The Technical Archives

This page was last updated on $Date: 1999/01/07 01:53:32 $.

The Stator Tube for the Adjustable Steering Wheel

The purpose of the stator tube is two fold. First the wiring for the turn signal switch and the horn button run through it from the front of the steering box to the trafficator attached to the steering wheel. The second function is allow you to adjust the fore/aft location of the steering wheel while keeping the trafficator stationary as the steering wheel is turned. This is accomplished by keying the trafficator's short stator tube with a slot cut in the stator tube. On the other end, the stator tube is clamped to the front of the steering box with a olive gland and nut.

The stator tube is suspectible to cracking at the end of the slot. The slot appears to have been cut using a slitting saw. The saw teeth were not radiused, leaving two sharp corners at the end of the slot. At the end of the slot, the saw cut is not full depth, it ramps up from the inside diameter to the outside diameter.

Making a new tube

The tubing material came from McMaster-Carr. I bought 3/8" OD 304 stainless steel tubing with 0.035 inch wall (PN 8989K76). There was no reason to use stainless other than it was available with the correct dimensions. McMaster-Carr supplied the tubing in random 6 foot lengths so there was enough material to have a couple of shots at cutting the slot satisfactorily.

The first step was to chamfer the inside diameter of the end to be slotted. Next I cut the slot, 4.25" long, 0.090" wide, using a slitting saw in a mill. To reduce the likelihood of cracks occurring in the corners of the slot, I used a dremel tool with a round bit to put a radius at the end of the slot.

I checked the slot using the short trafficator stator tube. The trafficator stator tube was a good snug fit on the stator tube. The trafficator stator shouldn't be able to rotate on the stator tube.If it does, the trafficator will rotate a bit as the steering wheel is turned.

After the slot checked out okay, the tube was cut to length - 60.75 inches, and the inside and outside diamters were chamfered.

Purchasing a New Stator Tube

At least one Healey parts vendor has these listed in their catalog($50). If you don't have a (friend who owns a) mill or the time, this is probably the best way to go. I haven't seen one of the tubes being sold, but I would recommend checking out the machining of the end of the slot. Add a radius at the end.

Please send comments, additions, and errors for the SOL Healey web pages to Bob Haskell.

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