Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Uneven steering feel

Better safe than sorry. Good luck

There are two sharp angles in the steering column. The two UJs cause this effect. It's normal.

Yes, I agree with you, Dave. But it has become much more. The first angle behind the dashboard is not sharp. The second UJ covered by the metal under the wing is relatively sharp. Then the third UJ in front of the steering. I will have everything checked.

Does lowering the steering column make any difference Heinz?

Has the rack moved slightly out of alignment?

With my MGV8, where the exhaust manifold passed close to the column UJ, it eventually dried the grease out and stiffened the joint. So with my Morgans, I make sure there's plenty of insulation between the two. Your column and manifold are on opposite sides though?

A good idea, Dave, the first part of your post. I will try if I see a difference when lowering the steering column. The manifold is not of such an influence to my car because the column is placed on the „wrong“ side:)

An update re this issue. First we (my son is a trained vehicle mechanic and is now studying engineering for vehicle technology and machine construction) examined the handlebars with the UJ. All are perfectly smooth-running and with good bearings. Then we turned the steering without linkage at the front wheel. It was very stiff and as before when driving we noticed this inequality of resistance.
We removed the steering because it was not ok to drive with it anyway. To see if the spindle or even the rack has damage to teeth the spindle was removed.
We noticed by our marking that the adjusting screw was much too tight. It was almost up to 1.5 mm outer circle of the screw at the stop.

We brought the parts to an expert and he confirmed that the spindle and the rack are still in good condition. Of course I was afraid it might be worn out, or a tooth might be broken off and ground.

But all parts are still very good. It was just too tightly adjusted. The rule of thumb with such an adjustment screw is about 1/8 turn back from the attachment point. There is also a spring under the screw so that the spindle always has pressure contact with the rack. Now the steering runs very well. It has been re-greased and is now being assembled.
I never noticed it before. Whether the rack can have curved over the years and kilometers in the 100th of a millimeter range so that the distance became somewhat narrower?

Reassuring news Heinz,...looking forward to your road test observations/comments after the reassembly and adjustment.

The car passed the TÜV (MOT) today. There were two different steering errors. For unexplainable reasons the Quaife steering was set much too tight as I wrote before. It is now adjusted in a way that the steering is just not heavy. This is about 1/8 turn back from full stop. Lorne Goldman even recommends 1/4 turn back on the Quaife steering. But I wanted to stay on the safe side. And still it's a lot freer than it was before. We've checked and cleaned all the parts. The spring works like it should. Also the plastic cylinder that transfers the force of the spring to the pinion works fine and is easy to move. Since the revised setting, the steering has become much lighter. It is now as it should be. I have never driven another 4/4. Therefore I have no comparison and no reference. My former Morgan had much more weight and much wider tyres. I can't compare it to that. But I think that the steering of the bigger Morgan was as smooth as the current one is now, but due to weight and wide tyres more friction was added at that time. But when driving faster, the steering of the Roadster was as smooth in the middle position as it is only now with the 4/4.

The second problem we found is of a completely different nature. This brings me back to the phenomenon of uneven steering forces described in the first post. We have examined all Ujoints and all bearings are 100% ok. We have taken everything apart and inspected them individually. And we mounted the Ujoints again in such a way in their position to each other that the deflection forces are as balanced as possible. But about every half turn of the steering wheel there is a resistance peak that has to be overcome. Even if now everything is much lighter going.

If we turn the front wheels from left to right the steering wheel turns faster than if we turn it by hand. Thereby an effect has become visible. The first cardan shaft with its Ujoints in the engine compartment, seen from the steering wheel and ending in the metal box under the wing, does not run smoothly. You can clearly see how the rod jumps up and down with every fast turn.

I see two possible explanations. Either the shaft is crooked or one of the Ujoints has not been welded exactly centered. We will have a closer look. On the other hand, I must say that the steering has never been as good as now. I have a lot more feeling for the road and tyre grip than before. More about further investigation regarding the rod later (in spring).

PS. Regarding the steering adjustment. We let the toe rods fixed in the rubber bearings but the steering clearly has to be adjusted again even if it is not so much out of play.

Heinz, I would suspect the UJ's on the steering shaft, mine look a bit basic quality & I suspect are not OE tested for alignment

As you know if you rotate a single knuckle UJ with the shafts at an angle you will get a spike in rotational resistance at the peak of 'kink', I once had an advisory on an MOT for a previous Mog for play in the steering UJ's (but turned out to be the bulkhead thrust bearing mount)

I adjusted my Roadster rack way back because it was adjusted too loose. It's fiddly to do on the car, and you need a big open ender, but I managed it.

Found it! Scroll down for the images:

http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/44835/Classic_Traditional_Cars_Steer#Post44835

In the MGB workshop manual, the factory used a special tool which comprised two cones fitted on the end of each part of the steering column to achieve perfect alignment.