Regarding an earlier comment about meticulously assembling something
only to find that you had screwed up and had to disassemble it and start
over. Been there, done that A LOT over the years, and not just relative
to British cars.
Which brings up the question of whether or not I need to go through this
process once again. A number of months back I posted a question about
replacing my Cobra's lower steering column shaft bushing. This bushing
is made of felt and, as it happens, is interchangeable with an MGB's
lower steering column shaft bushing. What bothered me than and bothers
me now is how tight this bushing is. I followed a recommendation
someone posted and soaked the bushing in an oil/graphite mixture for a
couple of days. For good measures I also smeared the shaft with a
liberal coating of assembly grease, which is a very slippery combination
of grease and graphite, before inserting the shaft in the column. While
I can turn the wheel, it is extremely tight. Once the shaft is
connected to the steering rack, I'm sure the wheel will be even harder
to turn.
So, I'm at the point of wondering, should I a) remove the column/shaft
assembly from the car and do whatever is necessary to loosen it up, or
b) leave it as is and assume that the bushing will loosen on its own
over time. I assume other 'B owners have replaced these bushings. Were
they super tight initially, then loosened up over time?
Thanks for your help.
Roland
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