Alvis 4.3 steering box

New to Alvis cars and I am finding the steering very loose compared with say a 1953 Riley.  All of the steering joints are OK so I am looking at a steering box rebuild as Red Triangle say they cannot normally be adjusted any further and need rebuilding.  Looking at the board I cannot find much on trusted traders so...  Apart from Red Triangle who else would you entrust the work to. I am based near Stansted Airport.   Chris Posted by chhym 30/03/2015 13:23:00

Chris,  Welcome to the Club and the BB. Generally speaking people do get a reply to their questions although I tend to find that it may take longer for the pre war cars.Good luck with the restoration. I would make contact with the model secretary, whose details can be found in the front of the Bulletin.  Richard Melbourne Posted by RichardWallach 30/03/2015 21:36:48

Hi Chris,  I am not exactly sure what you mean by the steering being loose (eg free movement at the steering wheel, or obvious slack in the steering box, or the car wanders all over the road when trying to travel in a straight line...). My Speed 25 had very poor steering when I first purchased it - within weeks I had cured much of the tendency to wander and lose the back end, by replacing the old but not worn tyres and correcting the tyre pressures. Later, I found that rebuilt shock absorbers also made a step change improvement to the steering.  There are a few similar cars near to Stansted so you should be able to make some comparisons.  cheers  Dave Posted by DaveT 31/03/2015 12:06:44

Hi Dave,  I have had a read of your posts as its a pre-war car therefore basically the same as mine. I suspect we will have "many chats" as I suspect you are quite hands on as I am.  The car drives in a straight line, its just there seems to be large amounts of turning of the steering wheel before there is much change in direction.   Once you have "taken up the slack in the steering" then the steering becomes positive which is why I believe the steering box needs adjustment/rebuilding.  Hope this helps.   Chris Posted by chhym 31/03/2015 12:19:10

Have you added oil to the steering box? If it's like mine, the next morning there was a nice puddle of oil on the garage floor.  I packed it with axle grease and it's been fine since.  That was about 7 years ago. Posted by johnlayzell 31/03/2015 18:39:00

Hi John,  Only recently purchased the car, put her through and MOT, then put new oil and plugs in as one hard started to fail, then put her into storage for winter so currently I have not put anything anywhere be it grease or oil anywhere!  I assume its lithium grease used in the steering box?   Chris Posted by chhym 01/04/2015 11:33:41

Chris,   have you checked for king pin wear and lubrication? I am not sure what is original but my chassis lubrication does not connect to the king pins (top or bottom) and I have added grease nipples in place of the bare tapped holes that I found when inspecting them. Stiffness in the king pins could cause a few steering problems, including the need to "over turn" the steering wheel to get any movement at the tyre / road interface.  I am still using oil in the steering box, but it is a bit "incontinent" and needs regular top ups. Steering box rebuilds can be done by a company in Wimbledon (South London). "Speedy sleeves" might be useful to reduce oil leakage or, if getting the box rebuilt, ask for a more modern seal to be included.   Dave Posted by DaveT 02/04/2015 11:15:05

Dave, Do you know the name of the company in Wimbledon for steering box rebuilds? Graham Posted by langford 15/04/2015 14:53:08

Chris, I am about to use a company in Dorking for a 1935 Speed 20 SC steering box called Steering Services 01306 640483, ask for Simon Evans.  An AOC member recommended him. Graham Posted by langford 18/04/2015 15:06:41

It looks as though the company that I had heard of in Wimbledon moved in 2012 to Dorking!  <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.steering-services.co.uk/">http://www.steering-services.co.uk/</a><!-- m --> Posted by DaveT 22/04/2015 11:21:33