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MG MGB Technical - Steering U Joint

My 68 B is very very stiff to turn the wheel
I jacked up the car and removed both the covers top and bottom from the rack.
Cleaned the parts without removing them and lubed them with WD,
Still very hard to turn.
I purchased a new U Joint just in case.
Question What is the best way to replace it.
Can I undo the two bolt and somehow move it up or down
or should I try to remove the joint from the arms?
Thanks for any help Bill
Could it be the bushings ?
Bill Mason

Hi Bill,

To remove the U joint undo the bolts and remove them. Then pull the steering column up and that will release the UJ.

The stiff steering could be misalignment of the two halves of the column, at the UJ. Check your workshop manual for procedure.

Herb

P.S. manual available here:

http://www.bmcno.org/manuals/MGB%20Workshop%20Manual.pdf
Herb Adler

"Cleaned the parts without removing them and lubed them with WD,
Still very hard to turn"!!
WD will have very little effect, lubricating with gear oil might!
As Herb said misalignment at the uj will cause stiffness. You can get some form of alignment improvement by first removing the steering wheel, then the top bush. If the column springs off-centre there is an issue. Playing with the upper column fixings can improve things as well as shimming the rack.
Allan Reeling

Try the steering with the front wheels off the ground. You should be able to turn from lock to lock very easily with just pressure from a little finger on a steering wheel spoke. If you can do that, and you are comparing the MGB with a modern car, then it is 'normal'.

If that's stiff as well then incorrect rack damper shimming will make the steering stiff (or sloppy).

Also it could be king-pins as much as the rack, you would need to disconnect the steering arms from the hubs to see.

Shaft misalignment doesn't so much cause stiffness - especially with the wheels on the ground - as excessive wear to the UJ and rack pinion bearing.

Note that the steering column and rack shafts will have either a notch where the U-joint clamp bolt passes through, or a groove all the way round. When you have a notch the split in the UJ must be aligned with the middle of the notch or the bolt won't go though. Where you have a groove the UJ and shaft can be assembled where you like. Normally at least one shaft has the groove, but oddly my V8 has notches on both, meaning the two shafts can only be assembled in one rotational orientation instead of as many ways as there are splines (on the grooved shaft). At least with that you know you are going to get the correct steering wheel alignment on reassembly. If one shaft is going to have a groove it beats me why both shafts don't have grooves and be done with it.
Paul Hunt

Thanks everyone for your comments. I will be working on it this week. Bill
Bill Mason

This thread was discussed between 25/08/2013 and 27/08/2013

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