Whilst I wait for my new caliper, I thought i'd have a look at my wonky steering wheel. Got some advice from Marty on how to go about it.

My wheel is off centre at bout 11'o clock when wheels are straight. The steering box markings aren't lined up. If I put my wheel straight, the markings line up. So as I understand it, this means the box is set right and that the drag link might want adjusting as it's too short?

I'm having a look at all of this myself first before I send it in for tracking. The last car I had, they spent 90 minutes farting about with the track rod, only to give it back to me and say it was seized and I needed a new one. I want to be prepared with working components this time. With this in mind, I've loosened the drag link adjuster clamps but I cannot shift the adjuster whatsoever. I've given it a right old blast with penetrant but to no avail. New drag link required or is there a method to loosen the bugger?

Several cycles of heat and penetrant blast on this sort of thing over a few days usually gets there for me. Get it good'n hot, not red tho', blast with favourite penetrator, I use Plus-Gas, leave to cool then blast again. Repeat a few hours later. Same again tomorrow. Doesn't hurt to spend a week on it, once in the morning once in the evening.

If it still didn't want to go my ultimate plan would be to make up a pair of overlapping clamp spanners with a hefty bolt to push them apart undoing wise and have at them with an impact wrench. Something will shift! But then I have the workshop facilities to make such things. Wondering if its time to get under, measure up, then make one for the tool-box in case of need. An afternoon in the shop making chips is, at worst, amusing. An afternoon under t'motor hammering, squirting and swearing is, at best, not fun.

Off topic but I have a bank of Mikuni carbs off an XJ900 on the bench at the moment halfway through the heat' blast treatment to free off two seized pilot adjuster screws. Customer Dork sheared the slotted head parts off the brass screws before screaming help! Fortunately there is nice little reservoir for Plus-Gas on top. Got the drain time down from never to overnight after a week of heat'n blast. When its down to under 4 hours they are going on the mill for new slots to be cut so ready for screwdriver time.

Longest one was a Bridgeport ram seized in its turret. Too big to heat properly but I set up with the ram on a decent slope and it slid down overnight of its own accord after 3 weeks of morning and evening treatment.

Getting rush headed on this sort of thing always seems to end in tears. Followed by a frantic search for someone who can manage an unorthodox fix. Done enough such fixes for other folk not to risk my own stuff.

Clive

I don't have access to the heat source mate. I just have manual tools. Lol. New drag link it is then.

QHG000060 for the drag link. They're not a huge amount of money, unless you go for Lemforder (the best) in which case around £60
ANR1000 for the nuts

B&Q will do you a cheap gas blowlamp which will be enough. I've found that if you slide the clamps right off the end you can get a thin cold chisel in the slots to open them up a bit too. If you use something like Stillsons on the adjuster, they bite harder the more grunt you put on them and don't round off the hex like a spanner will. First time I did mine I ended up laying underneath it, handing onto the chassis and pushing a pair of Stillsons with my feet. It moved eventually.

What Orangebean said. Get a new one. At that price its not worth mucking around, especially as the end joints must be past their best. Can't get over how inexpensive in real terms so many mechanical parts are these days. Hafta keep remembering to check prices before putting serious work in. Especially on things that back in the day would automatically be considered un-affordable.

Clive

£32 New from eBay.

Also, how much play should there be in the steering damper? Mine seems to be able to move and twist quite a bit.

Sorted. Took Gilberts advice with the cheap blow torch approach. I already have one I use for lighting the fire but I didn't expect it would work on the nut as I've usually seen the garage use acetylene. Anyway, 10 minutes heat up and the nuts moving nicely now with a bit of penetrant on it too.

Steering wheel at 12oClock now. Saved £30 on a new draglink.

If you start playing with acetylene on those steering rods you will likely be replacing said rod. Blowtorch probably more appropriate.

I ended up replacing mine on the Disco as the fixed end was shot (after much fighting of what i was told was a separate part which didn't want to separate, only to find when looking at microcat that it wasn't a separate part at all)