Sorting the Davrian’s steering
Imentioned last time that I’d changed the Porsche’s transaxle oil, but despite doing this, I still wasn’t entirely happy with the gear change. However, I decided to try the driver’s seat a little further forward, and as it transpired, the next time I drove the car I found that the new seating position allowed me better operation of the clutch, which in turn made for a much nicer gearchange – result!
The Porsche has also been used a lot. At the time of writing I’ve done a couple of the South West Classic Car events – the Abergavenny Toy Fair (which has a classic car display) and the Coleford Festival of Transport, which were great fun. Carolyn and I also took part in the Usk Valley Classic Car Club’s Driveit- Day. This was a superb event, with seamless organisation. More recently, we took part in the club’s Welsh Weekend, based at the excellent Lake Vyrnwy Hotel. To say that this was an enjoyable event is a huge understatement. It was absolutely brilliant, and the Porsche performed beautifully on what must be some of the best driving roads in Wales.
The Davrian hasn’t been driven much, but it has been worked on. I recently decided to further investigate the wheel vibration issue. Although much better (thanks to my last round of work on the car), this problem hasn’t been completely resolved. As part of the investigation, I removed the rack to give it the onceover. I’d had an inkling that the steering damper was overtight, and that the Belville washer had been over-compressed.
However, in removing the rack I discovered that a trackrod bush (one of the two extended sleeve bushes that bolt to the rack) had delaminated. Not only that, the extended sleeve had pulled loose and ‘welded’ itself to the central rubber gaiter. It didn’t matter what I tried, the sleeve would not budge and, eventually, a tear began to appear in the gaiter. A new gaiter was provided by the excellent Imp Club Spares, along with a new-old-stock bush.
I don’t possess a hydraulic press, so in order to press out the remains of the old bush I followed my son’s advice (he’d done this type of job before) and used a suitably-sized socket, some washers, a long countersunk bolt and a nut splitter (without the chisel part). The splitter was just the right
Suggested by Martyn’s son David, the Heath Robinson-ish contraption which comprised of a socket, part of a nut splitter, washers and a countersunk bolt worked really well, and Martyn was able to remove the remains of the old bush relatively easily.
size to fit over the trackrod, and also create a void into which the remains of the old bush could pass. It sounds a bit Heath Robinson, but worked a treat. The new bush was a simple press fit in using the vice.
With the bush replaced,
I could now focus on the steering rack. It’s an easy unit to dismantle, even more so seeing that I could sacrifice the torn gaiter, thus dispensing with the need to ever so carefully remove it. With the locknut and top bearing removed, the splined pinion pulls out easily, although you do have to be careful not to drop the shims. The damper screw then needs to be removed in order to allow access to the damper pad spring, Belville washer, damper pad washer and the damper pad.
The Belville washer was indeed a little over- compressed, so a new one was fitted, along with new upper and lower pinion bearings, a new O ring, the pinion, the shims, and a new plastic/metal cap for the inspection opening. I then adjusted the steering damper to take up any play, although some on- car tweaking will probably be needed.
Next, it was on with fitting the convoluted centre gaiter. This is not an easy task, as it is necessary to tease the gaiter over the aluminium boss on the rack and it is so easy to tear the gaiter when doing this. I’ve done this job a number of times, but it never gets any easier. This time I lubricated the inside of the gaiter and used something I’ve had since owning my first Imp – a hubcap removing tool. It’s kind of hook-shaped and has a smooth, rounded end, perfect for doing what must be akin to keyhole surgery!
Once the gaiter was safely installed, I fitted the rubber end covers and the securing clips. The correct positioning of these clips is crucial because if they are fitted with the securing nuts prone, they can catch on the trackrods. Also, it’s imperative not to overtighten the clips as the gaiter balloons and leaks will ensue. I then filled the rack with the requisite amount of oil (half a pint). The handbook recommends EP80, but like many owners I chose to use EP75/90 synthetic. Filling was followed by fitting the trackrods, True, it’s more of a fiddle refitting the rack with the rather lengthy trackrods in place, but it’s less of a chore (and certainly less messy) than having to fill the rack with oil once it’s been fitted to the car, a task which is followed by having to attach the trackrods, something that’s far from easy in the very confined space. Before fitting, to ensure that the rack was oil tight, I left it on the bench overnight, having placed kitchen roll beneath it. The next day I was pleased to discover the absence of any tell-tale oil drips on the paper, indicating all was good.
With all of this done, the time had come to reunite the rack with the car. Fortunately, before this took place I had a good look around the underside and checked that everything was in order. It wasn’t – what I had thought to be a line of greasy dirt on the rack mounting plate turned out to be a crack. So work stopped and I set about ordering a replacement from Graham’s Imp Spares. Graham sent me a rack mounting plate that had been shotblasted and powdercoated. It looks really good, and I hope to be fitting it and the steering rack soon. I also need to address the large scratch that has materialised on the lower part of the Porsche’s nearside front wing. Carolyn told me I’d gotten close to a wall during one of the Welsh Weekend runs. It turns out she wasn’t kidding!