Tie rod knocking inside steering rack.

[Peter Laidler]

Don't mince words Chris! What were they thinking...........?

[Spider]

Don't mince words Chris! What were they thinking...........?

Quite !

Polyurethane isn't a bearing material.

I had a newly reconditioned rack bought to me (fitted in the car) that had one of these in it. It was tight, tight such that the Poly bush was gripping the shaft, then after put enough steering effort in to make small movements, you'd overshoot what you were aim for. The guy did complain to the seller about this and was told it would soon bed in

" bed in " ? If it can " bed in " then it'll soon also flog out. I can see from their design they have attempted to reduce the contact area (and it's grip) by putting a hex in the guts of it. Utter junk.

Seriously, the original felts were way better than these.

And Nolans I would have though would know better. I did some R&D work with them back in the 80's when they developed their range of bushes for the Mini. Then again, I came away from it all after trialing their lovely bling red bushes and promptly went back to rubber.

Engineering Plastics for this bush in the Rack I found very early on is not a desirable material as it's difficult to get a smooth linear glide action through it while keeping clearances to a minimum. If you have a careful look at the factory plastic bush, the inner is made such that it doesn't have a full contact with the rack, but that it rests on 3 small pads and uses some elasticity in the material to keep clearances to zero - until it wears.

[timmy201]

So what’s the best option Spider? I haven’t been able to find the felt bush anywhere

[Spider]

And Nolans I would have though would know better. I did some R&D work with them back in the 80's when they developed their range of bushes for the Mini. Then again, I came away from it all after trialing their lovely bling red bushes and promptly went back to rubber.

I should have mentioned here too that I was not involved with the development of these rack bushes.

So what’s the best option Spider? I haven’t been able to find the felt bush anywhere

Best option I've found Tim is as Pete has been suggesting, a bronze bush. I've been doing them this way now since the early 80's and other that replacing the gaiters every 8 - 10 years, they make the rack trouble free.



Another option for the AYA6000/AYA6001 racks is to use an upper steering column bush. It's been a long while since I did one with these, I can't recall if it's the early or late bush (I suspect the early). If I recall, the bulbous ends need to be trimmed back and then it's fitted back in the sleeve. If you look at the shape of these, they too have 3 'points' to contact the shaft, similar to the UK Plastic Bush. These do work well and for quite a while. Normanhurst Mini Spares were doing their racks with these up to the time that I was supplying them with their reconditioned racks.

[MiNiKiN]

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Thanks Peter for this information, I will have a read later.
Can this bush be replaced without removing the rack from the car?

I bought a new "quick rack" (C-AJJ1571) and the ball joints (a seen in quoted photo) seem really reluctand to swivel.
Will this loosen once in use or shall I better address the issue? If mending is required, how would I do that? Any experience anybody, pls?

[Peter Laidler]

Good question Minikin. This is my limited experience of mini steering racks and even less experience of good sound engineering principles.

Remember that the articulating track rod inner ends are spring loaded. I grease the the ball and cup and tighten up the cup until the ball is tight in the cup. Then I release the cup, say 1/8 of a turn until I can rotate/move, up and down the tie rod within the cup using gentle pressure with my thumb and fore-finger. THEN lock-up. There's no need to knock seven bells out of the locking flange part of the lock-nut (depending on which sort you have. There are several hybrid/mix-and-match variants.....)

That's the way I was taught these things many years ago as an engineering apprentice.

Clearly, if you have a new or 'refurbished' rack......., refurbished by a pro, the up-down and rotary movement of the track-rod within the cup will not have any high spots or loose or tight spots. It should have an even feel over its entire articulation. Same as the other side!

If you can't rotate or move the track rod cleanly, without it feeling notchy and bitty, then lap it in until you can

And I'll say this again and again......... It's all very well replacing the bush with the rack in place, using whatever method that you choose. More power to your elbows and all that. But remember....... When you do it this way, you can't fix anything else that's taking place within the rack. Duff pinion oil seals, saddle or pinion pre-load, rusty bearings etc.

And if it's a Mk2 type rack, for heavens sake modify the rack while it's apart so that you can top it up annually from inside the car. No more rolling about underneath!

Here endeth the lesson.....

[Spider]

The Quick Racks aren't a factory item and so who know what the design of them is. I'd say, if it's like most modern suspension components, it'll likely have a (engineering) plastic seat that's spring loaded, so it may well be right and will likely stay tight until it's worn.

[MiNiKiN]

Thank you gents, both for reassuring me that I definitely have to address this as well as the tips for adjustment and modification.