Now what I've heard from most ppl is that a) the rack itself gets worn out, or b) the UJs get worn at the actual joint, with it growing loose as a result. Neither was the case for my car.

 

The play in my car seemed to be coming from where the intermediate UJ shaft goes into the top of the lower UJ - the splines on both surfaces seem to be worn to the point that despite being screwed down with the force of Hercules himself, there was play (see pic of splines on intermediate shaft).

 

The problem:

These UJ's seem to be "unobtanium" new - SJ Sports Cars and Paul Matty provide exchange units and an aftermarket lower UJ. My experience of aftermarket parts has been....troubling...to say the least, so I'd like to go with genuine bits UNLESS someone can attest to the quality of aftermarket parts.

 

As for the exchange parts - unless I've misunderstood people, I'm guessing the refurbished parts will have focused on the tightening of the UJ itself and not the "teeth" where the splines of the shafts meet. In other words, it would suck if I got refurbished parts with the same kind of wear on them.

 

Has anyone else experienced wear on the shafts?

 

Also, when reassembling do I have to think about alignment between the U-Joints...I've heard something about a "3 spline offset" on another thread but how the heck does one SEE that?

 

Thanks for any advice!

 

/V

 

 

[Choppa]

I replaced the lower UJ when I changed the rack on mine three years ago. I fitted an after market UJ from SJs - don't think they offered an exchange UJ at the time. The biggest problem I had was separating the UJ from the splines on the intermediate shaft and the UJ looked pretty messed up when I finally got it off. Not had any problems with the UJ or the rack since. Also I just fitted the UJ in the most sensible orientation so I could get to the bolts easily, wasn't aware of any 3 spline offset rule!

[Vanya]

Good stuff Choppa!

 

The fewer strange installation rules I have to think about, the better. I'll order some aftermarket bits and send my rack to Lotusbits for refurbishment - although it does look in good nick.

[andydclements]

You should be able to clamp the UJ enough to cope with any spline wear, but it may be worth putting something like bearing assembly locking fluid or thread lock in, it is an anaerobic adhesive so would in essence cure and fill any air gaps between the surfaces.

 

The offset of the UJ is specified in the manual, the reason being that UJs do not provide a linear amount of rotation, when in a non-straight situation, so the spec is to ensure you get a consistent output left and right of the central position.

[Vanya]

Thanks for the tips Andy,

 

The thing is, the bolt through the intermediate shaft/lower UJ was on tight. I mean, real tight. I could try with thread lock but that could cause me a headache next time I try to remove it.

 

What's more, considering the amount of force exerted onto the UJ/shaft I have a bit of a hard time buying that thread-lock could replace the sturdiness of an ideal geometrical connection between the two components.

 

Having said that I'm not so well versed in how many types of thread lock there are...the ones I've used are like an ultra viscous compound which really keep things tight, but are none the less elastic.

 

Regarding the spline offset:

I'll re-consult the workshop manual about the offset. I really can't recall seeing it in there though... maybe I wasn't looking enough

EDIT: ok found an excerpt from the workshop manual on Lotasmarques!

 

All things being said and done, I think I'll order new UJ's - they're not so expensive and it wouldn't hurt to have some spare parts.

Edited October 27, 2013 by Vanya

[jonwat]

Has anyone else experienced wear on the shafts?

Yes, I have, even to the point where tightening the clamp bolt removes the play but after a few miles back on the road it's back.

 

I have fitted factory refurbed joints on several occasions & never had any problems with play in the splines, maybe they refurb the splines as well as the joint??

 

If there is play in the refurbed joints then send them back, I know it's a pain but it'll be worth the trouble. 

[Vanya]

Cheers John!

 

Always nice to know one isn't alone!!!! I'll get some new UJs, hopefully that'll sort it. Think I'll have the rack refurbed while I'm at it just to be sure.

 

On a seperate note:

The PO of my car lost the spacer tube between the lower UJ and the rack shaft - I understand this is just to set the UJ at the right height so the rack shaft doesn't contact the middle of the UJ upon turning, but how crucial is it to have really? Can I just eyeball it when remounting? I understand the lower UJ is mounted to the rack before the connection to the intermediate shaft is made with the pinch bolt hole in the lower UJ in the vertical plane etc etc...

[Vulcan Grey]

The spacer tube is just some rubber hose.

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/116113253735518541549/SteeringRack

 

 

In my 89SE, the rack was loose, but the U-joints were good.  In my case the plastic bushings were all worn, and the rack was corroded, so I polished it and re-greased and re-sealed it.

[Vanya]

Thanks Travis,

 

I'm sending the rack off to Lotusbits for refurbishment - they do the works for 100 pounds including sandblasting and respraying the rack. They'll also supply me with a new lower UJ and intermediate shaft. I'll clip a piece of hose down to the size in your pic, wanna get the "height" of the UJ right from the get-go.

