Greasing Steering Rack

[Spike]

In a fit of madness - and I'd seen it in the manual, I decided I'd grease the steering rack.

So after getting hold of a grease nipple I popped the bonnet and look for the bolt to undo but where the steering column goes in there is only a flat plat above it - no sign of a bolt to undo. I had a root around but I couldn't see anything that I should undo.

Have I missed something, the car is a late 82 dhc. Help!

kind regards

Graham

[Hasbeen]

Graham there are some racks that are different. I can't remember when they were used.

If it is the usual rack there is a large, about 1.5/2" across the flats nut on the top front of the rack, at right angle to the pinion where the steering column meets the rack. This nut adjusts the pinion mesh with the rack with a damper saddle against the rack.

In the centre of this nut you should find the head of a bolt. With the age of the car this could now have a set screw, with a screwdriver slot or an allen key hole, or in my experience almost anything in there.

This is the plug that you remove, & replace with your grease nipple.

If your steering has some free play, you can eliminate, or minimise it by removing some of the shims under that large nut. Don't go too far. Wear is usually in the centre area of the rack & making it too tight there will often cause it to bind in the little worn areas near full lock.

I have never had to remove 5 thou of shim in any of my 7s.

Hope this helps. I do have photo copy of the drawing of the rack, but I'm damned if I can get it from my computer to a hosting site, to get it on here.

Hasbeen

[vitessesteve]

I am hosting a copy of TR7 workshop on my website: http://vitessesteve.co.uk/Servicemanuals.htm you can preview or download it. Page 43 includes greasing the rack in the regular maintenance section.

Steve Weblin - AKA vitessesteve
1982 TR7 Sprint DHC

[Spike]

Thanks for this, Vitesse Steve - I've bought the CD's off you on ebay - they're great really interesting.

I think I must have a different/later rack as it seems to have a flat plate on top of the rack with no options to adjust or bolts. I'll probably have to pop one of the gaiters off and try and squirt it in from there.

kind regards

Graham

[FI Spyder]

Pulling a gaiter off and squirting grease in there won't do you much/any good. You access the grease point from the front of the car not the top. This means putting the car up on ramps or better jack stands (so you can turn the wheel to extremes to get a few strokes at either end) so you can get under the car and get at the bolt/nipple at the front of rack. There were different (two) racks (different ratios ID'd by slightly different casting) but I think they had the same greasing/adjustment mechanism.

- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT

[Hasbeen]

Graham, unless you are as useless as me, when trying to get computers to do what you want, how about a couple of photos of your rack, in the area of the steering column, from above & below, & in front if possible.

If you do try some irregular method of applying grease, a better idea than applying none, do get it into the teeth of the rack, spread as much as possible, with the majority in the straight ahead position.

Those gaiters will be very fragile if original, so be gentle with them.

Hasbeen

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

Don't forget that VB has been selling non grease-able racks for several years. Someone might have replace yours.

Clay

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