Steering 'snatch'
Discussion
Last year lockdown gave me the time to replace all of the front suspension and steering bushes, ball joints and get the steering rack refurbished.
So far so good, but after reassembly, tracking and ride height were all set I noticed that the steering was much lighter in the straight ahead position but tended to snatch when cornering.
This came to a head when going uphill around a hairpin bend and ended up with me bonnet first in a hedge as the steering tightened up and the back end just went it's own way. When I turned in and got half way around the bend I realised that I needed to turn in more - I knew this road well and speed was not a factor, purely the fact that that when I added an extra bit of turn the steering just snatched and the back went around.
After recovery back home much checking and re-checking followed with the help of friends and a local garage but we never managed to get away from the idea that the steering UJs were out of phase - see previous posts about this that started quite a debate.
They were marked on removal and refitted in the same position, give or take a spline or two.
Not wanting to go through all the hassle of adjusting them to see if it made a difference I toddled off for the MOT this weekend(pass) and asked them to see if they could see anything amiss.
Lo and behold...... when turning the wheel we could see from underneath that the steering rack bushes were moving side-to side within the arched mounts that secures them. This would explain the small amount of turn to begin with followed by the over-reaction when the shoulders of the bushes met the bracket and 'real' turn kicked in.
The bushes were new, poly, from TVR Parts.
As a test I took the brackets off and put a strip of inner-tube over the bushes, refitted the brackets and went for a drive - hey presto, normal steering was resumed.
Has anyone else experienced problems like then with the rack bushes? Could the poly bushes be a different size to the old rubber ones?
Any thoughts are welcome.
Steve
So far so good, but after reassembly, tracking and ride height were all set I noticed that the steering was much lighter in the straight ahead position but tended to snatch when cornering.
This came to a head when going uphill around a hairpin bend and ended up with me bonnet first in a hedge as the steering tightened up and the back end just went it's own way. When I turned in and got half way around the bend I realised that I needed to turn in more - I knew this road well and speed was not a factor, purely the fact that that when I added an extra bit of turn the steering just snatched and the back went around.
After recovery back home much checking and re-checking followed with the help of friends and a local garage but we never managed to get away from the idea that the steering UJs were out of phase - see previous posts about this that started quite a debate.
They were marked on removal and refitted in the same position, give or take a spline or two.
Not wanting to go through all the hassle of adjusting them to see if it made a difference I toddled off for the MOT this weekend(pass) and asked them to see if they could see anything amiss.
Lo and behold...... when turning the wheel we could see from underneath that the steering rack bushes were moving side-to side within the arched mounts that secures them. This would explain the small amount of turn to begin with followed by the over-reaction when the shoulders of the bushes met the bracket and 'real' turn kicked in.
The bushes were new, poly, from TVR Parts.
As a test I took the brackets off and put a strip of inner-tube over the bushes, refitted the brackets and went for a drive - hey presto, normal steering was resumed.
Has anyone else experienced problems like then with the rack bushes? Could the poly bushes be a different size to the old rubber ones?
Any thoughts are welcome.
Steve
SteveOS3 said:
.......The bushes were new, poly, from TVR Parts.............Has anyone else experienced problems like then with the rack bushes? Could the poly bushes be a different size to the old rubber ones?
Any thoughts are welcome. Steve
I fitted OEM new rubber bushes in 2010 and not had a problem since. My opinion? Forget crAny thoughts are welcome. Steve
ppy polly and fit OEM rubber ones and keep out of the bushes. They last for years and years. The same goes for suspension bushes - IMHO of course 
When I did have a similar snatching problem it was down to a stiff steering column UJ.
Perhaps a pair of these will clamp things up better?
https://www.tjmotorsport.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod...
I’ve got a few sets of rubber mounts on eBay if you want to go back to original. You’d need to split them at the bottom for a retro-fit.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324384636873
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324384636873
phillpot said:
Perhaps a pair of these will clamp things up better?
https://www.tjmotorsport.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod...
Alloy? Likely to stress crack on the bend?https://www.tjmotorsport.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod...
Thanks for the advice everyone.
I got a set of the rubber mounts, fitted them and the problem went away.
I noticed a couple of things:
the shoulders on the poly-bushes were square to the body but the rubber ones were tapered, which would give a lot more sideways grip.
the mounting bracket slid all the way down on the poly but had to be forced on the rubber then drawn down with the bolts.
Hoping to get out this weekend around Mid Wales for a long awaited run.
Steve
I got a set of the rubber mounts, fitted them and the problem went away.
I noticed a couple of things:
the shoulders on the poly-bushes were square to the body but the rubber ones were tapered, which would give a lot more sideways grip.
the mounting bracket slid all the way down on the poly but had to be forced on the rubber then drawn down with the bolts.
Hoping to get out this weekend around Mid Wales for a long awaited run.
Steve
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