 

I can't wait until next spring - if I'm successful it'll be the first time I've driven my own Esprit without play in the steering. Hopefully I'll also have new front suspension by then too....

[60N4.7]

Suggestion as well, replace all rubber suspension and steering rack mounts with urethane...

[Vanya]

Got it planned, although I really gotta sit down and calculate how much all the polyurethane bushings cost for the whole car - I think its around 2000 dollars or so?

[Vanya]

Ok so I've got all new UJ's and am planning on tackling this job during the week. First thing to do though is to remove the old intermediate UJ/shaft - does anyone know of a painless way of doing this? Going through the wheel arch seems impossible and after crawling into the footwell earlier today for a quick peek it didn't look like too much fun either (limited space).

 

Do I have to remove the entire steering column?! (Was hoping to avoid that...)

[jonwat]

crawling into the footwell earlier today for a quick peek it didn't look like too much fun either (limited space).

Not fun, but that's the way to go, helps if you remove the steering wheel before you start.

 

Just slacken the bolt that hold the UJ to the column then a few taps from an 'ammer via a screw driver, 10 minutes & you're done. 

[Vanya]

Cheers man! Looking forward to assuming The Lotus Position again after a long winter.

[Roy Lewington]

Just done the steering joints on my '88 Stevens Turbo. Remove drivers seat, leave steering wheel on. You can now reach pinch bolts etc much easier. Remove cowling and take off the indicator and wiper stalks. I didn't need to disconnect any wiring as this gave me enough room to draw the complete steering column out by about 5 inches.

Remove pinch bolt from upper UJ. Remove 2 large bolts from scuttle beam under dash and clamp bolt down at pedal box. Complete column including outer cage should withdraw enough to clear upper uj. Leaving steering wheel on gives you something to pull on but be gentle and don't wreck the wiring. If it is reluctant make up a long thin wedge to tap into the uj to open it up slightly on the splines. I ground down a rawlplug tool which was also very useful for reassembly.

Remove upper uj from inside , and lower uj through wheel arch (gentle tapping with the wedge if needed) I was convinced I had a small amout of play in the uj's but they were perfect. The slight play was from the 2 part collapsable steering column running inside the cage. Packed with grease it's not enough to worry about.

Reassembly has very precise instructions in the workshop manual. Fit lower uj to rack (only fits in 1 position). Fit upper uj to column (only fits in 1 position). With wheels off ground centralise rack approx then move wheels slightly so that lower pinch bolt is horizontal. Feed column in so that upper uj is just touching lower uj already on the rack. Check and make sure pinch bolt in upper uj is vertical. Turn steering wheel 3 splines anticlockwise --clockwise for LHDrive-- (or 30 degrees) and push steering column back in so that upper uj locates in the splines of lower uj. This is the correct orientation. Any other lining up can be done by moving the steering wheel on the splines to ensure lock to lock is the same. Minor tweaking to get the wheel in the straight ahead position can be done on the track rods. Move both track rods by the same amout to preserve toe-in. track rods should ideally be the same length give or take a few threads. If you don't have a workshop manual I can email the pages for you that I used---it's very good. Good luck, Roy.

[Roy Lewington]

Sorry, i just rechecked the manual. Check and make sure pinch bolt in upper uj is HORIZONTAL (not vertical) before turning 3 splines. I had never been happy with the steering on my car-- having a dead feel to it coming out of roundabouts and heavier than I thought it should be. Well, with the uj's correctly phased the steering is transformed. So if you don't feel happy with your steering, check the uj alignment. Roy.

[Vanya]

Hi Roy,

 

Thanks for the walkthrough - I have the service notes, just didn't have them around last time I posted. I've undone the upper UJ just gotta pull out the rack sufficiently. I tapped mine loose with a spanner. When I crawled deeper inside the footwell I saw the splines on the column shaft were bashed slightly - I'm not sure I caused this, but the important thing is that I can get the upper UJ on just enough so that the column shaft JUST protrudes out of one end like in the manual.

 

If it doesn't go in that far due to the damage I gotta pull the whole damn column and repair the splines...blahhh. I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that.

[Vanya]

Arrrgh Why does my car hate me!? Or rather, why can't things just go smoothly for once?

 

Taking everything apart = easy peasy.

 

Putting things back together = 4 hours wasted

 

The refurbished upper UJ just DOESNT fit onto the steering column splined shaft. And the intermediate shaft is a bloody tight fit onto the lower UJ - I'm guessing this is because Lotusbits repaint these with a thick paint when refurbishing? (Unlike the refurb rack which accepted the lower UJ no problems)

 

So what do I do now? The intermediate shaft can be connected to the lower UJ by gently tapping it into the lower UJ with a hammer but I can't apply this to the upper UJ on the intermediate shaft.

