Hey Erik.....Maggie and I appreciate your kind comments! If you own a 71, you know just how special these cars truly are. Enjoy yours and get out and drive it!
definitely want to rotate the plunger and adjust the number of shims to account for the change in pressure on the pinion to the rack, check to stiffness in turning the wheel and add or remove shims as. needed.
@@dfboiler thanks for your comment. I was able to polish the new plunger from Moss and get it to fit. I have ordered new shims and will be using the right combination for the best steering feel.
Thanks for taking the time to watch the episode and comment. Anti seize on the tie rod ends is an excellent suggestion given how hard the original ones were to remove. I will do just that when the rack gets reinstalled.
What I didn't see was if you replaced the pinion seal on the steering shaft. Mine was leaking and creating quite a mess. I pulled the shaft down through the rack housing and replaced the seal, easy to do, and painted all the parts. My rack doesn't leak and has been clean for a number of years.
Ah.....good to know. So you have to take off the "other cover"? How hard was the rack to pull through the housing and then reassemble it? Would LOVE to know.
@@MaggiesMakeover72 I have an early '74 MGB and my pinion shaft seal was leaking and leaving a few drops under the car. To remove the shaft you have to remove the U-joint or seperate it enough to slide the shaft down out of it. On one of the U-joint ends, top or bottom, I forget which one, you have to remove the bolt all the way out. Remove the end cap on the bottom of the rack, you'll see a big nut, ignore that. Drive the shaft down and out of the U-joint and rack with a rubber mallet. Mark the ends where it go's back in first. Pull the old seal out of the rack, clean and paint the shaft or protect the seal from the rusty shaft with tape. Slide the new seal down the shaft and into the rack housing as you slide the shaft back up into the rack. Re-attach the shaft to the U-joint where it was originally. Pretty easy and the seal is about $3.00. I have photos and an article I wrote about this and replacing the upper and lower bearings in the steering column, but I don't think I'm able to show them here. I could e-mail them to you but I won't show my e-mail in public.
Good thing you are ahead of me on your front suspension and steering rack, so I can learn from you. It is no surprise the the after market tie rod ends are different lengths, but I probably not thought of it. You are probably right that someone may of off centered the steering. I think I'll try measure the distance between tie rod ends before taking them off and see if I can duplicate it. I wondered why you didn't just replace the plunger? Again after market parts? Where did you order them? So I don't order the same. Why can't you just turn the plunger over? I have not had mine out yet, but assume they are same on both ends. Again, another great video.
So thanks for tuning in and offering your kind comments! Glad that you find some use for the videos beyond just watching them. Measuring the distance of the tie rod ends before removing them makes total sense. I ordered my parts from Moss Motors including the piston damping pad (the part that was worn). At the end of the day after receiving two of them, I couldn't get them to fit into the piston as they were too big. The piston damping pad is hollow and open at the other end. It contains a spring inside. Because of this, you can't turn it over. I opted to rotate the existing piston damping pad 90 degrees to start another wear pattern.
Observations. Much easier to remove the tie rod ends while the rack is still on the car. The number of turns should be close to equal on both sides. Get the original tie rod ends or a higher quality with zerk fittings. Wrong previous owner or micky more alignment shop. Other than a bit of cosmetics there was no reason to remove the rack.
Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge on the topic. That's a great idea regarding removing the tie rod ends with the rack still in the car! Also, thanks for the education on tie rods with Zerk fittings. As far as the original number of turns on the tie rods go, the car was in a front quarter fender bender that slightly bent one of the pivot pins. Perhaps that altered the geometry of the suspension enough to have it show up in the tie rod adjust meets? Thanks again for taking the time to both watch the episode and share your knowledge.
Hello John......apologies if the language offends you. Mechanic Steve's father was a sailor and taught him to swear as an effective use of the English language when called for. I will try to tone it down in future episodes.
Such a great observation! Mechanic Steve is just an average guy trying his best to restore Maggie. Its the production company that I really need to speak with.
I'm really enjoying the restore. I have 71 and this series has been quite educational. keep up the good work.
Hey Erik.....Maggie and I appreciate your kind comments! If you own a 71, you know just how special these cars truly are. Enjoy yours and get out and drive it!
Excellent tutorial video,i i am English and fully understood your language
Thanks for tuning in and Maggie and I are glad that you are enjoying the content!
definitely want to rotate the plunger and adjust the number of shims to account for the change in pressure on the pinion to the rack, check to stiffness in turning the wheel and add or remove shims as. needed.
