Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Lumpy steering

Zack, I copied your suggestion for the modified steering rack bellows and it is still perfect after a few years service.

DB

Hi DB

Nice to hear it's still fine, so is mine. If you know anyone else who would like a copy of the 'How to Make It' document' let me know and I would be happy to e-mail it.

Regards
Tony

Ah Gordon! I'm afraid what you have just described when turning the steering at the wheel on axle stands or a lift is normal and is caused by the complicated routing of the steering shafts. You can lessen this effect by making sure that the steering rack damper has been serviced. there is a nylon type element as part of this which should sit freely in the adjoining component part and will need sanding slightly to again move freely. I have as have others posted here previously on how to do this. It's located under that tab locked 1" nut that sits close to the pinion gear of the rack.
Many racks were never lubricated correctly on fitting at the factory, just with the limited protective grease coating to the rack and pinion elements whereas it need to be quite full of a slumping grease. In my post on this I explain how to inject 100mls into each end of the rack and then to reinstall both end dust covers again mostly filled with the slumping grease. Take note of the correct positioning of these end covers as the rack element of the steering rack extends into these and if pushed onto the rack too far will be damaged/punctured by the rack if a full lock is applied on either lock.

This will greatly smooth the racks movement but you will not totally remove that sense of pulsing however the movement you have mentioned and the interference are another issue that is not caused by this. I too struggled with this as our last Morgan had a steering box and didn't have this phenomenon.
If you disconnect the rack from the steering shafts the rack moves smoothly when actuated at the road wheel. Un lubricated it really can present as a push/pull feel like something is binding.

Illustrated article by DaveW on adjusting steering damper starts here. Not mentioned at the time in this post was the importance of establishing a free fit of nylon follower inside hollow adjusting bolt before finalising adjustment. Thoughts are that the liquid grease within steering rack can over time allow the nylon to swell causing it to jam inside the bolt making the spring loading ineffective and hence steering damping.

My own findings when making this adjustment were that plunger movement was only just starting to stiffen so minimal sanding was required. Others require considerable sanding down to restore free movement within hollow bolt and this after some effort in removing stuck plunger. The improvement I found more than justified the work though. Steering felt better damped, calmer and less skittish.

A little tip here in removing the nylon plunger if it really is stuck fast. Drill a small hole right in the centre about 5mm deep with a 1-1.5mm drill then use a wood or appropriately sized self tapping screw and just screw the tip in until it grabs the nylon follower, it will then start to turn the nylon insert at which time you can withdraw it from the metal part. If you only have a slight level of interference then its easy to create a better fit by hand sanding using some fine 240 wet and dry paper with WD40 or similar however if you have considerable swelling you can open the central drill hole up to 5/6mm then mount it onto a bolt. I drilled mine at 5mm and tapped a six millimetre thread in it so if I need to revisit it again I can just use a 6mm machine screw to remove it either by screwing in and pulling or using the screw as a jack against the metal element. You can now mount it in a drill, preferably a pillar drill but not impossible in a hand drill, and as you have it rotating gently sand it until you have a free fit in the bolt. There is no reason why this hole will cause any problem and in fact it may well aid lubrication!

As an aside, Sthil power tools seem to have exactly the same issue with all there pull starts in that the retractable cord pully spindle jams shortly after
The first few uses and needs sanding down. It looks very much like the same material to me!

There is further information about the nylon plunger on the TM post below. Sorry but for some reason I am unable to post a direct link from iPad. On the laptop it would be easy😊

https://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthrea...lems-with-the-steering-solved#Post803249

Gentlemen,

The trad 4-wheeler followed the original three wheeler philosophy. Put a commonly found engine (often muscly) in a hyper-light car and then leave all the rest to driver skill. So its problems have very little sophisticated about them, with the exception of those with later electrics and no-touch engines. So Luddite, the Morgan R&P design has not change since Jack Knight in 1984. Quaife merely copied it in 2006/7. It is the same as yours, only 30 years younger.

Their columns have three uncomplicated u-joints..as shown below. (I used an earlier JK schematic as the MMC 2014 diagram is too cluttered). The joints can be damaged with a hard bump. But when on the ground, the cars' weight on the front steering acts as a damper, minimizing the effect of the damage.

Gordan, when you loosened the bearing housing, (smart) you allowed the anomaly enough free play to disappear. When you re-tightened. you removed that play area you created. When the mechanic lubricated the area, that assembly was able to slide, temporarily, past the damage. Neither are permanent fixes, but they give you the diagnostic clues you need.

This very common steering issue has two key factors for a solution:

1. Recognizing it. My compliments Gordon. And I like that expression, "lumpy steering". Fits perfectly.

2. Determining which one of the u-joints (or more) must be replaced. Though your searching has pretty much put a finger on the one at the inner wing, which is, for me, the most vulnerable. Otherwise, the determination can be accomplished, albeit with the car high off the ground for the lower two. It is a 2 person job (which is why we get married!). One person at the steering wheel and the other at the u-joints feeling for the one (or more) with damage or a poor installation with their hands as the column turns. I also use a cheap automobile stethoscope. This automotive diagnostic tool uses a rod that you touch to am area of concern. It amplifies and passes along the internal sounds of items they are used upon in graphic detail. I see them on Amazon for 6 quid.

These u-joint should not be expensive..though I have seen a range of prices from £25-135 (!) within Morgan suppliers. 😂😂 When you remove that one, see if you can find a manufacturer and Part#. I would also add in a new bearing. Forgive me, I am far from my car again.

Good luck, Lorne

Don't forget to check the clamping bolts!
On my 1993 4/4 I was doing a "spanner check" and noticed Very slight play in the lower UJ. A small tightening of the clamp bolt solved it. I didn't notice any steering issues while driving so luckily the check found the problem before a catastrophe. A fuller check showed no play anywhere else as bolts and bearings were ok.

Following on from my post above on checking function of the Quaife steering rack internal damping, I ponder how many people have suffered skittish, over lively steering and fitted an external damper to compensate

It was concluded in the thread here on fitting one, their need was car specific. As I believe back in 2019 few if any were aware of the stuck nylon yoke/plunger issue, I wonder how many others fitted external steering dampers on expert dealer advice when possibly not needed. I recall several owners reporting over light skittish steering after fitting Mulfab steering bearings to the extent that some retained the damper blades they were meant to replace, when a check of the racks internal damping may have revealed source.

I find it ironic that Mulfab still offer the external damper kits for rack and pinion steering

Have to agree Richard. There is one thing I did notice though, on a well luribcated and serviced Quaife rack the whole driving experience is very much improved but as our pot holed roads become even worse than we could possibly have believed they would you do get more kick back at the wheel. Whether or not an external damper would help with this I don't know and I'm not intending to try. I changed my wheel from the wood rim to the leather option and find this to be one of the best driver improvements I have made!