 

The only solution I can see is removing the ENTIRE steering column, tapping on the intermediate shaft/upper UJ with a hammer, putting the whole lot back in, setting the three spline offset, and then praying to God that the intermediate shaft will go into the lower UJ in the given position.

 

The ONLY annoying part of this that I can see right now is that the ignition seems to be attached to the column with some special kind of shear bolts. The manual says to drill these out, but what do I replace them with? Are they even available? EDIT: Yes! From SJ Sportscars! AWESOME!

 

Many thanks in advance for any advice!

Edited March 8, 2014 by Vanya

[jonwat]

 

Taking everything apart = easy peasy.

The refurbished upper UJ just DOESNT fit onto the steering column splined shaft. And the intermediate shaft is a bloody tight fit onto the lower UJ - I'm guessing this is because Lotusbits repaint these with a thick paint when refurbishing? (Unlike the refurb rack which accepted the lower UJ no problems)

 

Many thanks in advance for any advice!

If it doesn't go back together as easily as it came apart it sounds like the splines on the reconned joint are the wrong size/pitch.

Get back onto Lotusbits to check it out.

[Vanya]

I'll give them a call on monday John.

 

They look very similar though. I was wondering whether original and refurbed parts need persuasion to fit together initially.

 

When I refitted the old upper UJ after a few hours of trying, just to find out whether I was going insane, it did slide back on gently however only in one single position (im guessing the position it had been clamped in for years)

 

I'm not too bothered about drilling out the shear bolts and removing the entire column, but I don't want to make an un-necesary errors either as "the season approaches" and I'm going apes**t with excitement at the prospect of getting back in the SE.

[andydclements]

Have you tried opening up the UJ slightly, perhaps with a chisel?

[Vanya]

Yeah I did that - I think I need a thinner chisel or a better wedge to pry open the entire thing and not just deform it "locally". Didn't have too much gear out at the garage - settled for a flathead screwdriver (chisels I had were too thick ). Will try and open it up a bit more tomorrow. After that - bolt drilling and tearing everything out.

Worst comes to worst, I'll have my old upper UJ remachined with healthy splines at its intermediate shaft, as the UJ portion of it is a perfect fit with the column without any play.

[Vanya]

Update:

 

I fitted all the bits and installed per the Service Notes. I now have the following:

Refurbed rack

New lower UJ

New Intermediate shaft/UJ

 

But whaddaya know, I have PLAY AT THE WHEEL! AGAIN!!!!! ARHGH. This time, the play is not between the intermediate shaft and lower UJ (as it was previously) but instead between the lower UJ and the steering rack shaft. 

 

I tighten the nut, steering is as tight and accurate for a few miles, but then a TINY bit of play starts to creep in. Inititally I torqued the pinch bolt to the service notes, then to 40 Nm, and then a third time to 40 Nm with thread lock (in case the nyloc nut was for whatever unexplainable reason getting loose).

 

At this point I dunno what to do - the bits were healthy - splines on steering rack perfect condition and the lower UJ was new as well. I've been told that wear on the splines is highly unusual and for it to happen twice in a row seems even more far fetched.

 

Right now, the car has no real play in the straight ahead position (one can only feel the rubber of the UJ through the wheel when stationary) but when the wheel is turned slightly, one can feel 1-2 mm of free play at the steering wheel. The issue I have with it is how it in a subtle manner affects the accuracy of the car, especially on straights - when it's tight it feels perfect, but with even the tiniest play you can feel the wheels finding ruts and stuff in the road even though the car doesn't really budge - it just feels more nervous, as opposed to grounded and stable. 

 

Shall I torque to 60 Nm? Shall I put a washer at both sides of the UJ? Or do I just machine a UJ out of solid steel to ensure it is indestructable?

 

If 40 Nm doesn't work I don't see why 60 Nm would either - that and I don't wanna ruin the steering rack shaft splines as they looked really good. The UJ's I don't have confidence in as they seem to be made out of very soft metal. 

 

Steve at SJ says no original parts are available ( I bought my bits from Lotusbits) and that shaft wear so soon is not likely...

[Mike6]

My car has play at the steering wheel and a number of cars I have checked have similar movement. My local MOT garage spent some time checking it out on ramps before issuing an MOT but said there didnt appear to be any anything there that would result in MOT failure.  

[Vulcan Grey]

Vanya,

 

Sounds like you need to replace the Nylock.

 

Did you have the rubber tube spacer under the lower U-joint?  Is the U-joint tight against the rubber spacer?

 

Did you look at the outer tie-rod ends at the upright?