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MG MGA - Steering rack problem

I see in my Moss catelog that the shims used in the ball joint between the steering rack and the tie rod end, the male and female ball joint that is very difficult to get apart, are not available.

What have people done when there is some play in one of the joints? I have removed the entire piece from the rack to the tie rod end. Even if I can find a way to get it apart does anyone have a source for the needed shims? The service manuals state that the joint should show some slight drag when adjusted properly. I would say that mine is fairly loose with little or no resistance to movement.

Any suggestions? Does anyone have a expierence in getting these rebuilt?

Thanks
Rich

Rich,
The good news, if you can get it apart, is that you remove shims to tighten it, which is usually what's needed. So, no new shims are needed. There are special spanners, one that fits the two holes in the back and one that fits the notches in the ball end, used to unscrew it. I tried making some up, but, no success as yet. Unless there is a lot of free play it won't cause a problem. I have about 0.10 in my left-side joint.
GTF
G T Foster

GT is correct. You can open up the lock tab and place a pipe wrench on it and remove it. But this is a brutish means of doing it.

No additional shims are need - you will remove a shim to reduce free play

JD
J Delk

Rich, I used tools (18G312/312 )from British Tools,www.britishtool.com, to dissemble the ball joint on my 56 roadster. It took a lot of force but the joints came apart absolutely undamaged and the aluminum shims were quite re-useable. Good luck.

Alec
Alec

Rich,

A few years ago now I converted my steering rack from LHD to RHD. As I was doing so much work I decided to pull the ball joints apart. For the shims, I bought a sheet of laminated shim stock from the local engineering supplies firm, cut it to the appropirate shape and simply peeled layers away to get the right freeplay - easy.
Brad C

The tool is a great asset.

Brad, how did you do the conversion? Since we here in Japan are also RHD, it might be nice. LHD is kind of a novelty here but not very practical. I guess I'll need a RHD Dash, too. Any thoughts?
Tommy

Tommy,

Conversion was quite straightforward. Items to change (including the obvious):

Dash
pedal box (bend the pedals around the steering column or buy dedictaed pedals)- need different plumbing
steering rack - more later
wiper parking position

For the rack, you can buy a RHD rack, but this proved cost prohibitive for me, and availability is poor.

The conversion steps (from memory) were:

Obviously, complete dis-assembly
Grind the welds holding the rack tube from the pinion housing (I made a jig first to make alignment easier later on)
Reverse cast the housing and machine to match LHD article
Specialist gear cutter to match the pinion gear, but in reverse
Re-assemble

The entire process took only a few weeks and saved me about $800 on the price of a restored RHD rack.
Brad C

Hi Brad,

Thanks for the information, very helpful. I now just have to find a RHD Dash. I think I can handle the rack conversion. THis may be something I try to do this winter!

Tom
Tommy

This thread was discussed on 20/09/2006

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