steering so stiff

[morris minor man]

hi my morris minor the steering is so stiff so much it sqeeks.iv try putting grease in seems to be ok..are morris minors heavy in steering?my austin a35 its so light compaired to it..any one know

[santadawes]

Are your tyres correctly inflated?

If like me you drive a modern vehicle that has power asst. steering then driving a Morris is a bit harder...

[mike.perry]

Jack the front of the car up and turn the front wheels from lock to lock by hand. Do this on both sides of the car. The steering should turn smoothly from lock to lock without too much effort. Check that the top and bottom trunnions are turning freely and are well greased and the rack is also greased or oiled, if necessary strip the suspension down to examine the trunnions. The steering will feel a little heavy at parking speeds, don't try steering with the car stationary as it will strain the steering components. On the road it should feel ideally weighted with plenty of feel of the road surface

[bmcecosse]

The steering should be finger-tip light. If it's not the tyres - then you will need to strip and clean the king pin swivels - and then regrease them properly. Inspect carefully for wear while you have them off! The old grease will have gone hard as nails - you could try to free them off by carefully applying heat from a gas blow gun - and then apply oil instead of grease to the nipples till it all comes free - then regrease as normal.

[beero]

Here's a tip. Don't need to jack it up, lay 2 old glossy magazines on the ground in front of the wheels and drive the front tyres onto them. Then try your steering. If it is still the same it is stiff suspension and if not stiff then it is the tyres.

[morris minor man]

thank you very much for your help..im going to have a look at it..as i turn the steering wheel in side the car it sqeels.so im going to oil the felt bush..how hard is it to strip the trunions?iv taken the carpet away inside and put some grease in the nipple.i will try some oil...the morris i bought of this guy.well the car was taken in for a mot test..many years ago but never came back for it.so it was stood in the mot garage.for years.so the guy i got it off.traced the old owner..he had taken it for a mot and droped down dead same day.then this guy i got off bought it.and it stood 4 years.then did 50 miles within another 4 years.till i got it.so it could be it needs striping.but iv replaced all 4 tyres and put 30 pounds in them.but will do as you said..

[mike.perry]

Before you start any serious maintenance buy a proper BMC Workshop Manual

[bmcecosse]

Hmmm - that's quite a story - I know MOT time is stressful.......
Pm sent with useful link.......

[Matt]

Sounds daft... but If the steering is light when stationary but get heavier when moving the tracking could be rather wrong...

[morris minor man]

hi i can not thank you all enough for your help the problem was the rack had seized up down where it connects to the colem.after taking the carpet back i trickled oil around it ...now is so light..again thank you

[xpress]

was just going to concur, the steering should be light, if it's heavy then something needs sorting out, greasing/replacing/taking apart stripping and rebuilding ...