steering relay questions

I've just started on my project vehicle again after a break plus my daily runner's steering is getting a bit notchy. First thing I thought I'd investigate was the steering relays.

On the project vehicle it was pretty stiff and when oil was poured in the top nothing came out the bottom. On the daily runner I've been topping it up with oil - as per the book - but when I took a bolt out of the bottom it was about half full of water.

So, I started with the project vehicle. I've tried everything from heat to air chisels to jacking it up on the steering realy but it won't budge so that one is being serviced in place! I've not tried the daily runner yet but am guessing that that will be a similar story.

Thing is in the process I've buggered the bottom flange plate and they're £28 from Craddocks, how come? are they made of specialness or what? the current one is a bit curled but not altogether buggered should I just leave it?

Next question is the shaft. I think it will need sorting on both due to heavy pitting where the oil seal sits. Am I best off getting one from Craddocks or should I fork out and get a genuine from lrparts (about £20 difference) or maybe I should just take it down to a metal shop and get them to sleeve the affected areas? The parts where the bushes sit look to be shiny and nice and not overly worn out....

What would you guys do?

D

Due to the work involved I would go the LR parts route. I have a lathe and milling machine at home so can do these sort of things but you wont get much done in a local engineering shop at £25 + per hour.

you can use cv grease or std grease instead of oil if leaking is a worry

Thanks lads,

There are a few places round here where I know people who would do it for the price of a pint or two or let me loose on their lathe to do it myself. In the meantime I've ordered a few cheaper parts I suspect they're ****part ones so will see how much they can mess up a splined shaft....

I'm going to have a go at rebuilding the project one with these bits and then see about the daily driver when I've got the bits out. Thing with that one is if I get stuck its a long walk home (about 8 miles) though there is a pub after about 3....one of those jobs that will either take half an hour or half a week...

Thanks James, I'll be replacing the oil seals and shaft on this one but on the other I might make up some one-shot and pump that in.

I'm still not sure whether its the steering relay causing the problems on the daily driver but the steering has gone a bit stiff. There's too much stiktion, once its turning its ok but it means you have to keep writhing the wheel one way or the other to make small corrections. It'll probably turn out to be a duff ball joint though...

Google britpart steering relay shafts they are to be avoided as they are made of Toffee instead of the correct grade of hardened steel.

Wow, doesn't look good. I'm off to order proper ones!

D

It's not the easiest job to do but you can service them in situ with the assistance of a couple of large jubilee clips, some appropriate pieces of pipe and a bit of ingenuity. My relay was so badly rusted in I had to cut the chassis away from it to get it out to put in my replacement chassis.

BTDT cursed the T-shiirt...

Service it in the chassis - a brake hone and a wirebrush are a good way to clean out the relay, then new bushes and seals. If you have a good shaft with a messed up run for the seal i'd sleeve it - did that on mine many 10Ks of miles ago and it's still working perfecly with no leaks.

As others have said DO NOT buy S**tpart - they're crap. If you have time and are so inclined take the time and centre-drill the shaft for a proper fill point if not so equipped. Did that to mine as well and it makes it much easier to get oil into it if need be.

As far as compressing the spring I made myself a little tool with a couple of big washers and a bit of threaded rod. Notch the washers to allow the spring to be tied-off with parachute cord - this will alllow you to get the spring onto the shaft and the bushings in place to be held with Jubilee clips for assembly.

ajr

Thanks for the tips - I'd not thought of centre drilling the shaft. Did you then just fit a grease nipple on the end?

How can you be sure that centre drilling the shaft has not reduced its overall strength to a failure point?
Better off drilling the casting.

One of the top bolt holes should be drilled all the way through the casting as an oil filler hole. Might be worth drilling a second to let the air out.

The bits that came from Craddocks were all Bearmach ones - I'm hoping they're made of proper stuff. There is a bit of a ding on one of the faces of the shaft but I think I'll dress it rather than send it back...I've also got a genuine one on order from Rimmer Bros so will compare them when I get the other...