MGB Steering Rack Lubrication and Plunger Replacement
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Please consider joining the channel for more racing and DIY videos: / @davidrussellwilks
Just a really quick video this week: as I had the radiator assembly out of my car it seemed a good opportunity to check the oil in my steering rack. There is a great video here from John Twist • 173 MG Tech | Front Su... showing the procedure, but it’s bit hard to see looking form the underside.
Having nothing in the way did make filming easier for me and made the job a lot quicker. I found that the plunger part had cracked on one side so I had to replace it, these are no longer available so I ended up buying a cheap steering rack just to get the part I needed.
The oil I used was a fairly standard 80W-90 GL4 gear oil, available from Opie Oils.
www.opieoils.c...
I think I used around 100ml in total possibly less, but there was some oil in the rack before I started. Do make sure that the rubber boots/bellows are in good condition before you start this procedure if they are split the oil will fall straight out of them.
Outstanding video and presentation. Great tips for folks that normally don't encounter this issue.
Did this yesterday after I replaced my old torn bellows. Thank you for providing such helpful content.
Many thanks, glad to help!
Outstanding thanks David. Having just purchased a BGT in NZ, I'm working through a baseline maintenance schedule and this is pure gold! Thanks again and keep 'em coming.
Glad to help! hope all goes well with your new purchase.
David. As always thank you. Great quick video. Your videos have been instrumental in rebuilding my 1970 MG Midget. Keep up the good work and the MG spirit.
Many thanks Juan Pablo, delighted to hear that you are enjoying the videos!
Super helpful - thanks! I didn't even know that top up hole was there let alone the need to do so! I'll have to check mine later (about to do a coolant replacement). Keep these coming - very helpful to people like me.
I just stumbled onto your channel and immediately subscribed. I am into my 2nd year of owning a driver Midget and appreciate the tips. I am still very steep in the learning curve.
Many thanks Kelly, delighted to hear that you are finding the videos useful!
I cant get over how spotless your car is everywhere
Many thanks Matt, rebuilding it all from scratch allowed me to take my time refurbing all the parts, it only does around 1500 miles a year too.
Thanks! I’ve only seen this done from the underside, now I realize why it’s such a sloppy job when you have to do it just from feel.
Yes, far easier with the radiator out of the way!
Thanks for this David. It's helped me diagnose issues with my steering on my B. I was at the point of replacing the entire rack. My current one had no oil in and no shims. I've owned it for 6 months now and had to fix bodges and lots of little simple fixes that previous owners have ignored. Worst of which was a loose ignition wire which caused a short and burnt out the entire ignition circuit. Re-wiring an MGB in the winter with no garage is not fun. But between you, John Twist (Although a lot of his video's have dodgy quality now) and Alex's Garage it's back to where it should be just in time for the summer.
With these cars careless previous owners do have a lot to answer for! A friend had a 1960's Morris that a previous owner decided to re-wire. Rather than using the correct colours they simply went for all blue, trying to diagnose problems was a real pain. Often replacing the entire loom is the best and easiest option in the long run.
@@davidrussellwilks it was. She runs perfectly now. Plus I have the added knowledge of where all the connections should be and are :D
Interesting to know. I had a ‘66 MGB in ‘86. The rack was filled with hypoid grease that had gone to powder and it could only turn right. Disassembled it, wire brushed it and put regular grease on it and it worked
Outstanding video and presentation. From California USA.
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks David, I will have a go at mine now, it probably needs checking after 32 years of ownership...😁
Hopefully you'll find some oil or grease in there. If the rubber boots parts are ok it should hold the fluid in there.
I got round to topping up the oil, it certainly needed it. Thanks for your easy to follow video David..👍
Thank you so much for making the video - It is exactly what I needed!
Thanks Steven, it's an easier job with the radiator out, John Twist does the same here from the underside ruclips.net/video/gl1s39ACCwU/видео.html
Found your channel this week and really enjoying the content! Please keep it up!
