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| Play in Steering Wheel | Rating: 
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| Posted: 09-30-2010 05:44 am |
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1st Post |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator 
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I've been trying to correct the dead spot in the steering. There's about 1/4" of play in the wheel which means a loss of feeling. I would say the car has good roadholding but ponderous handling, especially in a straight line. I thought it was the steering rack and fiddled around with the bearing preload by inserting a .003 shim. That made the steering feel somewhat heavier and did nothing for the play. The bushing in the firewall has already been replaced so I started looking at the knuckles. Upon closer inspection it seems the lower steering shaft knuckle is the source of the movement. It seems to flex a bit before turning. I guess I'll call Delta tomorrow. Kurt
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| Posted: 10-01-2010 03:47 am |
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2nd Post |
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dwalls1 Member
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I had some success in eliminating play by tightening the pinch bolts on the U joints.
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| Posted: 10-05-2010 02:46 pm |
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3rd Post |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator
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Thanks Dale. I talked to Jim at Delta and there have been problems with wear if the splines are not clean when the knuckles are tightened. I'm waiting for the new knuckle before taking it apart. Kurt
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| Posted: 10-16-2010 05:55 am |
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4th Post |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator
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Success! After loosening the steering rack from the sub-frame I removed the old lower steering knuckle. It had a small bit of play when moved by hand. The new one from Delta has zero play. When it was all back together the steering wheel still had about 1/8" free play. I removed the steering wheel and tightened the band clamp near the steering lock. This tightened up everything. The free play is now zero. The test drive was amazing! The entire front suspension feels tighter and more responsive. The rattles and shakes that I thought must be bad sub-frame bushings are gone. To correct play in the steering wheel: 1. Check torque on steering rack mounting nuts, upper and lower knuckles, steering column supports and whatever is under the cowl cap behind the steering wheel. Mine is jury rigged with a band clamp. Works great. Don't tighten the turn signal assembly, it will break. 2. Open the door so you can reach the steering wheel from outside the car and observe the play in the upper and lower knuckles. 3. Grab the upper knuckle and see if there's play at the firewall. This indicates wear in the bushing there. All in all a 1.5 vino job due to space restrictions around the knuckles. Kurt
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| Posted: 09-01-2012 02:03 am |
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5th Post |
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dthewlis Member
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Delta Motor Sports no longer has the lower steering coupler available. They lost their rebuilder for the upper and lower couplers; they have a new one for the upper one (I'm writing 31 August 2012) but not for the lower at this point. Does anyone have (a) A source for replacement/rebuilt lower steering couplers (b) An existing one in good condition I'm in the market. BTW If anyone knows of a source to rebuild them Delta MS would be very interested. Dave Thewlis P.S. DMS price on a rebuilt upper steering coupler at the moment is $275 and your old one.
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| Posted: 09-01-2012 04:41 am |
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6th Post |
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Greg Fletcher Administrator 
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As far as the steering shaft goes, $188 from the Club Store and this rebuild will last the life of the car. http://www.jhps.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=jhps&Product_Code=STRS&Category_Code=SUS I'm looking for a core on the lower knuckle to get a source for that.
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| Posted: 09-05-2012 04:28 am |
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7th Post |
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dthewlis Member
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Pete Bahr passed me a link to Martin Robey Sales in the U.K. Apparently they acquired most of the assets, including tooling, etc. from the Jensen company when it went into receivership, and they offer many JH (and Jaguar) parts newly manufactured. I've ordered a lower steering coupler from them and will report on results; price should be about $58 including air post shipping from Coventry to California. http://www.martinrobey.co.uk Update on 17 September. The new steering coupler arrived late last week, about 10 days total. Cost including shipping was $53.33 plus $1.42 foreign transaction fee charge by the credit card. Picture below; I'm delighted. Attachment: DSCN0575.jpg (Downloaded 153 times) Last edited on 09-18-2012 01:00 am by dthewlis |
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| Posted: 09-07-2012 10:28 pm |
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8th Post |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator
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Hi Greg, I found my old lower knuckle and will send it to you. Kurt Housh
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