@@dfboiler thanks for your comment. I was able to polish the new plunger from Moss and get it to fit. I have ordered new shims and will be using the right combination for the best steering feel.
You should probably run some anti seize on the rack end threads that you screwed the tie rods to. Your Alignment guy will thank you for it.
Thanks for taking the time to watch the episode and comment. Anti seize on the tie rod ends is an excellent suggestion given how hard the original ones were to remove. I will do just that when the rack gets reinstalled.
If you put red grease on the plunger and spring it will stay in place when you assemble it.
What a great suggestion Craig! Many thanks for the suggestion.
What I didn't see was if you replaced the pinion seal on the steering shaft. Mine was leaking and creating quite a mess. I pulled the shaft down through the rack housing and replaced the seal, easy to do, and painted all the parts. My rack doesn't leak and has been clean for a number of years.
Ah.....good to know. So you have to take off the "other cover"? How hard was the rack to pull through the housing and then reassemble it? Would LOVE to know.
@@MaggiesMakeover72 I have an early '74 MGB and my pinion shaft seal was leaking and leaving a few drops under the car. To remove the shaft you have to remove the U-joint or seperate it enough to slide the shaft down out of it. On one of the U-joint ends, top or bottom, I forget which one, you have to remove the bolt all the way out. Remove the end cap on the bottom of the rack, you'll see a big nut, ignore that. Drive the shaft down and out of the U-joint and rack with a rubber mallet. Mark the ends where it go's back in first. Pull the old seal out of the rack, clean and paint the shaft or protect the seal from the rusty shaft with tape. Slide the new seal down the shaft and into the rack housing as you slide the shaft back up into the rack. Re-attach the shaft to the U-joint where it was originally. Pretty easy and the seal is about $3.00. I have photos and an article I wrote about this and replacing the upper and lower bearings in the steering column, but I don't think I'm able to show them here. I could e-mail them to you but I won't show my e-mail in public.
This a car video, not a church sermon.
Good thing you are ahead of me on your front suspension and steering rack, so I can learn from you. It is no surprise the the after market tie rod ends are different lengths, but I probably not thought of it.
You are probably right that someone may of off centered the steering. I think I'll try measure the distance between tie rod ends before taking them off and see if I can duplicate it. I wondered why you didn't just replace the plunger? Again after market parts? Where did you order them? So I don't order the same. Why can't you just turn the plunger over? I have not had mine out yet, but assume they are same on both ends.
Again, another great video.
So thanks for tuning in and offering your kind comments! Glad that you find some use for the videos beyond just watching them. Measuring the distance of the tie rod ends before removing them makes total sense. I ordered my parts from Moss Motors including the piston damping pad (the part that was worn). At the end of the day after receiving two of them, I couldn't get them to fit into the piston as they were too big. The piston damping pad is hollow and open at the other end. It contains a spring inside. Because of this, you can't turn it over. I opted to rotate the existing piston damping pad 90 degrees to start another wear pattern.
@@MaggiesMakeover72 Ah ha, the damping plunger is hollow. Makes sense. Room for the spring. Thanks for the good info.
Observations.
Much easier to remove the tie rod ends while the rack is still on the car.
The number of turns should be close to equal on both sides.
Get the original tie rod ends or a higher quality with zerk fittings.
Wrong previous owner or micky more alignment shop.
Other than a bit of cosmetics there was no reason to remove the rack.
Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge on the topic. That's a great idea regarding removing the tie rod ends with the rack still in the car! Also, thanks for the education on tie rods with Zerk fittings. As far as the original number of turns on the tie rods go, the car was in a front quarter fender bender that slightly bent one of the pivot pins. Perhaps that altered the geometry of the suspension enough to have it show up in the tie rod adjust meets? Thanks again for taking the time to both watch the episode and share your knowledge.
Disappointing language
You don't understand English?
Hello John......apologies if the language offends you. Mechanic Steve's father was a sailor and taught him to swear as an effective use of the English language when called for. I will try to tone it down in future episodes.
Well mechanic Steve it looks like your rep already went down the toilet. You were in the front of that car running a drill with nothing in the chuck.
Such a great observation! Mechanic Steve is just an average guy trying his best to restore Maggie. Its the production company that I really need to speak with.