Many thanks Jack, glad that you are enjoying the videos
Another great video, David. Thank you! This was very helpful.
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent video thank you. My steering rack on my Cortina is almost identical to yours. This will help immensely 👍🏻
Great Channel. Really Helpful. Thanks David.
Thanks for watching!
Another top effort there David and another one to add to my summer list (now that I'm replacing my radiator). I didn't realize how easy this is compared to the first time attempt at injecting oil via the new gators LOL! Keep up the great work, I'm looking forward to the next tip! BTW the Gunson Bleed device arrived in the mail so good to go!
Cheers
Aaron
Thanks Aaron, having the radiator out of the way and the front jacked up really does make the job a breeze (and much less messy) Hope all is good with you, all racing is on hold over here with the Covid 19 virus. Gives me lots of time to work on the car at least!
@@davidrussellwilks G'day David, sorry you cant race especially with spring arriving. I pulled the old radiator out and topped up the steering rack oil, boy it was low and there were not leaks so mustn't been attended to for some years. I add shinny new braided fuel lines as well.
Great video, ive now bought a rolling resto mgb gt project , i have noticed the steering is rather stiff , i will look at the oil levels and see if any in there , 👍
Along with the steering rack it will be worth checking that the king pins are not stiff, they require grease periodically. Also the track rod ends can seize causing heavy steering.
I couldn't quit hear what you did to that little copper plunger piece. Earlier you mentioned turning the wear groove 90 degrees, but I could see that it was flattened before reassembly. I think you explained you "faced it". Does that involve simply filing and/or sanding it down flat prior to re-install. And thank you for the very good video. Will use this lesson this weekend.
Yes, just that Andrew I used a light file and then just finished with a bit of sandpaper
Cheers! Ticked this off the list. It was v dry...
Nice video and 1965 motor.
Thanks 👍
Dear David,
Great video ! As usual your video's explains that maintenance on a B is very straight forward.. is there also a drain plug on it to refresh the oil ?
There isn't a drain plug but I think if you were to remove the lower cover (where the pinion part finished) you would be able to drain most of the oil out and flush/refresh it.
Many thanks for your quick response !
The Haynes manual discusses removing the plunger spring and spacers, tightening cover to a certain point, checking the clearance with feeler guages and adding that thickness of shims. Is all of that unnessesary?
@@davidrussellwilks David - Are you suggesting that if you pull off that lower front cover you can let the gear oil slowly drain past the pinion bearing? Could you also remove the clamp from the inner portion of the bellows, pull the rubber loose a bit, and drain that way? Pretty sure my B has very old lube so I'd like to get as much out before a refill as realistic.
Thank you so much, very informative. I just have a little question, do you think it'd be okay to use moly grease instead of gear oil?
The later refurbed racks came filled with grease rather than gear oil. Personally I prefer to use gear oil in the original steering racks
Great video! I plan to do this over christmas as my steering isnt the lightest... question: do you drain ore remove existing lubricant or just keep adding... thanks again.
There would certainly be no harm in removing the old lubricant, certainly if the rubbers had split this would be sensible to make sure there is no dirt or grit in there.
Could you not mix the oil with a high pressure grease. This would then stop you being concerned about oil leakage? Just a thought.
I could not see a problem with this. The aftermarket racks are greased rather than oiled I think.
I couldn't hear the weight of the oil is it gear oil 80-90? Could you weld the plunger?
I just received a MGB GT 1974 1/2 that I will be trying to put it on the road this summer.I will be making video's as I go along the way. Thank you. Later
Thanks for your message, oil weight was 80- 90WT, the same as the rear axle (thanks for pointing this out, I've added some more detail to the description). I imagine the plunger could be welded, but I don't have access to a welder, you would have to carefully face it once complete to match the profile of the rack. The whole replacement rack came in at £20, I was quite happy to keep the rest of it for parts.
Looking forward to seeing your videos of the restoration, I wish that I'd made a few more when I built my car but didn't really have a suitable camera at the time.
