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Exploring my steering system tonight, as it was feeling loose. Discovered that the u-joint bolts were less than finger tight (loose clamps and bolts has been a common refrain as the previous gentleman did not drive the car much after he undertook initial
restoration), so that seems to help.
Below is a picture of the lower steering shaft knuckle. The joint that I have circled has some side to side play in it. Is that normal, or does it indicate wear?
Last edited by benji808; Oct 11, 2018 at 09:03 PM.
Reason: Picture didn't attach
I'll try to remember to take a peek at mine and report back. My reaction is that a U-joint shouldn't have play....but, as mentioned, it's a weird configuration
I agree with Doug. Universal joints are not designed with any looseness. They are supposed to act as if the shafts connected to them are one solid (but flexible) unit.
Normal in the seance as it does happen with usage. If the car is an series 1 or early series 2 you have a tall rack and the intermediate shaft is short and good ones are hard to find. Try to find a new/newer one that is still tight.
As a side-bar question to Benji808's question - is there adjustment in the steering rack to take up play in the rack and pinion? Mine has a little slop there.
I'd always thought that the unusual design of the Jag's u-joint was meant to accommodate the rubber-mounted front suspension cross member. The u-joint can move axially to let the front suspension move around on the rubber mounts without translating that movement into the steering column. The joint should move in and out freely but have no slop in the u-joints.
But ones I've pulled off of junk cars are usually stiff in the axial direction and give me the impression they didn't actually move much in service.
As an aside, I recently built a hot-rod with a Jag suspension and I used the Jag rubber mounts to install it in the new chassis. I saved the original Jag joint, but used a straight u-joint to couple the steering shaft to the Jag rack and pinion - I have not driven it yet, but I'm curious to see if the rubber mounted IFS translates any motion up into my steering column (column is out of a Cadillac)
I'd think that David at everydayxj.com would have one if yours is knackered. If you want to experiment, ujoints with the Jag's spline are available from Sweet and other manufacturers. I believe the MGB steering joint is the same spline as the Jag's too.
Lower steering column knuckle
