Daily Driving
![Cutaway[1].jpg (22410 bytes)](../images/Cutaway1.jpg)
All sections of the steering shaft have flat spots on the splines to lock them well into place limiting the amount of adjustment possible at the unions. I loosened the tie rod ends and turned each of them the same number of turns till I was properly centered. It took 7 turns. So what I am wondering is how close to the end of the tie rid am I? I went past it a few (3) turns to see if it would fall off and it didn't. There is about an inch and half from the beginning of the threads on the shaft to the lock nut.
At least I am now properly centered, turn signals turn off as they should, it drives reasonably smooth and adequate till Tuesday morning when I get all 4 aligned and wheels balanced on the car. However I would prefer not to have one wheel come loose while driving (silly me). I have inquired on the Triumph mailing list as to the answer and will add it once I get one.
Well, it turns out the threaded portion is 1 7/8ths inches. I have 1.5 inches of thread and bolt meaning I have 3/8ths inch inside the tie rod end, that's about 7.4 turns. Hmmmm. I think it needs more. I'll try and shift the rack and so if I can't pick up another 1/2 inch or so.
12/21/98 I have perfected the method for centering the steering.
Certainly none too obvious. At the top of the steering column, under the hood
is a 2 bolt yolk that secures the first piece of steering shaft (from the dash area) to
the first piece under the hood. Remove that. 
Now go to the first bolt above the steering rack and remove it. I have
marked it in the picture, but you probably need to click on the picture to get it full
size to see it. 
Now you can slide the
shaft up and remove it from the rack and readjust its location. I restored the tie
rod ends to their original settings giving each about an inch of thread. The wheel
is now straight and each tie rod end has plenty of thread. Now I am ready for the
alignment in the morning.
12/22/98 I am amazed and astounded. They said the rear wheels were WAY out. The fronts were not too bad. I had been playing with the tie rod ends and had gotten it close by eye. It turns out I was within a 1/3 inch. Not bad for an eyeball. They balanced the wheels ON THE CAR and the total result is amazingly smooth. Drove back to the office on the expressway at varying speeds to 75 and had almost no vibration at any speed. The whole feel of the car is better, even the way it responds to bumps in the road is better, much less effect on steering. The rack is centered, the steering wheel is centered, the turn signal returns are in the right place, can life get better than this?
1/9/99 A bit of news. About 400 miles into the new head the exhaust manifold gasket blew and required a warranty replacement. The valves seemed to be changing a lot so we replaced the rocker train with a spare that was sitting around. Readjusted the carbs yesterday to compensate and it runs very well now. Back to a fine running engine. The bushings on the clutch fork shaft are worn and I think in a couple weeks I'll drop the tranny and replace them. As long as the drive shaft is off I plan to take it and have it balanced.
1/20/99 Got Dr. Dan to replace the clutch shaft bushings. There was a lot of slop in the clutch. Even the bushings on the pedal were shot, so he replaced those. Turned out the taper pin on the fork had sheared and was barely holding the fork in place. The remaining pin is interesting. I forgot it at the shop, but I'll be in Dan's neighborhood tomorrow and will pick it up and post a pic. In turn the throw out was not held straight which, in turn, was wearing a groove in the fingers of the pressure plate. I went ahead and had him replace all three clutch components, since they come as set. There was only 15000 miles on the clutch. Anyway now I have a spare perfectly good clutch plate but the pressure plate and throw out probably belong in the trash.
While the transmission was out I had him take the drive shaft and balance it. The shop that did it said it was unbalanced. I still have a slight shimmy at about 50 mph, but the ride is smoother. I thought it was good after the wheel alignment and balancing, but this is another noticeable improvement.
2/6/99 Knock on wood, all is well. Tuesday is going to be A/C day. Everything is all set.
Its an Air Conditioning Unit!
Drove it home in the 70 degree "winter" temperature and its cold!
I like it. Bring on summer. If you're in Atlanta, it was AutoCool on Spring Road in Smyrna near Atlanta Road. They were nice guys, easy to work with. Nice clean installation.
This page last updated on 12/19/99 06:34 AM