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

Hi Heinz

Thanks for the further clarification, not easy on a technical subject in another language!

What I meant by + + + + is that the 'crosses' or 'spiders' of all 4 of the UJs line up if you were looking along the steering shaft. If I had + x + +, then the second UJ is at 45% to the others.

The uneven steering feel on my car is only really noticeable with the wheels off. It hadn't bothered me as I was told 'they all do that'. It was only my local garage / MOT tester who said it wasn't right.

I think I will take the car back to the local garage to check if something is obviously wrong. It would appear as you say that there is some trial and error involved and the main problem to me is the design of the routing of the steering shaft which makes 4 UJs necessary rather than the ideal which would be to only have one.

Hi Rob, Yes, your garage should take a close look at the U joints...also the connection in the metal box, which is mounted outside in the front wheel arch. But if you see that the U joints are somewhere out of alignment, I would let correct it. The feeling in the steering wheel is an important part of the driving pleasure for me.

Here is a picture how the special case, our second rod is intentionally designed in the Morgan. Have a look at the inner forks, they are twisted. But everything uptream and downstream of this rod must be aligned +++ on each side of this twisted fork.



My guess, why there are so many U joints, a) there is no room for a direct connection, and b) it is a safety concept. We do not have a telescopic steering column in the Morgan. Alternatively, the U joints in the wheelhouse will buckle. This way we don't impale ourselves on the steering wheel in a crash, as it was the case with very old cars.

Hi Heinz

Thanks I see what you mean now about the second rod having differently aligned inner joints / forks, and I agree on the possible reasons for 4 UJ's but it does complicate things! The more UJ's The more chance of misalignment and uneven steering feel.

Hi Heinz

Checked the UJ under the steering wheel and the one next to the bulkhead and the UJ forks are roughly in line.

Then I took the box off the inner wing/valance that covers the UJ where it passes through the inner wing. Looking at the photos the UJ inner forks near the inner wing are vertical but on the UJ near the steering rack the forks are at about 30 degrees to the forks on the UJ near the inner wing. Does this look like it may be my problem?

Rob, that could be the issue. I would realign it and give the chance a try and see if there is an improvement. 30 degrees is significant.