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I bought one of Fred’s Les Leston bosses but am struggling to get it to fit. It’s very tight and will need some rubber hammer action to get it onto the splines. Is this to be expected?

I’ve messaged Fred but no answer yet so thought I’d chuck the question out here for feedback before I give it some ooomph!

Graham

They are well made but may need some lapping compound on the splines, working it back and forth till it starts to move easily. It will take ages but avoid banging it on, you'll not get it off if it jams up solid. I had to do this with mine, but it's absolutely fine now.

I agree with Nick, The new splines do take a bit of working back & forth, I used Brasso, but fine grinding paste may be a bit quicker.

All is great in the end.

M

Thanks very much gents.

I’ll get the lapping paste out.

Minigman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 3:28 pm I bought one of Fred’s Les Leston bosses but am struggling to get it to fit. It’s very tight and will need some rubber hammer action to get it onto the splines. Is this to be expected?

I’ve messaged Fred but no answer yet so thought I’d chuck the question out here for feedback before I give it some ooomph!

Graham

I had the same problem and did return it to him, I think the bosses he is using are from the Mini Moke from Australia.
They are a fraction to small and will not fit properly.

UHR850 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 9:34 am

Minigman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 3:28 pm I bought one of Fred’s Les Leston bosses but am struggling to get it to fit. It’s very tight and will need some rubber hammer action to get it onto the splines. Is this to be expected?

I’ve messaged Fred but no answer yet so thought I’d chuck the question out here for feedback before I give it some ooomph!

Graham

I had the same problem and did return it to him, I think the bosses he is using are from the Mini Moke from Australia.
They are a fraction to small and will not fit properly, I bought one from there and had the same problem.
I wish I did know now to solf about the not good fitting problem.

No problems with Fred at all, he's a honest guy.

The LL boss I got from Nippycars was a brand new item, definitely not an old or (NOS) moke boss from Aus

Mine was a little tight the first fitting but it now goes on and off fine. I’ve had a similar experience with another new boss of a different brand

If they were Moke bosses they'd most likely be from the Californians which used a Formula (Made In UK) steering wheel. The splined section is comparatively small so you could fit it inside a nice tulip-shaped cover. One of the suppliers here seemed to have a lot of them, bought when Leyland Australia pulled out in the early '80s.

Tim

I certainly wouldn't say they were "too small" but they are tight.

I've had 3 of these and 2 fitted perfect first time, 1 required lapping. I know Fred had a new broach made to make these so don't see the connection with any other boss.

timmy201 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 10:03 pm The LL boss I got from Nippycars was a brand new item, definitely not an old moke boss from Aus

Mine was a little tight the first fitting but it now goes on and off fine. I’ve had a similar experience with another new boss of a different brand

I did not say old, mine was brand new.

mk1 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 8:06 am I certainly wouldn't say they were "too small" but they are tight.

That's the right word Mark.

It does appear from the photos the formula boss may use a NOS inner boss
https://nippycarsonline.com/product/for ... -boss-kit/ However, the LL boss is all new
https://nippycarsonline.com/product/les ... ss-4-hole/

UHR850 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 9:34 am I think the bosses he is using are from the Mini Moke from Australia.

They were (are) 100% identical in splining to what was manufactured in the UK for Minis and Mini Mokes.

I'd say he's had a splining broach made - at some considerable cost - and given how fine the splining is, there's very little between tight, fitting and slipping.

Or, he may well be splining then off an old column, in which case, yes, they would be tight !

Well said Spider Chris. According to the other half, you're always better off with a tight fit that you can adjust, than a looser fit that will always be a loose fit. Like throwing a sausage down the High Street as they say!

If it were me, I'd make a 3 corner scraper and gently scrape each spline for the perfect fit

Annanuvverfing too. We ought to give credit where its due, that these small suppliers are keeping us supplied with these things.

This was the brand new I bought from Nippy cars, did use only the alloy ring and fitting ring.
Did send the boss back and got a good refund, did use an original boss afterall.
Everything was and is very well made thats for shure.


Kees.

Well after a considerable lapping session it’s on. The horn no longer works but it’s on none the less

Les Chandler shared this on Facebook - a genuine LL adaptor to make the horn work. I've suggested this to Fred to add to his boss kits but haven't heard back yet.

Most of us have come up with some kind of fix, but it's good to know that there was a genuine LL part and they never worked without one

So not just me then, that’s good to know.

I’ll come up with a fix too.

Just to finish this thread off, the boss went on fine after a bit of grinding as you guys suggested. I chatted with Fred about the need for a horn spacer ‘thingy’ and he sent me one FOC. Lovely to receive a quality product and quality service, a rarity in these times.