At 14:48 05.01.00 -0800, clifford.pope@virgin.net wrote:
>I have 2 questions I hope someone can answer:
>
>1) Steering rack (Mk1, manual
>I have replaced the rubber bushes but the rack still moves slightly from
>side to side when I rock the steering wheel. I have I think followed
>faithfully the instructions in the book, and I have tried levering the
>locating plates underneath up the slotted holes as far as possible while
>tightening the u-bolt nuts. But still the whole rack 'squishes' on the
>bushes about 1/8 inch before moving the steering relative to the car.
>Is this really normal? It must cause a lack of precision in the
>steering, yet with new components I cannot see how it can be any other
>way.
I noticed this too, when I installed new polyurethane bushes on my car. It
is supposed to be that way. In fact I think that this is part of the
"damping" in the steering. And, the precision won't be worse, but I guess
you won't feel every little pebble on the road with some slack...
For a high performance rally or racing car, the rack needs to be fastened
to the chassis much firmer, and I know people have quit using bushes at
all, in fact. But I can't see much benefit to that for normal road usage...
>2) Where can I obtain new front disk pad anti-rattle springs? They don't
>come with the pad kit, and Rimmers say they are unobtainable. Yet they
>must be an expendable item because they are always so rusty and fragile
>on any car I have seen. Without adequate springs the pads don't locate
>properly in the caliper and seem to rub on the disk all the time.
>By the way, why don't disk brakes need return springs like drum brakes?
>It always seems to me that disk pads disengage just by good luck and the
>disk whirling round, whereas shoes have proper return springs that
>positively retract them from contact with the drum.
The brake surfaces are on the inside of the drums and are curved, and that
will make the shoes wedge into the drum, especially the shoe that moves the
most in the direction of rotation (the shoes to the rear). The rear brakes
would simply bind if there were no springs there.
It is quite different with the disks, as the brake surface is entirely flat
(unless you have a car that vibrates badly under braking... :-), and the
pressure is perpendicular to the surface. The pad will receive the energy
and transfer it to the caliper at the upper and lower ends of the pads
(lower if you brake while going forward). Since the brake surfaces are
flat, there won't be any binding effects at all, and even though the pads
are in contact with the disk at all times (they are, in fact), they won't
drag.
The springs fitted between the pads and the split pins are there to ensure
that the pads don't vibrate and produce squeaking noises. I think there are
plates between the pistons and pads as well, to avoid squeaks. In fact you
can fit the pads without neither, and they'd still work properly, but you
might risk having audible evidence of braking before the emminent impact
with another car might occur. Hehehe...
I hope this explained what puzzled you.
I always use quite liberal amounts of copper grease at all places where the
pad touches the caliper, it makes it much easier to dismantle later, and it
removes any vibration. I even smear some on the part of the piston
protruding from the caliper. The bore is quite susceptible to rust, and
this seems to help. But then, I haven't renewed my pads more than 5 or 6
times! :-)
Happy new year, to all triumph owners!
---Asgeir---
PS: Did anyone else think that the Triumph Industrial map that we received
with the latest SixAppeal was nice? I'd love to see pictures from the
facilities inside. Are there any photographs from the facilities?
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