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MG MGB Technical - Installing steering rack

I'm putting the steering rack back in my '68 roadster having had all the suspension apart (including removing the crossmember). How much misalignment of the two shafts is allowed. I have aligned them by eye and I do not get any binding in the steering but was pondering making a pair of alignment cones. Is this necessary or is eyeballing it in sufficient?
Steve Church

Ok. Sorted. I made a pair of cones from some 3/4 water pipe and rubber tips from the plungers of 20ml syringes (I use them to refill the ink cartridges of my printer....honest!). I reckon I got the tips to with 1mm. Steering is free and easy. Now on to the next problem.
Steve Church

Steve, That was damn clever of you! I was going to 'turn up' a couple of cones out of wood. Your suggestion is far quicker and will do the job fine well done! Mike
J.M. Doust

I started to turn up some cones but I could only find a small drive centre which kept slipping. I couldn't find my larger centre so decided to see what else I had around. I had to cut the water pipe length ways as it was under sized by a fraction. I made each part 45mm from cone tip to end and set the ends of the tubes at the centre of the cutouts in the shafts. I measured the distance between bolt holes in the universal joint at 90mm.
Steve Church

Moss Europe sells the cones, so cheaply that it is below their minimum order value. Amazingly they are a fraction of the price compared to Moss US where they first appeared.

The distance between the clamp-bolt centre and the tip of the cones is critical, and on cars where the column has the three toe-board bolts the alignment of the column is just as important as the alignment of the rack, for in and out adjustment as well as up and down and side to side. For the earlier columns where the shaft inner slides freely up and down in the outer the in and out position of the column shaft will automatically take up the correct position.
PaulH Solihull

This thread was discussed between 13/03/2011 and 18/03/2011

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