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Jose , The stuff Glyn has posted is normally yute style, it can be impregnated with oil and will act like a wick, holding the lubricant for years, the craft stuff is normally artificial fibre based and probably would not work as well.
Yes~ Even lamb's wool wicks well. For many, many years rail cars had the lubricant wicked to their plain bearings by lamb's wool wicks.
Blimey didn't think that was known outside the rail road fraternity, my Father was chief engineer for a company supplying rail road equipment which is the only way I knew that info, it's surprising what and why you learn some very obscure facts and how those odd facts sometimes can be very useful at another time.
I remember I made marks with white paint on the steering column shaft where it connects to the U joint so it would go back exactly where it was. I also remember the rubber Gaiter was starting to split apart, I remember having to pry apart the pinched area after removing the pinch bolt, it was a pita to pull that steering column out. Once out, the vinyl bushings were easy to fit since they have a "locking button" that snaps into a hole in the outer tube.
My puzzlement was: What were those snap holes in the outer tube for, prior to the supercession to plastic bushings? Was something else supposed to snap there? All I removed was a wad of horsehair, there were no bushings.
The whole steering column thing can get very confusing. So many steering column variations exist including clips.
My earliest factory parts manual (Revision November 1970) does not even recognise that there were ever any felt bushes for S Type. It shows plastic top & bottom bushes from Chassis No1 in both LHD & RHD cars.
I suspect they were left over Mk2 columns used in early builds. Who knows?
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; 02-28-2019 at 02:23 AM.
Glyn is correct S type parts shows nylon bush, Mk2 shows the felt bushes, I assume there was some earlier parts books that may show the felt bush for the S
I am glad SNG has it and they are cheaper than XK's; I looked online and while XK's was sold to Moss, the same terrible customer service manager (Michael Marter - general manager) is still working there so I will always avoid buying anything from XK's unless that is my only option.
Anyway I am going to inspect this other column and see if all of the bushings, etc. are in good shape and will use the special lube Glyn recommended. I did talk to SNG and they said if I used the felt bushing the issue is that over a bit of time play might develop. I am guessing that is why they went to a non felt bushing. The only issue is that the non felt bushing is using materials that are not the same as the old non felt bushing and thus causing a squeak? If I do need to change the bushings or the column uses the non felt bushings, I am going to use plenty of the lube Glyn recommended and hope this is the last time I remove the column.
I have a theory that the felt is not a bushing as such but it is glued to the steel shaft of the column at the points where it contacts the vinyl bushings. The bushings are made of some type of vinyl, not plastic. If I reduce the inside surface of the vinyl bushing by the thickness of the felt, I can eliminate the squeak forever.
the squeak is the steel column rubbing against the dry vinyl bushing which doesn't move, it is fixed in place. So, a permanent slippery layer of material between the steel column and the bushing will resolve the issue. you can lube and lube the bushing and once the lube is rubbed off, the squeak will come back.
I'm going to bypass the yute material that SNG and Robey supply, and use a synthetic felt just to try my theory. If it doesn't work, I will accept defeat haha!
Jose, the felt is referenced as a bearing by Jaguar, what you are calling the bushings above are retaining washers, and the felt bearing is definitely not glued to the steering column, if you did that you would not be able to insert or remove the inner column as it would not pass the retaining washers. By reducing the washers by the thickness of the felt you would introduce play into the column as a direct result,
The point of the felt is to retain the lubricant, it will do that for years, maybe not 30 years but Jaguar probably didn't expect the cars to be still around when they designed them !
The lubricant Glyn mentioned uses additives that create a surface film, their lubricity is so high that they don't rub off, lubricants designed for this type of purpose do not flow, the use is neither high speed or high temperature, MOS2 and WS2 lubricants can be purchased as dry lubricants in a can they are sprayed on and form a surface film , I think this comes under the term "nano technology", they can also be purchased in powder form and used as additives to oil and grease to increase lubricity, but this is now above my pay grade !!
IMO if you glue the felt to the column you will be defeating yourself before you start Jose.
TilleyJon you may be correct but I have to try it !! What I am thinking of is a printer-paper thin, self-sticking, synthetic felt that might go through the vinyl bushing without altering the bushing. As you know, even with the bushings, there is a fractional play in the inner column, in the thousands of an inch, but it is there, I might get away with this. If not, I wasted the time, besides, I have to replace the gaiter which is deteriorated. Glyn's lubricants are not easily obtained in the US.
I am glad SNG has it and they are cheaper than XK's; I looked online and while XK's was sold to Moss, the same terrible customer service manager (Michael Marter - general manager) is still working there so I will always avoid buying anything from XK's unless that is my only option.
Anyway I am going to inspect this other column and see if all of the bushings, etc. are in good shape and will use the special lube Glyn recommended. I did talk to SNG and they said if I used the felt bushing the issue is that over a bit of time play might develop. I am guessing that is why they went to a non felt bushing. The only issue is that the non felt bushing is using materials that are not the same as the old non felt bushing and thus causing a squeak? If I do need to change the bushings or the column uses the non felt bushings, I am going to use plenty of the lube Glyn recommended and hope this is the last time I remove the column.
Primaz ~ You are spot on with the horn kit. I rebuilt mine because it is a known trouble spot.
S Types were all supposed to have plastic bushes. I like lickahotskillet's idea of a small felt ring to feed/wick lubricant over time. Belt & bracers approach.
That said ~ plastic lubricants designed for the job will last a very long time. Think of their use in your old VCR mechanism. They outlasted the VCR & there have been vast leaps in technology since those days.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; 03-01-2019 at 08:31 AM.
The Lubricant I recommended is available direct from DuPont USA. DuPont ~ Dow Corning merged in Sept 2017
If you want MOS2 based dry lubricants that you can spray on & will adhere tenaciously there are any number of dry chain sprays etc that will do this. If they will stay on a Motocross bike chain they will certainly stay on a steering column. I use just such spray on my wheel splines instead of grease. No crap running down my spokes.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; 03-01-2019 at 08:46 AM.
Let me explain in the most basic of terms what a grease is and how it works. A grease is a fibrous soap or thickener that has base oil & additives absorbed into it to the degree of achieving a desired penetration (thickness, consistency). The viscosity of the base oil (mineral or synthetic) can vary on application as can the additives from antiox to antiwear to nano solids like MOS2, to anti rust & corrosion & resins, surface active & EP components, wetting agents etc. etc. ad infinitum.
When grease is applied to surfaces in motion to one another (in this case rotation) it bleeds oil & additives onto the moving parts to lubricate them. When the motion stops the soap/thickener re absorbs the oil until the next requirement triggered by relative movement/motion.
Greases are designed for when reapplication of lubricant is infrequent or never as in the many sealed for life bearings, ball joints etc. etc. on the market. Grease is also designed (thickener dependent) to seal out water and contaminants.
Grease can have a very long life in service. They are not just "rubbed off" ` They migrate straight back into the interface to be lubricated & provide a certain "film strength". Variable by type & design/formulation.
Certain surface active additives can be blended into grease that would require you to machine off the surface layer of the metal or whatever to get rid of them.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; 03-02-2019 at 05:03 AM.
02-26-2019, 12:48 PM