@@davidrussellwilks thank you and for the sub. Later
Loving these videos David. If this hasn't been done before do you or is there a way to removed existing oil? Or do you just keeping adding as it were. Thanks in advance and keep posting stuff like this. To us 'none mechanics' they are manna from heaven. Makes it all feel a bit more achievable.
Thanks for your message Cameron with the rubber bellows removed or just pulled to the side one could use clean oil to "wash" the rack teeth. It's bound to be a bit messy, but I think if you were to work underneath the car with the front wheels in the air it should be possible. Once the wash is completed you could then fit the boots back on and fill as normal.
Could this explain creaking and clunking in my steering? I replaced one inner tie rod but it’s not made a huge difference. Thanks for the video
Are you able to jack up the front to get both wheels off the ground? If you can try moving the car through the range of motion (turning the road wheel rather than the steering wheel) you might have wear on the kingpins/stub axles or wear in the rack, there's no harm in re-oiling it to see if it helps
Great video David , I have just found a split in one of the gaiters and was wondering as how the oil was refilled.
Many thanks David, hope the video will help
What type of lubricant did you say to use? I couldn't make out what you said 😞
The oil I used was a fairly standard 80W-90 GL4 gear oil,
Thanks 🙏
out of interest how much oil goes in mgb gearbox?
For a 4 synchro non-overdrive gearbox you will need just over 2.5 litres of oil, for an overdrive gearbox you will need just over 3.3 litres. It is worth checking the gearbox oil again after the car has run for a short distance. One should aim to have the oil right on the high level marker on the dipstick.
I put my rack back together with the same shims, however, when I tighten the damper cover bolts rotating the steering shaft is very rough and tightening more the shaft won't turn at all. I did rotate the pad 90°, but I wouldn't think that would cause it to lock up. Suggestions? More shims needed? No oil yet.
This does seem very strange indeed, with the plunger assembly removed does the rack move freely? Also it's worth checking nothing has got stuck in the plunger part to stop it moving.
@@davidrussellwilks Sorry I missed your reply. Yes no problem without the plunger. I'll shim it some more.
That does seem strange, I can't understand what would cause this if you used the same shims.
Hi David many thanks for your video, question , why did you remove one of the shims, and would I do the same to my vehicle if I don't change the plunger many thanks
Thanks for your message Mark; in John Twist's video he recommends removing one of the thin shims. I was able to find further details in the MG workshop manual.
"To adjust the rack damper the plunger must be replaced in the cap and screwed into position *without the plunger spring or shims* until it is just possible to rotate the pinion shaft by drawing the rack through its housing. A feeler gauge is then used to measure the clearance between the hexagon of the plunger cap and its seating on the rack housing. To this figure must be added an additional clearance of ·002 to ·005 in. {·05 to · 13 mm.) to arrive at the correct thickness of shims which must be placed beneath the damper cap. The shims are ·003 in. ( ·08 mm.) thick."
The workshop manual method did seem more precise and I used the method when rebuilding a steering rack last year
How tight should the tie rod ball housing be? Should they be free to move or locked tight.
They should be able to move, often if the rubber part has perished or split water and grit will get in. If this has happened they will need to be replaced.
Great video. Can you explain why you removed one of the shims?
Was going to ask the same thing!
When I watched the John Twist video it's what he suggested; remove one of the thing shims if you have one but not the thick ones. I think it's to take up the slight wear in the plunger part.
@@davidrussellwilks thanks. I just did my tie rod ends, steering rack boots and put fresh oil in. Watching your videos helped a lot!
That makes a lot of sense. Pretty clever of the engineers to come up with a simple solution to compensate for wear.
New cars are better, but not to work on.
Thanks for info, do the boots keep the oil from leaking? Does oil leak if one of the boots is damaged?
Damaged boots will leak oil but also let mud and water into the steering rack. If the boots/bellows are damaged they should be replaced immediately.
