Steering rack failure

[MOTORHEAD]

Second MGB steering rack end bushings have evaporated in less than 2k mi and 2 years. Don't have rack out yet, but pulled rh boot and no bushing in sight, unless it's in pieces in the boot. Rack moves radially without bushing, causing toe to change and resulting in front end shake.
I know the first one that failed had nylon bushings that probably were damaged by excessive heat from the engine fire of long ago, but the new rack was supposed to be of better quality, but obviously not !
Anyone know of a better rack that is bolt in for Kirkham ?

Ted

[Mark IV]

Well not "bolt-in" but Moss Motors supplies the Argentinian built MGB rack that can be modded to work.

[MOTORHEAD]

Mark 4: The current one I got from a well known british car business, and was told it was the better Argentinian piece. Got to find my invoice and give them a call on mon. and ask if this has been happening on the MG's, and are there better bushings available. Will know more about what failed after I get the rack out.

[MOTORHEAD]

It looks like my first comment was pretty close to what I found. (evaporated)
There's nothing but tiny particles in the grease and the boot. No large chunks.
Assuming there was a bushing in there to begin with, whatever the material was has disintegrated on the r.h. end, no evidence of a bushing having ever been in the l.h. end. My previous rack had nylon bushings in both ends, and they broke apart in larger pieces. Whatever material this one was ,it appears the grease/oil dissolved it.

[Mark IV]

Looky here: Cobra/MGB Manual Rack & Pinion - FR1512 - 582 - 5451

[MOTORHEAD]

Thanks for the link, Mark. But I'm not buying another until I find out what's going on with this one! Who's to say what the quality of the next one will be? I need to find out more details about this one. There had to be a bushing in the r.h. side, but so far I haven't found a parts diagram that shows the internal parts.
Also, I'm sure there was a bushing on the l.h. side , but it appears there was nothing there on the current rack, but is held in place by the pinion at that end. (still should have a bushing) The bushings hold the rack concentric to the outer tubular housing. You can see in one of the pics, the rack is just laying on the bottom of the tube.
Tomorrow I'll call the guy I bought it from to see what he has to say.

[Mark IV]

Originally Posted by MOTORHEAD

Thanks for the link, Mark. But I'm not buying another until I find out what's going on with this one! Who's to say what the quality of the next one will be? I

It's Rick but who cares! I think you will find the Flaming River quality to be first class. If you call them they can answer questions on the type of bushings they use.

[rodneym]

That looks nasty, Motorhead.
I guess I should be grateful that my Argentine steering rack is fine after 9k miles (knock on wood).
Please keep up updated.

[LMH]

I was going to suggest the Flaming River unit as well. Their MGB rack is a fairly new to their product line and I don't have personal experience with it but I know their other racks are high quality. Maybe a call to them and talk to a tech about it might be something to pursue.
Larry

[cdnus]

Several years ago I ordered a off the shelf narrowed mustang rack from Flaming River.
What arrived was a very expensive piece of crap made in Mexico. I was aware I had to shorten the tie rods to fit my application. Upon removing the boots I discovered the outer half of the tie rod sockets are roll crimped/swaged in place (not threaded on) to lock them on thereby making it impossible to adjust the tie rod socket if any wear is encountered and impossible to replace the tie rod if necessary.
The overal finish was very crude also.
There was more but I will not ramble on any more.
Not a big fan of sub-standard products
Craig

[MOTORHEAD]

Well my MG guy got back to me today, and after talking to his supplier (Moss), told me they had not seen this type of a failure before. His records showed I had bought the rack 3 yrs ago, so they wouldn't replace under warranty.
The guy I got it from said he would replace it at his cost, so I'll be going there tomorrow to pick it up. I'll pull the boot on the rt side (or both) and see what's in there.
I did talk to Flaming River tech support to see what material their bushing was made of. The guy couldn't tell me.

[LMH]

Wow, an untech tech at Flaming River!
Larry

[Shootnride]

Originally Posted by MOTORHEAD

I did talk to Flaming River tech support to see what material their bushing was made of. The guy couldn't tell me.

.......and they brag about their products being manufactured in-house !

Ted

[mln385]

If this is your second failure in 2k miles I would suggest you check your steering geometry as something may be creating this issue.

[joyridin']

Originally Posted by Shootnride

.......and they brag about their products being manufactured in-house !

Ted

The only thing they manufacture in-house is their steering columns. Everything else is outsourced. Sometimes it is a local place, most times it is not.

If you want a really good steering rack, go here:

https://www.unisteer.com/

[120mm]

My 1967 Mustang Unisteer rack has been a miserable abortion since day one. On the Vintage Mustang Forum, you have about 9 horror stories for every satisfied customer.

[strictlypersonl]

I don't know the real function of a bushing on the pinion end of the rack housing. The MGB is a typical rack design that uses a nylon plunger opposite the pinion to keep constant pressure between the pinion and rack gears, theoretically giving zero backlash (when the gears are in good shape). As the gears wear, it's sometimes necessary to remove shims to maintain good contact. Some gears use a spring to keep constant pressure instead of the shims, the method used in most later cars.

[joyridin']

Originally Posted by 120mm

My 1967 Mustang Unisteer rack has been a miserable abortion since day one. On the Vintage Mustang Forum, you have about 9 horror stories for every satisfied customer.

Yikes! I read quite a few of them. Itis hard to believe there can be so much incompetence at a small company. I have been in their facility and it looked like a well run place, but looks can be deceiving.

[120mm]

Originally Posted by joyridin'

Yikes! I read quite a few of them. Itis hard to believe there can be so much incompetence at a small company. I have been in their facility and it looked like a well run place, but looks can be deceiving.

The problem is, based on the satisfied customers, many of whom are serious Mustang people, they make "some" really excellent racks.

But like many small manufacturers, they evidently have problems with consistency. A couple of the members on VMF have had terrific service from their Unisteer racks. Many have not.

[Danr55]

I'm just guessing here, but from the photos it appears that you had sintered bronze bushings in there. Sometimes referred to as Life long lubricated bushing. Sintered bronze is an explosive molded from powder material, that works well with balanced rotating assemblies but occassionally takes great exception to anything excentric.