Thread: Steering Relay - Oil fill - Access

Get a manual (best bet the "Rave CD" from "shop" in the top bar on this page - helps support AULRO).

It is possible to remove the steering arm from the relay without removing anything except the grille - undo the pinch bolt and remove it completely, and the arm can be levered up. But really, it may be a lot easier to remove the radiator and support complete - no more than a dozen or so bolts plus two hoses plus wires to unplug. This will give you a completely clear field - you can work under the battery carrier. (bonnet off or opened vertical and tied securely)

However, if you have one bolt out, it is likely that you can get oil in by using a very narrow tube and a syringe, and this may be the easiest, even though it will take a good while. Put the tube well in but it must have enough clearance to let air out, suggesting a thin wall tube. Considerable pressure would be needed, although you could just rig a gravity feed with about the right amount and let it run in overnight.

Hope this helps,

John

You need one of these:

Soap Injector Tool - Aussie Soap Supplies


OK, I know it's a soap making supplies web site, but it's the only place I know that sells them.........

Edit: Obviously this is for filling the relay with oil, not to help removing it!!

Edit 2: They normally take several goes to fill up. Fill with oil, make coffee, fill with oil, have lunch, fill with oil etc. etc. as the oil slowly moves down through the system and then, quite often, drips out through the bottom oil seal....... They are also sometimes full of water and gently rusting, so it might be wise (if you don't take it out and fully/partly strip it) to drain the old oil out first. One of the bolts on the base is a drain, but I can't remember which off the top of my head! If you do take it out and attempt to strip it, read the manual first and heed the "big strong spring, bits flying everywhere" warnings.

Originally Posted by Warb

You need one of these:

OK, I know it's a soap making supplies web site, but it's the only place I know that sells them.........

Edit: Obviously this is for filling the relay with oil, not to help removing it!!

Yes I thought of a syringe. We have some already for getting medicine into pets. much larger capacity than 12cc. Theoretically if the attached pipe is down the bottom of the cavity (I.e. Inside the relay) it should fill more quickly than trying to drop it down the hole or push it down the hole. It depends how far in you can get the pipe. Examination of a a drawing of the steering relay suggests not far at all.

I don't think the bolt is 1/4" Whitworth - from memory it is a 1/4" either BSF or UNF (depending on age probably), but with a hex head that is smaller than expected for that size, probably 1/8"W spanner size if it is BSF. I know they are not a standard bolt, and they are certainly not Whitworth.

John

It's not just a syringe. It has a long thin and curved "spout", rather than a short Luer taper to attach a needle. It allows you to insert the oil down inside the relay, and as long as you don't jam it in too hard or try to force oil in too quickly it will allow the air to escape.........

A normal syringe will work, but I've found the curved spout give easier access when the relay is still mounted in the vehicle. If it's on the bench I use a normal syringe with a needle fitted. If you have a decent gauge needle (the really thick ones we use for cattle) you don't need the plunger, just let if gravity feed slowly.

Whatever you use won't go in very far, as you suspected. However you only need to get out of the "hole" and in to the air space below and you'll be OK. Blocking the hole either with oil or the insertion device/tube/pipe will prevent the air coming out.

In any case, the trick is not to let it fool you! Fill it up and leave it for a few hours. The chances are it won't be full when you come back..

Turning the steering to free any trapped air once it is full tends to drop the level as well. Worth doing before you put the kettle on.
I found a bolt with the same thread as the "bleed screw" (for want of a better description) , cut the head off and drilled a hole through it. I now screw it into the bleed screw hole and connect it to a syringe of oil with a length of small bore clear tube. This relies on having another air bleed screw open though
Works for me
Phil

Thanks everyone for the input. Sounds like what I need to do is pull the bolt on the top arm and remove the top arm from the Relay. I can do this without pulling the radiator, etc (thanks John). This should give me better access to one or other presently 'stuck' bolt heads left or right of the one I have freed. I can then lubricate the Relay. For now I will return the top arm "as is" to the Relay and order in the two ball joints to replace the existing ones once they are in hand.

When you order the joints, make sure you get the correct ones. They're not all the same, the earlier and later SIII versions are different with one version being fully threaded and one having a shoulder. They cannot safely be interchanged because they don't clamp securely. Some vendors don't know this and assume one size fits all.....