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KING PINS: This is a good time of the year to clean up your
king pins.
Removing the king pins once or twice a year gives you a chance to check
that grease is getting down to the bottom bush and cleaning out the
salt and grot from winter motoring will ensure that when the time comes
to renew your pins and bushes, the pins are not irrevocably stuck in
the front axle beam. This makes changing the king pins a nice easy job
instead of having to dismantle half the car and take the whole front
axle to your local blacksmith. |
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DRAG LINK: When you have put a new spring in your
drag link
it is always difficult to compress the retaining cup to get in the 1/4
BSF bolt to hold it all together. I use an old screwdriver which
is about 3/16 diameter with its tip ground to a conical point.
This can then be used to enter the bottom of the bolt hole and then
levered across to locate the bolt entering from the top. Make
sure the bolt has a radius-ed end so that it enters each part of the
assembly easily - having said that you will still need to give it
a gentle tap to overcome the spring once it is far enough engaged and
you remove the screwdriver. |
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STEERING WANDER: I have had dreadful
steering wander since putting the Box back on the road. I have repositioned
the quadrant in the steering box, replaced both front bearings and played
around with front/rear tyre pressures. But things just kept getting worse.
The horrifying answer was a loose ball pin
which connects the steering drop arm from the steering box to the drag link
tube which goes from the drop arm to the offside front wheel steering arm.
The split pin had disappeared and the ball pin was loose on its taper and on
the point of coming out altogether! Answer—check the castellated nut is as
hard on the taper as possible. |
CRACK DETECTION: – Austin 7 steering arm:
I set about finding a crack detection kit remembering
from my former life the large-scale
use of Ardrox in the aerospace industry. Sure enough a kit was still
available from Elmer Wallace Ltd., of Glasgow (http://www.elmerwallace.co.uk/).
This consists of 3 aerosol cans: 1 of cleaner, 1 of penetrate dye and one of
developer. I ordered the kit online (£30 + postage) and it arrived more or
less by return post, so no complaints about the service. Now to use what I
had bought. I removed the steering arm from ‘Jo’ pretty easily, remembering
when to use the big copper headed hammer! Having done that I degreased and
paint stripped it. The final preparation was to give it a complete clean
with the supplied aerosol solvent. There were no visible cracks at this
stage. Anyway, I then applied the dye and left it so soak in for about half
an hour. After that, in accordance with the instructions, I cleaned off the
excess dye and sprayed with the developer, which leaves a white chalky
deposit on the surface. Slightly to my consternation, but perhaps not real
surprise, a crack appeared clearly, as in the picture. Mike
Johnston.
This article has been taken from the Isle of Wight
Newsletter with many thanks. |
DRAG LINK AND BALL:
When you realise there may be a little too
much play in the steering, don't think the worst. Frequently the problem
lies with the
Draglink ball and cup system in the
Drag link bar. As the ball and cups wear they  need not necessarily require replacing
unless the gap between the cups has closed completely. If there is still a gap
the problem could be improved with new springs. The illustration shows a worn
spring and a new spring. Replace the springs and the situation is likely to
improve dramatically. Don't ignore the problem. Fix it yourself if you can, or
ask for help from member services or a friend. If, after new springs are
fitted, the play is still too severe then look into the matter further until
the problem is identified.
George Mooney |
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