Hi David. Thanks for this. I was wondering how to do it as the manuals aren't clear. I really don't want to take the radiator out so what is the most straightforward way to lubricate? Looks as if I can get to the bolts from underneath the car but I don't suppose I'd be able to see inside where the oil is going.
I think accessing from the underside is going to be the only way to fill the get the oil into the filler, possibly a trigger type oil gun with a hose attached would allow you to fill the rack a small amount each time and work the wheels from side to side?
@@davidrussellwilks Thanks David. Since my question I've noticed that one of the gaitors is split (it wasn't the other day so hopefully no damage has been done) so going to replace both gaitors anyway.
my plunger is being a pain to get out any tips?
I found by carefully tapping a thread into the small hole a bolt could then be inserted to get the plunger part out. The do seize in sometimes.
@@davidrussellwilks hi will give that a go thanks
hi did small bolt method and pulled...came eventually... thanks
Originally the top cover of this steering rack got a zerk fitted by the factor to permit oil to be pumped in by a grease gun filled with oil. However this confused the mechs since they pumped grease in instead so was scrapped later. You may add such a zerk yourself though. I tried this for a time, but my small grease gun did not keep the oil inside, maybe yours work better with oil?
Was the zerk fitted directly into the removable top cover? My concern would be that the plunger piston part would not allow the oil to flow past easily?
@@davidrussellwilks The plunger has a hole in the top and the brass damper does not fully close off either. So oil entered via the zerk if placed exactly centered duly reaches the rack internals.
@@donthuis I took a look in the factory manual to see where the original oil filler nipple was. There is a circular part in the casting where the steering pion goes into the body, this looked like the original location for the filler nipple, it does seem as though it would be easier to pump the oil in if the filler was here. you might just be able to see the location in the Moss diagram www.moss-europe.co.uk/shop-by-model/mg/mgb-c-v8/steering-suspension/steering/steering-rack-mgb-mgb-gt-1962-80.html
@@davidrussellwilks You are correct, OEM was not on the cover. This was my choice to evade a rack disassembly action at the time. Drilling the hard steel removable cover in a column drill is not so difficult either. BTW my older Haynes manual will show the same OEM location as MOSS does. The other advantage of the cover location is that the zerk is more readily accessible for a grease gun filled with oil. That's it for this detail...
Is an unopened can of “Castrol Gear Oil Thio Hypo 90” ok for this job David? I found an unopened can of it in my dads garage .
I just went for it anyway. My chamber had NO lubricant in it at all!! I don’t know if it had ever been done. Put about half a pint of the castrol gear oil in it and put it back together. Thanks so much David for posts like these. It never even occurred to me this was a requirement
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, the 90 Castrol gear oil is perfect for the job. Sometimes people grease the steering rack instead, so oil may not show in the chamber part.
@@davidrussellwilks Thanks for the confirm sir. Happy to hear that. Mysteriously, when I took my plunger out, the spring inside it dropped out along with a small plastic cylinder that was about 3mm wide. I have no idea why it was in it as it was slightly too fat to fit inside the spring. Odly, the piece of plastic was crimped and split at the top. I put it back together without it, just using the spring and although I am yet to take it out for a test drive, the steering feels fine and works and no obvious sign of leakage. I am intrigued as to what or why the plastic bit was in it.
@@davidrussellwilks Looks like mine is greased. Therefore is it best while fitting the new gaitors to simply clean up a little and just add some new grease instead of using oil? Many thanks
Great stuff!! Thanks for a an informative video. When changing the plunger, should the shims be checked? Is there a chance for binding if the plunger is thicker? Is there a chance for looseness if the plunger is thinner?
Many thanks for your message, delighted to hear you are enjoying the videos. The smaller brass plunger part should be held under slight tension by a spring so swapping it out should not affect it. In the John Twist video he recommended removing one of the slim shims when re-fitting, if the shims are all the thicker type then it's best to leave them in. If you are feeling any binding when the top cap is tightened down then more shims will be needed. The plunger assembly should only act as a guide for the rack I think.
That sounded like my ex !