I only had an hour this evening – but I wanted to tick off at least one task on my long To-Do list. It seemed reasonable to take apart the Mildred’s RHD steering rack in this time. Even if I might convert the car to LHD, I thought it cannot hurt to restore the original rack as well. It was also a good test for the new workbench surface – as pretty much all the oil (there is about 200ml in the rack according to the workshop manual) came out when I pulled the gaiters.
In indentations in the locking rings need to be prised up. Next, I used a small punch that I inserted in the hole on the locking ring – and tapped that open a bit. With this released the tie-rod housing can be unscrewed. Fortunately, all springs are still ok – new ones cannot be ordered anymore. However, these seem to be the same springs use in the Mini swivel hub ball joints but need to double check this. Even though – I think I might be able to fix this tie-rod play by just tightening he housings a bit more.
The universal joint has significant play. I have one spare that is better but will also try to overhaul this one. The play on the pinion shaft is caused by a worn damper pad. The spring for the damper pad is slightly different than the one for the tie-rods and also looks OK. I already ordered spare parts from Midland Sports & Classics – they had the damper pad, oil seal, bearing and bush. As they only deliver to the UK it will take until February when I am in the UK again until I get the parts. Therefore, I will just clean up and paint everything and put it temporarily back together.
The workbench just needed a bit of brake cleaner and a wipe. Works the way I hoped it woud.
Fixing C6622 
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