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MG TD TF 1500 - CORRECT POSITION OF STEERING WHEEL

Hello,

Please, let me ask a question:

Which is the correct position of the original three-spoke (well, actually three sets of four spokes) steering-wheel in an TD when driving straight ahead?

One spoke upwards or one spoke downwards? That is: spokes position 12-4-6 o'clock or 2-6-10 o'clock?

The wheel in my car has one spoke upwards when driving straight, and the MG medallion is upside down. Hence, I imagine that this position must be incorrect, since it seems that the medallion cannot be separated from the centre hub, and this cannot be rotated with respect to the wheel (it is secured by a lateral screw with only one position).

If this is the wrong position, do you know if its easy to correct ?

Thank to all who respond for your always useful inputs.

Jesus
Jesus

Jesus, the correct orientation for the wheel is with the spokes at 2-6-10 o'clock.
Jim Merz

As Jim said, you are upside down! You can turn 120 degrees by unbolting the coupling on the steering shaft and rotating. Not particularly easy to to on a LHD car with the lock nuts, etc., but can be done. Then lenghening one tie rod and shortening the other bit by bit will exactly center. It may be best to consult a good front end/alignment shop at this point.
George Butz

Thanks, Jim and George, for your inputs.

From your comments, I see that my wheel needs to be re-located by rotating it 180 degrees.

George's advice of rotating 120 degrees at the coupling and then rotating the remaining 60 degrees by adjusting the tie rods, may work (is that not too large an angle for an adjustment?). But if the previous owner (or whoever might have been) changed by mistake the position of the wheel, exactly by this angle, I suppose that some possibility must exist to simply invert the change, and this should not be a matter of fine-adjusting.

I have been studying deeper several exploded views and the TD workshop manual, and it seems that the steering column can be split in three parts: the first one is a short shaft below the wheel (allows to adjust the wheel position), the second goes up to the coupling and the third arrives to the steering rack.

So my question now is: Is it possible to rotate 180 degrees the first short shaft?

As far as I can understand, the "telescopic" adjustment is achieved by a key and a very long keyway machined in the steering shaft. But the TD workshop manual mentions also something like a splined shaft in that place.

I will appreciate your additional inputs.

Regards.

Jesus
Jesus

The top short shaft is keyed, so you cannot turn it 180. So, undo the 3 bolts from the steering shaft coupling, on a left hooker this is under the dynamo. Pull the top half of the steering up so that you can get to the nut inside the coupling, remove the nut and washer, then pull the bottom half of this coupling off the steering rack spline, turn it 45 degrees, then put everything back together, after turning the steering wheel 180.
Tatty

Hello Tatty,

Thanks for the advice.

I will try to procedd as you sugges, but if I am correct, I think I should turn the flange by 60 deg. Am I wrong?

Regards.

Jesus

Jesus

Hey guys, I can't understand what all this is about.

All you have to do is to loosen the bolt that clamps the wheel to the shaft, pull the steering wheel off, turn it to where you want it, push it back on and do up the clamp. Max 1 minute for the job.

I pull the steering wheel off whenever I want to get under the dash.

The wheel is on a very fine spline and can be positioned exactly where you want it.

Try it,

Cheers,

Paul.
Paul van Gool

Paul-The 4 t-series cars I have removed the wheels from all have a slot in the hub and a single key to locate it onto the short sliding shaft- not at all like what you have- could your key be missing?
George Butz

Jesus, I had a similar problem after restoration but solved it by removing the cover plate (which is toward the front of the car) on the steering box, pushing the steering shaft through the box , turn the wheel to desired position or close to it then pulling shaft back into place and replace cover. Final line up of steering wheel can then be done with tierod adjustment.This method avoided undoing the hard to get at coupling etc.
Gordon Wright

George, the T-Series steering shaft can accept the splined internal (sliding) shaft from an MGA. Or maybe a TC, I'm not sure.

Here's a picture from the Moss catalog, it is #6 in the illustration: http://www.mossmotors.com/cgi-bin/db2www/mossmotors/MossUSA/Shop/ViewProducts.mac/report?T=65238&ModelID=32000&PlateID=3756

My TF came with the splined shaft, and a 4-spoke MGA-style steering wheel. I bought a new steering wheel, that has the keyed center, but I still need the internal shaft. Anybody want to trade?
Mark B.

