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MG MGB Technical - Why is my steering so heavy

Hi
Purchased my mgb roadster 2 yrs ago totally rebuilt steering is really heavy the seller said it would ease up the more it was driven it hasnt any ideas to the problem
Regards Richard
R Bainbridge

One often overlooked item is the universal joint on the steering shaft. It has no provision for grease and can bind causing very heavy steering. I replaced the old worn one on my 70B and it transformed the steering effort.

HTH

Ron
Ron Smith

The steering column and shaft to the rack can be out of alignment too putting strain on the u-joint and possibly making the steering feel heavy.
Simon Jansen

It may be that the rack itself is shot. check under the boots often rust is a dead give away. Next you could pop the tie rod ends to isolate any stiffness. Let us know.
RIC
Ric Lloyd

Richard,

Binding can also occur when the king pins are rebuild and improperly shimmed. One way to look into a binding front end is to jack the front wheels off of the ground and see how it behaves when not bearing weight. Please be sure to chock the back wheels and support he weight of the vehicle on jack stands. I usually place them under the wishbone pivot. It is easier to have a friend turn the steering wheel from stop to stop while you inspect for any rubbing noises or the like. You can look into a tight king pin crown bolt by loosening and or tightening it to see how it affects the steering wheel when it's turned. I believe that the bolt should be tight and that if properly shimmed/spaced at the knucle that loosening or tightening the bolt will have little or no effect on the resistance of the steering wheel. If you can tighten it down to lock the steering then proper spacing is not present.

Good luck.

Tom

Tom
Thomas Nolan

What size tires are you using, modern tires are almost always wider than stock, accounts for heavy steering.
Rick Hughes

My experience witnh heavy steering is due to the rubber bushing needing to be replaced. For under $100.00 you can get all the suspension bushing in polyurethane from Moss or Victoria British. THey are all easy to replace and when done, you formerly dead feeling car will totatally blow your mind with the light quick response and ease in corners. I have done this on every B I have had and it's truly worth the day it takes. Basically, your rubber bushings are either torn, worn or stuck and keeping something from moving correctly.

This is an easy and worthwhile fix.

RIchard
Richard Morris

Richard,

this may be a daft question but have you greased the king pins recently? It can make all the difference!

Mike

PS: The other easy to check thing is the tyre pressures. The steering is heavy with soggy tyres.
Mike Standring

I get the king pins greased by an mg specialist using an air gun, this is far more effective than my puny efforts with a grease gun and believe me it makes the steering a lot lighter.

John
John Prewer

Make sure that all is assembled correctly. I bought a B once where the steering was heavy - turned out that the upper kingpin swivels were 180 degrees out....
dominic clancy

FWIW, while discussing steering considerations, Moss points out that the steering rack should be filled with SAE 90 oil - NOT grease. This is also covered in the shop manual.
T.R. Fisher

Richard Before you do any of the above check your tyre pressures low pressure will make the steering heavier.
John
John

If you jack up the front of the car so the wheels are off the ground the steering should be very easy to move with just one finger against a spoke on the outer edge of the steering wheel. That will tell you if it is something to do with the tyres and pressures or something to do with the actual mechanicals of the steering. I am always surprised at how little force it does take to turn the wheels with all the weight off them.
Simon Jansen

Hi All
Thanks for your advice Tyre pressure is correct & greasing is all up to date this has been a problem eversince i brought it rebuilt with 500 miles on the clock N.B tyres are correct size as well
Regards Richard
R.Bainbrudge

Richard,

just a passing thought-- does your regular daily driving car have power steering?

With the advise given so far, I've more knowledge when fiddling with my steering --- but still, in close quarters, the steering on my B is just a bit like driving a truck.

In other words, if you're used to very easy steering, that of the MGB does require a bit more muscle.
glg

Ok Simon, you have me concerned. Mine takes more than a finger to push. I also feel the steering not as it should.

For the MK 1, do you need to take the small plate off the top of the steering box to lube it?
Bruce Cunha

On all steering racks you can take off the cover, spring and the part that pushes down on the rack to add oil. Just be carefull not to damage / lose any of the shims fitted. You can also add oil through the side of the rack, using a syringe, if you loosen one of the gaiters. I prefer the cover method as it is less messy.
To repeat Simon:
Steering can also become heavy if the rack and column are out of alignment. With the wheels off the ground I could just feel it, just didn't realise it at the time (steering would go from loose to stiff and back). The binding effect seems to amplify when more force is put on the steering in hard cornering.

One other thought: if new bushes were fitted to the steering column, the top one could be binding. I once got one that was slightly too small. This made the steering feel very sticky.
HTH,
Rufus
Rufus Pool

When I rebuilt my '67 front supension, I realized that the upper control arm puts no static load on the king ping assembly. A jack under the lower A arm lifts the wheel and puts the load on the spring but does not load the swivel axle/king pin assembly.

Greasing the assembly when it has no load is ideal for permitting the grease to get in the hi load areas.

In practice I notice the grease oozing out at all the joints with the jack stand under the spring A arm, while jacking the wheels does not produce the same distribution of the grease.

Putting the car on the rack and greasing it will not permit the grease to enter all the critical points because some of those points will be loaded. Putting the jack on the A frame is the way to go in my opinion.
Barry

Barry Parkinson



Any ideas or problems etc on fitting a blower to 1980 bgt.....
Phil

All steering boxes are made with closer tolerance between the gears in the straight ahead position.
The reason being is one, that the most steering, and accurate steering is done straight ahead or close to it, its called the steering high spot. For this reason all adjustments, in shims in our case, must be done in the straight ahead position otherwise the gears will bind on turns. Also the rack is machined this way so that when adjustment does become necessary because of wear it allows more (meat)for adjustment. Otherwise you would adjust into the worn spot which is always in the straight ahead position and then be too tight off centre. Jack the car up at the front and check that you can turn the steering easily with the road wheels and no tight spots.
Denis
DENIS H

This thread was discussed between 23/05/2006 and 30/05/2006

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