Series 3 Steering relay too tight after rebuild

Hello everyone.

I've just finished rebuilding my steering relay. Full story will go on my rebuild thread soon but i'm after advice please.

It's gone from from just too slack for what the manual says to much too tight.

To sort this the manual says to take the end caps off one at a time press the split bushes in a bit and squirt some oil in between the bushes and the shaft. I think i've sussed a way to do that but it's not easy unless you've got the upper body strength of the Hulk. Anyone done this before and got any tips?

It turns ok (within correct tolerances) for part of the turn, maybe 150 degrees but seems to bind for the rest.
How much difference does it make if it's a bit tight? It's going to wear and slacken off before long isn't it? Or will it have me shooting off the road at the first corner I come to? Even then it's an off road vehicle, does it matter?

It probably turns less than your 150 degrees in normal operation, what are you testing it with ie have you got one of the arms fitted.
Is it full of oil? With arm on it get it in the position it moves and whilst moving it give a tap on shaft with a hide face mallet on the top then bottom to try and shock the bushes back against the springs.

Thanks for the reply. The top arm is fitted, it's full of oil and held in a vice. I'm using a spring scale to test the resistance. I will try giving it a tap tonight and see if that helps. I think you are right about it's turn when it's working. If I can get the good bit in the right place then all's well.

I think it does about 90 deg.

LincolnSteve said:

Hello everyone.

I've just finished rebuilding my steering relay. Full story will go on my rebuild thread soon but i'm after advice please.

It's gone from from just too slack for what the manual says to much too tight.

To sort this the manual says to take the end caps off one at a time press the split bushes in a bit and squirt some oil in between the bushes and the shaft. I think i've sussed a way to do that but it's not easy unless you've got the upper body strength of the Hulk. Anyone done this before and got any tips?

It turns ok (within correct tolerances) for part of the turn, maybe 150 degrees but seems to bind for the rest.
How much difference does it make if it's a bit tight? It's going to wear and slacken off before long isn't it? Or will it have me shooting off the road at the first corner I come to? Even then it's an off road vehicle, does it matter?

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I rebuilt one of those.....its not something I shall ever do again!!! Probably safer to cure dandruff with a shotgun.

rob1miles said:

I think it does about 90 deg.

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That would be great. I can manage that amount.

Rodeo Joe said:

I rebuilt one of those.....its not something I shall ever do again!!! Probably safer to cure dandruff with a shotgun.

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It's a bit of an adventure isn't it! Squeaky bum time when that spring is under full compression and not fully secured.

Don't you feel proud though. We're the brave (stupid???) ones who will tackle anything! When the others ask what it was like we can say, 'You'll never know man cos you weren't there'.

I've seen another tread on here with something similar and that turned out to be nothing to do with the split bushes. It was the end caps and the thrust washers that were binding on the shaft. I just really don't want to have to take that spring out again.

LincolnSteve said:

It's a bit of an adventure isn't it! Squeaky bum time when that spring is under full compression and not fully secured.

Don't you feel proud though. We're the brave (stupid???) ones who will tackle anything! When the others ask what it was like we can say, 'You'll never know man cos you weren't there'.

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What really surprised me was when the spring shot out of the end that didn't have the hessian sack over it, took ages to prise the bits out of the shed wall and decided there and then I was being a prat and should NEVER do it again.

You can leave the top end cap in place whilst driving shaft and bushes out the other end.

Blackburn said:

You can leave the top end cap in place whilst driving shaft and bushes out the other end.

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At least that way you know where to expect the explosion.

Blackburn said:

You can leave the top end cap in place whilst driving shaft and bushes out the other end.

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Knowledge I shall never use

Had another go tonight. It's a bit better but still not right. I do think it's good enough though. First thing that I wanted to do was shift the split bushes inside the housing and get some oil between them and the shaft. The top ones really took some shifting so when they finally moved and the oil surrounded them I was sure I had sorted it. I did the bottom ones as well to make sure and they moved easier. I tested it again and although better it still binds in a big part of the rotation. I then loosened the bolts in the top cover but left them in place so I could gently tap the shaft up and down a bit and that helped a little more. It also proves that it's nothing to do with the end caps tightening down too much. I even checked that the shaft has enough clearance to pass through the thrust washer. So I have ended up with 120 degrees of acceptable travel which I think is enough. Looking at the relay in the vice and estimating where the longitudinal rod will travel I think it will do. We will see when I finally refit the steering wheel and can't budge it.

LincolnSteve said:

Oh and I forgot to say that the brand new bearmach bottom oil seal has been leaking the whole time so will need replacing. I am glad I ordered an extra one. I'm really glad I started this.

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Yep I replaced 2 and it still leaks top and bottom.
You'll know when it needs topping up though when the drips stop.

When you rebuilt it was the shaft new?
Rebuilt mine in January 2017 with a Santana manufactured new shaft and it has not leaked since.

Blackburn said:

When you rebuilt it was the shaft new?
Rebuilt mine in January 2017 with a Santana manufactured new shaft and it has not leaked since.

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I used the old shaft on mine and I would rather get a new box than take it to bits again!

The problem with that is finding one with a shaft that is not made of cheese.

Blackburn said:

When you rebuilt it was the shaft new?
Rebuilt mine in January 2017 with a Santana manufactured new shaft and it has not leaked since.

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Yeah. New shaft, spring, seals, split bushes and even one of the end caps. All Bearmach to avoid the Britpart lucky dip. Still having all these problems.
Nothing ever seems to just work as it should. Am I expecting too much?

Blackburn said:

The problem with that is finding one with a shaft that is not made of cheese.

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I got all Bearmach bits hoping it's good kit. I thought about getting a new relay but keep hearing stories about what's inside them.

I decided that even though it's a time consuming and difficult job at least this way I know what i've got in there.

I'm very disappointed that it hasn't gone better as I followed the manual to the letter, made a spring compressor and got what I thought were the best parts. I really feel I deserve a better outcome.