As George says:

<<<snip>>>
Paul-The 4 t-series cars I have removed the wheels from all have a slot in the hub and a single key to locate it onto the short sliding shaft- not
at all like what you have- could your key be missing?
<<<snip>>>

It's a very important safety feature. If the adjustment bolt should be loose, then the steering wheel won't come off in your hands ala the Keyston Cops. The adjusting clamp holds the key in, and the clamp won't move unless the adjusting lock bolt is out. So, if yours is missing the key, you need it badly.
Blake J.

Aim front wheels straight ahead, Remove center cover (false horn button)plate from steering wheel, Remove nut that holds wheel to short shaft, remove steering wheel(without shaft),position wheel using center cover for correct angle, replace steering wheel, replace nut, replace cover plate.
ROB R.

The short sliding shaft actually has two keys. There is one shaped like a long lozenge that keeps the sliding shaft from sliding all the way out of the steering shaft (as mentioned by Blake J. in SD), and a second Woodruff style (looks like a section of a circle) key that keeps the steering wheel from turning on the shaft. In the center of the stock steering wheel is a smooth hole with a notch for the woodruff key.

This means there is only one possible position to mount the steering wheel on the end of the steering shaft, if you have the original equipment.

However, if the sliding shaft is not original, the steering wheel end can be splined, allowing you to position the steering wheel anyway you want (as described by BOB R), but this means that stock steering wheel does not fit. I believe that the splined inner shaft on my MG-TF came from an MGA, and the steering wheel on the end of it was definitely from an MGA. I'm looking to trade for a proper T-Series inner steering shaft. But I'm not really in a hurry, since my car is probably at least a year from completion.

Sorry if some parts of this message seem redundant, but it seems that there is some confusion on the issue, and I wanted to try to clear thing up as much as I could. I hope this helps.

MB
Mark B.

Hello again,

I apreciate very much all your responses, several of which contained very practical advices.

Definitely, the steering shaft is not splined but has only one key at the wheel, which is the original one.

I have just one question to Gordons advice from Australia:

Gordon, how can the shaft pulled through the steering box (I suppose downwards -towards the front ) without freeing it from some place? Does not some oil or grease flow out from the steering box?

Thanks again.

Jesus
Jesus

Jesus, maybe I was lucky, I lifted away the circlip on the shaft above the steer box, freed up the steering shaft thru the column by removing the wheel and anything attatched to the shaft(you will have to do this even if you remove the flange from the shaft as per Tattys suggestion) then removed the bottom bearing or plate from the box, what little grease or oil that escapes can soon be replaced.
My pinion shaft was long enough to pass right thru the box and free the gear from the rack, turn shaft to get wanted wheel position and as they say assembly is reverse of above.
Why did I do it this way? Because the three nuts & bolts on the coupling are hard to get at and the pinion flange is usually very tight on the shaft.
Gordon Wright

Jesus,
Is it possible that the pinion shaft & flange got rotated? On my TF recently replaced the 6 rubber bearings on the shaft. I had carefully alligned everthing one nite before I left my car for the evening and returned the next day to install the bearings. I did not notice that someone "bumped" my wheel so I eneded up with the steering wheel in the "wrong place".(1/3 rotation) Not a big deal with the side pannels off the car very easy to get to. Does not look like this would be a "fun" job with the side bonnet pannels installed though! If these bushings have been replaced I would tend to look there first before digging into the steering box...unless of course there has been some recent work there as well!
Cheers,
David #A1 55 TF 1500
David Sheward

Hello,

Thanks Gordon and David for your comments since my last message.

The question that puzzles me is how the PO would have rotated the steering wheel exactly by 180 deg. I could understand any other angle. Especially 120 or 240 deg. would suggest some fiddling in the coupler.

The car came from USA and from what I start to see, here in Spain it was just "surface-restored", given a make-up: pretty body, new painting, new leather interior, etc., but I think they did not much mechanical work. And the rubber bushings in the coupler look very old (perhaps it is time for changing them). Perhaps the problem with the steering wheel came already since earlier times.

Anyway, I need to make other tests on the car, and I need to drive it. After that, perhaps in a few weeks, I will go on the steering wheel problem.

If something interesting happens, I will keep you informed.

Thanks again.

Jesus
Jesus Benaejs

Hi Jesus,
Sorry for the delay, I tell you working on a Y-type is much easier than a B, where has the last week gone, and yes 60 deg not 45, oops brain fade.
Tatty

This thread was discussed between 12/09/2002 and 23/09/2002

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