This is the seventh in a continuing series of articles on my TR-8.
A couple of weeks ago, I finally got around to working on my 8
again. There were some oil leaks (so what else is new on a British
car!) that needed to be repaired--engine oil was leaking around the oil
pan gasket, and power steering fluid was dripping from the control
valve. I decided to start with the power steering leaks first.
The Repair Operations Manual gives a fairly detailed procedure on
how to remove the rack from the car--you place a support tool in the
fender gutters to support the engine, remove the 4 engine mount bolts,
loosen the rack and subframe mounting nuts and bolts, lower the
subframe, and remove the rack. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Actually,
it's not that bad. I changed a few steps as I didn't have the tool to
remove the tie-rod end ball joints (I removed the two bolts that hold
the steering arm lever to the strut and brake caliper instead). A
couple of steps need some clarification, as I couldn't get the rack out
as written. The procedure states that you should lower the subframe
until the rear mounting bolts just clear the subframe. In my case,
there wasn't enough room underneath the car to remove the rack this way
since the 8 was up on jack stands instead of being 5 or 6 feet up in
the air on a lift. I had to lower the subframe as far as the anti-roll
bar and lower suspension arms would let it. This gave me enough room
to move the rack out through the right-hand engine mounting bracket
until the tie-rod end and steering arm lever cleared the left-hand
bracket, while working from the front of the car. I was then able to
move the rack forward and to the left until the other tie rod end
cleared the mounting bracket. The rack must come out towards the front
of the subframe. It is not possible to slide the rack out through the
mounting brackets as the input shaft and control valve will interfere
with them.
Once I got the rack out, I raised the subframe back up, installed
all of the mounting hardware for the subframe and engine mounts, and
removed the engine support tool. I didn't want to leave the engine
supported solely on this tool while I worked on the steering
rack--peace of mind, I guess.
The next tool to find was the putty knife. The rack was completely
covered with muck and mire and needed a good cleaning. The putty knife
removed a good deal of the sand and grease before the heavy artillery
(cleaning solvent) was brought out to finish the job. 1,1,1-Trichloro-
ethane does a pretty good job at removing the nasty stuff--just be sure
to be in a well-ventilated room or you'll get a terrific headache!.
Now that the rack could be touched without turning my hands black,
I started to disassemble the control valve. The instructions in the
manual are good, but a few changes should be noted. 1). Removing the
seal at the top of the control valve--you will remove a circlip, a
back-up ring, and finally the seal itself. The overhaul kit
(Austin-Rover box marked CAX 2190) does not include a new backup ring.
Instead, the new seal is thicker than the old one and doesn't require
the backup ring. Do Not Install the old backup ring! If you try to
drive the seal down into the control valve far enough to install the
old backup ring, you will ruin the new seal, as I almost did. Smear
the new seal with grease, drive it in place using a large socket or
other suitable tool until you can reinstall the circlip. 2).
Carefully lever off the top cover from the valve housing... You won't
be able to save this piece, as the hard plastic cover will crack into
many pieces as you "carefully lever" it off. Save your time and effort
and cut it off with a wire cutter or other suitable tool. The overhaul
kit includes a new one, anyway. It's made of a much more substantial
material with a better design. Don't bother to order a new cover
(TRF calls it EBW 1135) as I did--it is made of the same material as
the old one, and the cover supplied in the overhaul kit is better.
Does anybody want (1) EBW 1135 T8 Cover, Valve 1.81 CWE still
sealed in the Unipart bag? Just let me know....
While I had the rack out, I began to work on getting the oil pan
out and a new gasket installed. The previous owner had cross-threaded
three of the pan bolts on the left side of the engine, so there was
very little sealing action on that side since the bolts were only in by
a couple of threads. Once I got the sump out, I was able to re-tap the
threads for the oil pan bolts on the left side of the engine. Don't
forget--aluminum is soft--use care with the tap or thread chaser! With
a great deal of elbow grease, the old gasket and sealer were removed
and the sealing surface was cleaned up for the new gasket and Permatex
sealer.
The manual implies that you can remove the sump by raising the
engine 2 inches and supporting it from above with the support tool. In
my case, I had to raise the engine 2 inches, as well as lower the
subframe a few inches in order to get enough clearance to remove the
sump. Remember that the steering rack was already removed--according
to the instructions, I should have had enough clearance without having
to lower the subframe. You may wish to remember this should you ever
have to remove your sump.
Here are a few hints for when you put everything back together:
When you reinstall the control valve and pinion back into the rack
unit, you will have to reinstall the plunger, spring, threaded plug and
locknut. A procedure on P. 165 of the TR-8 manual (57.10.07, step 43)
shows how to set the preload on the rack plunger. (Tighten the plug
while moving the rack through its full stroke in each direction until
hard mesh is achieved, then back off just sufficiently to achieve a
smooth traverse--normally 1/8 turn--then tighten the locknut.) Failure
to follow this procedure may cause the rack to make a knocking noise
whenever you hit a bump.
Except for the bolts that attach the rack to the subframe, all of
the fittings on the rack unit are SAE, not metric. This includes all
of the hydraulic line fittings.
There is a "dimple" in the back side of the steering rack that you
can use to determine the center point of the rack. To get to it,
remove the small bolt in the threaded plug that holds the rack against
the pinion. This bolt size is 1/4-28 and is used in place of a zerk
fitting. Place a small screwdriver through the hole in the plug until
you feel it hit the rack. Move the rack back and forth until the
screwdriver finds the dimple. Your rack is now centered. Remove the
screwdriver, reinstall the small bolt, and forge ahead.
Use Type F Automatic Transmission Fluid (not Dexron or any other
type of power steering fluid) to fill the pump reservoir. If you can't
find it at the local autoparts store, visit your local Ford dealer.
Ford still uses Type F ATF for the power steering systems in their new
cars (but not in their automatic transmissions--you figure it out!)
You will need slightly more than 1 pint to fill the system. Don't put
it all in during the initial fill, as it will foam up as the air is
expelled from the system. Instead, fill the reservoir to the full cold
mark, start the engine (the pump will make lots of noise due to the
entrained air), run the wheel from lock to lock, and shut everything
off. You should find the pump reservoir almost empty or filled with a
pink foam (Red fluid + air = pink foam). If you've got the foam, wait
for it to subside. Otherwise, refill to the full cold mark and repeat
the process again. The mooing noise emanating from the power steering
pump should disappear by the second or third try as the air is removed
from the system.
Access to the engine mount bolts on the right side of the engine
can be improved by removing the bracket used to secure the cooling
system header tank on the inner fender well. Swinging the tank over
towards the distributor will give you a lot more room to work in.
Reinstall the engine mount bolts so that the heads are facing the
rear of the car, as mentioned on p. 52 and 56 of the service manual.
These specific directions are not mentioned in the power steering
section. This will place the nyloc nuts toward the front, away from
the hot exhaust manifolds and converters. Two of nylon inserts in the
nyloc nuts on my 8 were melted due to the high heat in the area. While
you're at it, you may want to inspect the rubber engine mounts for
deterioration due to heat or contact with leaking oil.
Was all of this work successful? As far as I can tell, yes. I
still have a small leak from the control valve area, but I think that
it may be coming from a loose hydraulic fitting. The big squirt of
power steering fluid that I always got when turning the wheel with the
engine off seems to be gone--but only time will tell. The sump is
still clean, but I think that the front and rear main seals may need
some attention in the future. I'm not looking forward to that job. 8-(
That's it for now--Happy Motoring!
Tim Buja Cherry Valley, IL
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