Steering rack oiling/greasing

[ndevans]

Suspect this will have been covered before....is it OK to use grease in the steering rack?
The workshop manual says use an oil gun to put EP90 oil into the steering rack nipple. I don't have an oil gun, and I guess using EP90 in a grease gun will not work.

[svenedin]

I use one of these to oil the steering rack. It works very well.

Stephen

https://www.lubricationuk.com/product/h ... gun-150cc/

[myoldjalopy]

Yes, one of those oil guns will do the job, but grease will be OK - some swear it is as good, or better, than oil. Having said that, my preference is for oil....

[philthehill]

Even better than just oil is a 50/50 mixture of EP80/90 & general purpose grease.
The problem with the lubrication of the steering rack is that there are not enough oil/grease nipples.
To get round this I have fitted additional grease nipples to the steering rack. The additional nipples means that lubrication gets to all parts of the steering rack not just the end opposite to the pinion.
The additional nipples are easily accessible from under the wing.

steering rack 1.JPG (1.08 MiB) Viewed 417 times

[myoldjalopy]

So......grease and oil - the best of both worlds!

[ndevans]

Thanks Phil. Just 50/50 EP90 & grease in a standard grease gun?

[svenedin]

Yes, one of those oil guns will do the job, but grease will be OK - some swear it is as good, or better, than oil. Having said that, my preference is for oil....

Who can really say what is better for a part that takes so long to wear out? My car still has the original rack and shows no appreciable wear. It has always been oiled, never greased. The main thing is it should be lubricated and not forgotten and the gaiters/boots must be inspected periodically because if they are cracked all the oil will run out and dirt (which is abrasive) can get in.

Stephen

[Mervin]

Well, those who designed and built the Minor, including the steering rack, specify EP90, that's what I use.
I've never had any success with those "oil guns" and use a small, dedicated for the task, grease gun with a flexible pipe.

[mike1864]

At the risk of tempting fate, I believe my steering rack has not been changed or repaired since new, in 1956. IIRC, EP90'd at the specified intervals. The pedal shaft took 62 years to go faulty, its corrosion only discovered when the return spring broke. This assembly now has a nipple; so hopefully good for 120 years this time .

[philthehill]

EP80/90 will migrate to the bellows nearest the oil nipple and not get to the other end of the rack and that is why there needs to be more than one oil/grease nipple.
Whilst the original steering rack had a single oil nipple it does not mean it cannot be improved upon.

[svenedin]

EP80/90 will migrate to the bellows nearest the oil nipple and not get to the other end of the rack and that is why there needs to be more than one oil/grease nipple.
Whilst the original steering rack had a single oil nipple it does not mean it cannot be improved upon.

Agreed it can be improved upon but if the oil would tend to only migrate to the bellows nearest the nipple could you not jack the car up to make it run to the other side? Wouldn't it not tend to distribute everywhere anyway just by being driven?

Stephen

[ManyMinors]

On the odd occasions I have renewed rack gaiters on my own Minors I have always found that the oil has spread successfully enough. I've never worm out a rack even in high mileages - and reckon that a well maintained Minor is still capable of very regular motoring. Possibly all the better for it in fact. My only concern is to keep off the road when the salt/grit is shovelled about although regular, thorough rust prevention does make a great difference.
I believe that replacement steering racks are now supplied with grease inside. It'll make them easier to transport I suppose but I would still prefer to add gear oil to them as the original instructions. during servicing. Grease is far less likely than oil to spread itself from side to side than oil and adding an extra nipple is not something the average owner is likely to do.....

[michael4]

An oil/grease mix is called 'groil' in Austin Seven circles. We used to pump it into the steering box, if you over did it it came up the column and dropped into your lap. Nice.

We used a mixture in the hope that it wouldn't leak out of the steering box too quickly.

It was explained to me that oil and grease do not stay mixed. They may appear to mix at first but separate in time. This is not necessarily a bad thing so long as they reach their intended destination.

We recently got a rebuilt rack for our Minor. It was not the sealed type and came with a nipple. We are stickling with EP90.

[myoldjalopy]

EP80/90 will migrate to the bellows nearest the oil nipple and not get to the other end of the rack and that is why there needs to be more than one oil/grease nipple.
Whilst the original steering rack had a single oil nipple it does not mean it cannot be improved upon.

Agreed it can be improved upon but if the oil would tend to only migrate to the bellows nearest the nipple could you not jack the car up to make it run to the other side? Wouldn't it not tend to distribute everywhere anyway just by being driven?

Stephen

I think the oil does move about by being driven - and I would expect the bellows either side to squeeze the oil about when cornering. With all this talk on here of long-enduring racks, using oil cannot really be a problem or there would be more issues with the racks.

[svenedin]

This is actually a highly technical subject. In watchmaking, grease is specified for certain parts. These greases exhibit thixotropy (like custard). When subjected to pressure they turn liquid. When not under pressure they turn back to solid.

Stephen

[philthehill]

If the search facility is used a number of posts regarding steering rack wear can be found.
My own steering rack has had to be repaired and the ball housings Pt No: ACA5304 and seat balls Pt No: ACA5246 replaced due to wear at around 65k miles. The damper pads Pt Nos ACA5244 & ACA5284 were also adjusted at the same time. The gaiters Pt No: ACA6029 have also been replaced more than once.
So - yes steering racks are usually a long life item but it does no harm to make sure that the the steering rack is given every opportunity to live up to that long life expectation.

[ndevans]

Think I'd better take a look at mine then. So far as I'm aware it's original, 100,000 of the 170,000 miles on the clock have been put on since my dad bought the car in 1986, and it has had no attention in that time apart from occasional greasing and the odd new track rod end or gaiters.

[ndevans]

Made a start stripping the spare rack down. For those who've not seen one before, here's what the innards look like.

20250725_195318.jpg (1.05 MiB) Viewed 173 times

The tie rods have to be separated from the rack before the rack can be withdrawn from the housing. To do this, the tabs indented into the lock washers have to be bent up to clear the ball housing. I used a screwdriver and small hammer, which worked after some perseverance.

20250725_195353.jpg (593.53 KiB) Viewed 173 times

The ball housing then has to be unscrewed from the rack. In the absence of the special tool, I used a screwdriver & hammer again to gently tap the housing until it came free.
One removed, after some persuasion the rack came out. The tie rod ball joints appear nice and tight, no discernible play in there.

I have to say I can't imagine a lot of grease will migrate from the grease nipple at the end to the rack & pinion. A second one seems a good idea.

[ndevans]

I was under the impression that shims were available for the damper pads, but I can't find any. How are they adjusted?

[les]

I’ve not heard of damper shims; where would you put them ? One of the dampers in your picture shows the semicircular wear that occurs over time, the best thing is to replace. When I did mine only one was available, can’t remember if it was the primary or secondary damper that was not available, I had to get one made.