Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Morgan 4/4 1976 Steering issue

Many thanks for all the responses - all very useful and very much appreciated. I will make contact with Terry at GEE.

Do any of you know what amount of play would be expected in one of these boxes -1/2 inch each side? Less?

John V6 - here's a couple of pics of the collection.

Splendid collection. P4 Rovers are a particular favourite of mine.

My granddad was a short guy but had a P4. He looked through the steering wheel to drive it. Great car collection I must say.

Before you assume that the problem is in the steering box, check the following:

that the top and bottom bearings in the steering column have no play;
there is no play in the column-to-steering box link universal joints;
the UJ clamping bolts are fastened correctly and the slpines are ok;
the nut attaching the steering wheel to the column is tight;
there is no play due to wear in the steering wheel hub splines.

All of these will in introduce play into the system.

By the way, the play will increase considerably the closer to full lock the steering is. It is an inherrent design weakness in the Cam Gears worm and peg box.

Thanks very much for the detailed reply. I didn't think the play was coming from that far up but I will do a thorough check of all those locations next weekend and feedback.

I have my box in bits at present, the peg that engages the grove was worn on mine, I turned it through 90 degrees to get the un-worn part on the grove.

The worm shaft have very small ball and cup bearing, they are adjusted by shims under the end cover, might be worth taking a shim out and tighten the cover back a bit at a time and get a feel for the play as you go, also it looks to me the only way to drain the old oil.

Years ago I had to fit a new U/J shaft, when that gave out. it looks the weakest point in the system to me. In fact it is intended to be a weak point in the event of a crash.

Jon the Chief

There are one or two issues that have not been covered yet. Firstly, the play in the box as it moves away from center is perfectly normal in any worm&peg or recirculating ball steering box and does not constitute a defect. The box should be adjusted so that a slight drag is felt passing through center. Free play will increase as it approaches either lock. This means that the car must be aligned so that when moving straight down the road the steering box is perfectly centered. If it is not, play will be felt and it will be difficult to hold a line. When cornering, the side force generated (which you feel in the steering wheel) keep the box firmly against one side of the play zone so there is no loss of precision. All of this used to be common knowledge and standard practice before the advent of rack&pinion steering, which is a whole 'nuther ballgame.
Hope this helps,
Phil

Thanks again to everyone for their replies. All very helpful.
Today I checked all the other elements of the steering column and they are ok. I.e. the play is definitely in the box.

One thing I did notice today that I hadn't done before is that the steering wheel will turn to the right 1.5 turns before full lock and only 1 and a small bit for left lock - however I don't get a full lock when turning to the left. I.e. there is more turn of the wheels to the right that to the left. Has anyone any advise on how o balance this out?

Many thanks
Colin

Hi Colin, Undo the clamp that holds the drag link to the track rod after you have the wheels set in the straight ahead posiiton. If the drag link won't slide up and down the track rod easily you may have to take the track rod end off the drop arm. By turning the steering wheel to the limit left and right whilst detached from the wheels, count the number of turns and halve it to get the sraight ahead for the box. Then re attach drag link to track rod and you should have an equal amount of turn both ways. You should also check position of drop arm on the steering box splines when the box is in the straight ahead, so that it scribes an equal arc to either side of the center position. Hope that's clear! Cheers.

Just in addition, it sounds as though your problem has been that, because it is set wrong, you are adjusting the box when it is not in the straight ahead position which will not work, as others have pointed out.When you have it straight, readjust the top adjuster for a slight drag at the center point as PhilT says.