Thread: STEERING TROUBLES

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Yes, if you just jack up the front, one side, there should be no movement of the wheel when rocking up and down (or side to side, but that will find your steering slack as well). If there is movement, it could be wheel bearings, but you can eliminate that by getting someone to stand on the brake while you do it.

There should be minimal problems with cutting the spring clip turnover off. This clip has two functions, both of which are shared with the one on the other end of the spring. One is to keep the spring leaves aligned with each other, and the other is to limit the rebound by making more than the top leaf involved in checking rebound once the free camber is reached on the rebound - this is not a major function as the shock absorber does most of this. Just avoid severe bumps. I have seen springs go for years with clips broken or missing.
Diana - he is talking about the spring clamp, not the drag link clamp; and that is neither the correct drag link clamp nor the correct drag link, because he is using a Toyota drag link from a Toyota PS box - if I remember correctly.

John

Thanks John i will do those checks as soon as Karen gets home so she can do the brake pedal.. I'm pretty sure when i built the car there was a space between the rod & spring so i'm realy hoping that it is just the springs are sagged & thats causing it to hit as the spring are the origanals from when the car was new 1973....


Yes i do have the toyota power steering box & custom drag link....

Originally Posted by banjo

Which one do you mean .. I want to cut the top off the clamp on the spring not the tie rod. . . .
These springs are the origanals & have saged enough to make it hit..
<snip>

I'm think that is a little misunderstanding of the geometry.

When springs lose their tension they go flat and given that the steering lever is fixed in its relationship with the axle assembly, when the spring is flat it should create more clearance rather than less.

The problem of the steering components hitting the springs is most likely with incorrect assembly, incorrect components and springs with too much of a curve at the front.

When I bought my FFR it was fitted with a RRc tie-rod end and produced the same symptoms as you are describing. You need to have the correct ends* and have the end of the drag link threaded as close as possible to the ball joint of the tie-rod end. You also need the correct clamps which are quite narrow unlike yours which are too wide. When this is done you adjust the steering box and lower steering relay to be correct for straight ahead, and lock to lock. Once you have done the other adjustments, you need to adjust the stop on the swivel ball seal retainer so that the drag link end does not hit the spring on full lock.

* there are two types of tie rod end.

• the early type on the series 1s and series 2/2a had a flat shoulder after the thread where the clamp sits.
• The later type has the thread extending right up to the ball joint. Most SIII have the later type tie rods.

If you use the late type end on the early type tie-rods, there is not enough clamping pressure and the threads may strip leaving the vehicle without steering. This has resulted in fatal crashes.

If you use early type ends on late type rods, you can not thread the end completely into the tie-rod. This can cause adjustment and reduced lock problems.

Don't know its still sitting out there waiting for everything to dry so i can go have a good look & check the swivel bush's..

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

I'm think that is a little misunderstanding of the geometry.

When springs lose their tension they go flat and given that the steering lever is fixed in its relationship with the axle assembly, when the spring is flat it should create more clearance rather than less.

The problem of the steering components hitting the springs is most likely with incorrect assembly, incorrect components and springs with too much of a curve at the front.

When I bought my FFR it was fitted with a RRc tie-rod end and produced the same symptoms as you are describing. You need to have the correct ends* and have the end of the drag link threaded as close as possible to the ball joint of the tie-rod end. You also need the correct clamps which are quite narrow unlike yours which are too wide. When this is done you adjust the steering box and lower steering relay to be correct for straight ahead, and lock to lock. Once you have done the other adjustments, you need to adjust the stop the swivel ball so that the drag link end does not hit the spring on full lock.


* there are two types of tie rod end.

• the early type on the series 1s and series 2/2a had a flat shoulder after the thread where the clamp sits.
• The later type has the thread extending right up to the ball joint. Most SIII have the later type tie rods.

If you use the late type end on the early type tie-rods, there is not enough clamping pressure and the threads may strip leaving the vehicle without steering. This has resulted in fatal crashes.

If you use early type ends on late type rods, you can not thread the end completely into the tie-rod. This can cause adjustment problems.

My drag link is custom made its longer & thicker than standard.& das the left hand thread at the rover (wheel) end i'm pretty sure its the left must be i got a left hand tap to do it..

We never had any trouble till the springs sagged or settled as such..

Use are starting to worry me that there is something seriously wrong . . . .

Originally Posted by banjo

My drag link is custom made its longer & thicker than standard.& das the left hand thread at the rover (wheel) end i'm pretty sure its the left must be i got a left hand tap to do it..

We never had any trouble till the springs sagged or settled as such..

Thicker I can understand, but unless you have spaced the swivel balls out with longer halfshafts I can not understand why or how the steering geometry could be correct with a longer drag link.

LH thread, RH thread it doesn't make a lot of difference which way the link is fitted, you just need to be careful when adjusting the track etc.

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Thicker I can understand, but unless you have spaced the swivel balls out with longer halfshafts I can not understand why or how the steering geometry could be correct with a longer drag link.

LH thread, RH thread it doesn't make a lot of difference which way the link is fitted, you just need to be careful when adjusting the track etc.

I haven't changed the anything except the drag link as its has the landy tei rod one end & a toyota tie rod on the other.. Its only longer as the toyota steering box is on the outside of the chassis not the inside like standard..
The rod between the 2 wheels is the origanal & i never changed it so that i wouldn't have to adjust anything...

And it only hits the bracket thing on the spring when on full lock right if that bracket was up higher or lower on the spring there wouldn't be a problem .. But i will check the swivel bushes to be sure that ,that hasn't caused it to move like John advised ...








Starting to get realy worried now . . .

Well that sux was about to go dig the big jack out as the sun was out & its started to dry up..That didn't happen as while i was in the little shed to get the jack it starts to rain again & getting some good thunder now... BUGGA..