Adwest Marles power steering box.

[Glyn Ruck]

Rob ~ you have really turned this thread into a fantastic resource.

That upper joint under the gaiter on the steering column with the two nylon rollers is actually a simple plunging CV joint. If the rollers wear they can create quite a bit of slop in the steering. They are available & can make a big difference. I had multiple steering columns & they were all shot.

Steering CV joint 1.jpg (14.2 KiB) Viewed 2163 times

Steering CV joint 2.JPG (27.51 KiB) Viewed 2163 times

Steering CV joint 3.png (3.53 KiB) Viewed 2163 times

Steerin CV joint 4.JPG (51.2 KiB) Viewed 2162 times

[cass3958]

Thanks Glyn.

Most of the problems I think you will have from your steering are due to its complex multi arm/joint steering box design which is why rack and pinion is now the standard on new cars. (Not all new cars as I believe Mercedes, Range Rover, Ford Rangers and others still use multi arm/joint systems with a steering box in some of their cars.)

Being a multi joint system if you have a slight movement in one joint you can cope with that. If you have slight movement in all six tie rods plus the steering box and the two U/Js in the lower steering column you will have a lot of trouble.

One millimeter of movement in one joint is tiny and not noticeable.

One millimeter in six joints plus a couple in the worn box and lower column and you could be looking at 10mm of slop which is just over 3/8 of an inch. Add to that a slight movement in your wheel bearings, king pins and a bit of Parkinson's disease and you could be turning corners when you want to go in a straight line let alone wandering down the street.lol. The wear will just get worse the more you use the car and your tyres are going to suffer.

This is why people try and change their original steering box set up to rack and pinion but they just create even more problems with getting caster and Akerman angles all wrong. There is nothing wrong with the system designed for the S Type/Mk2 other than it is 50 years old and worn out in a lot of cases. It needs to have all the tie joints replaced, steering box serviced, kings pins greased and new front wheel bearings tightened correctly and you will find all the wandering will go away in my opinion.

[johngosnell]

I Know things are never as easy as described in the manual, but to replace the nylon rollers and the UJ joint don't look that bad a job.

Regards John


1B1257BW

[Glyn Ruck]

All the parts are readily available including the gaitor. Re-building the joints is a simple job once you have the shaft out of the car. Grease that CV joint with a minimum 3% Moly No 2 grease & it will outlast any of us.


In my case every single bearing, bush, ball joint, tie-rod end etc. was new & the steering box professionally rebuilt. All we had to do was rebuild the steering shaft which was simple.

[johngosnell]

Parts ordered

John
1B1257BW

[Glyn Ruck]

Good luck!

[cass3958]

Parts ordered

What is your intention then John. Strip out the whole steering box and adjust it or just take out the lower steering column and refurbish that?

[cass3958]

New filter arrived today so I popped the top of the reservoir and removed the old filter and put the new one in. Put the top back on and thought "that does not look right". In the reservoir there is a central spindle that the filter goes over. There is a spring which I had positioned over the spindle inside the filter.

New filter with spring inside filter on spindle.JPG (2.28 MiB) Viewed 2126 times

A washer then sat on top of the spring.

New filter with spring and washer on top..JPG (2.19 MiB) Viewed 2126 times

I started to screw the top back on and thought it was not right and looked in the filler cap at the set up. The spring was pushing the washer up to the underside of the top and when I put a finger in I could move the filter so it was not sealing correctly. Got the blue book out and had a look at the set up and there is no spring in the drawing? Went to the parts manual and again there is no spring mentioned?
Went back to the reservoir to try and figure this out. If I placed the washer on top of the filter and then the spring on top of the washer, when I put the top on the washer is now compressed between the washer and the lid top forcing the filter down so it seats correctly on the base plate.

New filter with spring on top of washer..JPG (2.36 MiB) Viewed 2126 times

Question. Is this correct? should there be a spring in the set up as per the parts book or is the parts book wrong?

Anyway filled up the reservoir with fluid and with the ignition off I turned the engine over to prime the pump. Spun the steering wheel over from lock to lock a couple of times and topped up the fluid. Started the engine and again spun the steering wheel from lock to lock and topped up the reservoir. Checked under the car and no leaks that I can see but the real test will be a long run. I just have to find a legal and essential reason to go for a drive now.

[Glyn Ruck]

Your bottom picture is how mine is installed with spring. Parts book is lacking.

Your centre picture appears to have the washer/spring seat inverted.

PAS Reservoir.JPG (69.04 KiB) Viewed 2118 times

[cass3958]

Thanks Glyn. I thought the third picture was correct once I had assembled it again as it was just logical to have it this way so the filter was held down securely. It confused me when I looked in the parts book and could not see any mention of the spring.
Another three weeks lockdown here so no chance of testing the PAS without a valid excuse so I might have to pop down to the shops to get the milk in the S Type.