1962 riley elf

can anyone put me in the right direct im looking for a sterring rack for my car,, i think it is the rack that is wrong the car rattles on the left side when going over and cobbles and there is no movement from wheel but rack seems abit loose on left side thxs

As far as I'm aware it should be the same rack as for a Mini. The one in my car is the standard MKII and later Mini rack.

paul warriner wrote:can anyone put me in the right direct im looking for a sterring rack for my car,, i think it is the rack that is wrong the car rattles on the left side when going over and cobbles and there is no movement from wheel but rack seems abit loose on left side thxs

Welcome to the forum. enjoy.
Sounds if you need to check out the track rod ends, all ball joints and suspension rubbers together with the 2 U bolts holding the st/rack to the floor first. minispares .com and many motor factors stock racks if that is what you need.

Methinks that the internal bush supporting the left side of the rack within the tube may be well worn by now. During my Elfies refurb in the eighties, I stripped the rack and fitted a new bush (Nylon iirc) and the rattles disappeared!!!. I haven't seen any of these bushes advertised these days and the chances are that other parts may be well worn by now. To test the rack, grab it by the LHS gaiter and see if you can move it up/down and fore/aft.....if its loose it'll need replacing else your MOT man will be leaning on you!

Minispares/Minisport sell new (Mini Mk2) racks for about 50 notes, about half that for a recon jobby and they're relatively easy to replace if you have lots of patience and a day or so to remove/replace it:

http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=pb&pid=34079&title=

http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=pb&pid=34437&title=

Track Rod ends come separately.

You'll need to drop the front subframe (maybe exhaust disconnected) and be particularly carefull to follow the w/shop manual for when connecting the steering column to the new Rack's pinion... if it isn't lined up correctly when you do up the "U" bolts, you'll eventually have no steering whatsoever as the splines on the connection with the steering column grind themselves to oblivion - dodgey!!!!...many folks have dropped their columns using the olde SPQR bracket without loosening the "U" bolts first...hence the column not lined up properly with the rack pinion gear...most of them eventually went "straight-on at "T" !!!!!

Cheers

Cheers

thxs for the replys guys the cars been through the last 2 m.o.t with this rattle the guy i bought it from said he changed the right knuckle and cone if that makes any sence he did not do the left,,the guy who did the work for him said there was movement on the rack only one direction,, will the mini mk2 rack fit my car,, as its mk1 riley

yes no problem at all

hilbert

In fact a MkII rack will give you a smaller turning circle as there's more lock on it.

going from very early rack to a later one you may also have to change the steering arms as well which are a slightly different angle.

http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=pb&pid=32844&title=

The little nylon bush that is in some racks is still available as well, tho not sure if it will fit an early rack

http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=pb&pid=41516&title=

I would go with Tony and check that whole side as there is so much that can cause a rattle, and I would have thought that if a rack was bad enough to rattle then no way should you have got through an MOT these days

hilbert wrote:yes no problem at all

hilbert

yes no problem at all

do you meen the mk2 mini rack will fit,,,sorry for the bad grammer,,,one other question the speedo cable was not working i was able to remove the connction at engine it was broke at cable end,, i have a new one but i cant see how the speedo clock is removed to screw the new one in,,, thxs

As for getting clearance to replace the speedo cable, my experience is that you should be able to move the center dash out enough to get your hands around the back of the speedo. If you look inside the glove box doors on both sides you should see some wing-nuts holding the dash panels in place on the outside ends. Once you remove those and pull the glove box panels out of the way, you will see the bracket that holds the gauge cluster and the center dash panel in place. There should be some wing-nuts or knurled nuts that you remove and then gently pull the center dash out enough to get clearance. I think once you take a look you'll see how it comes out.

Guys thank you all,, got me wee riley back today steering rack from a mark2 mini and new speedo cable fitted no knocks or bangs great job im so happy me weeeee car is rattle free,, got my parts from a guy who does top gear stuff his name is ken irwin lives in a town 20 :miles from me town called castlederg

http://www.118.com/biz/1999561.mvc/castlederg-car-repairs-garages-mechanics-ken-irwin-motors