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MG MGA - Steering rubber gaters

Hi guys took the A for a run yesterday, noticed a bit of grease when inspecting after run,
Found a split in the rubber gater opposite side to steering column mines is LHD so you could say offside, I've ordered two new ones,

Is it an easy job to change them, any pitfalls I should watch out for.

Cheers Jack in the sunny New Forest today.
Jack New Forest

I've not done the A ones (yet!) but they are probably the same as the midget. Disconnecting at the outer end can be difficult as it is on a taper. You can try the old technique of tapping with a hammer to free the joint or buy a splitter to do the job.
You will also need to get your track reset.
Graeme Williams

Thanks Graham, yes I thought it might upset the tracking.
Jack New Forest

Jack

Just count the turns when you undo them.

The ones I received from the supplier a few years back have narrower channels for the jubilee clips. In fact too narrow. I had to use cable ties. Not a major problem, but not original.

Steve


Steve Gyles

Whether changing the tie rod ends or just the rubber boots on the rod ends, you have to disconnect the taper pin joint.

To replace the convoluted rubber boot on the steering rack, you do not have to disconnect the taper pin joint. Mark the tie rod so you can count turns. Loosen the clamp on the outboard ed of the boot. Loosen the jam nut on the rod end. Unscrew the rod from the rod end, counting turns until the thread will disconnect. Replace the rubber boot. Reassembly is reverse of disassembly. Screw it back together the same number of turns, and the alignment should be as before.
Barney Gaylord

Thanks for the image Steve, thanks Barney that sounds feasible.
Jack New Forest

The "counting the turns" does assume they are exact replicas of the ones that they replace. In this day and age, with the dubious quality of spares supply?
Graeme Williams

Jack, replacing the boots should go OK as long as you do as Barney suggests.

For others, if you do run into strife changing tie rod ends, setting the toe in is actually a very easy job. All you need is an assistant and a piece of string longer than your car.

Have the car on a flat bit of concrete. If the car has been jacked up, roll it back and forward maybe 10 ft a few times to settle the front wheels. Make sure all tyre pressures are correct and equal.

First make sure the steering rack is centred. Count the total number of turns lock to lock then set it exactly half way. Your steering wheel may end up crooked at this point. If so, recheck your adjustment. If you are correct you can remove and adjust the wheel when you have finished the alignment.

Loosen the tie rod end locking nuts and the clamps that holds the end of the boot to the tie rod.

Get your assistant to go to the back of the car with the piece of string. Get them to hold it just behind the back wheel just below the knock off, touching the outside edge of the back of the tyre. It must only touch the tyre, never the spokes.

You take the string at the front of the car. Keeping it tight and horizontal, you then bring it in toward the front wheel until it JUST touches the outside edge of the front of the REAR tyre. This gives you a straight line parallel to the rear wheel.

Once you have this line you can see where your front tyre toe in/out is. For zero toe in the string will touch both the front and rear of the front tyre. For toe in there will be a small gap at the front.

You adjust this by turning the tie rod to shorten or lengthen until you have the desired amount of toe in. I think the MGA manual says zero toe in, but I have mine set for 3mm 1/16" toe in. You can do this very accurately by eye.

Now go to the other side and do the same.

Once I am happy I usually roll the car back and forward a couple of times and then recheck and readjust as necessary.

Then tighten the nuts and clamps up and go for a drive!



A Bowie

But rear track width is not the same as front track width so the string trick will introduce an error when the string is not parallel to the central axis of the car.

You need to determine which track is narrower front or back, then divide the difference by 2 to know the difference on one side. Then find a flat board that thick and hold it against the sidewall of the tire to make up the difference, after which the string trick will work.
Barney Gaylord

Bloody hell I didn't know that Barney! Which is narrower?

Back out to the shed!
A Bowie

Ah!

http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/steering/sr106.htm

Answers as usual from Barney.
A Bowie

Steve,

The narrow channel on the steering gaters is likely factory spec. The OEM clamps were much narrower than the type in your picture. Here is a picture of the small clamp.

John


John Backman

John

Certainly a valid point. I have just measured the channel width and it's 5mm. How does that compare?

Steve
Steve Gyles

John is correct. The replacement gaiters I Installed a few years ago came with the narrow clamps to fit. I think I sourced those from Scarborough Faire. They were a brass color, I gave them a light coat of silver paint to more closely resemble original.
George G.

Steve,
just went out to the garage to measure the repro clamp. My car is in its winter storage location, so access is not the best, but the repro gaiter clamp I have seems to be 1/4 inch wide. That is a bit wider that the 5mm (.197") channel width you have measured, but perhaps we're talking the same here anyway. I think I got mine from Scarborough Faire. The clamps are SF part numbers J27/J28, cost is $1.25/2.30 each. You could email them to confirm the width if you have a mind to order some, they are quite responsive to technical inquiries.

George
George G.

I noticed in the very first thread that "grease" was mentioned, and nobody has picked up on that. It should be "oil" in the asssembly.
Gary Lock

The original posting was ambiguous. It said gaiter but some people took it as the gaiter on the end of the steering rack and some people assumed that it was the seals on the joint between the tie rod end and the steering arm.
The steering rack takes 80/90 EP oil and the tie rod ends take grease.
You must never use grease in the steering rack as the rack and pinion movement moves the grease to the ends of the rack and it does not return.
This leads to wear of the pinion teeth and the centre teeth of the rack. Could even lead to seizure.

Mick
M F Anderson

This thread was discussed between 02/04/2016 and 06/04/2016

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