I’ve just driven a 1935 Rover 14 and felt that there was a little too much play in the steering. I was able to inspect, and observe under operation the external elements that affect steering (king pins, wheel bearings, drag link ends , track rod ends and drop arm fit to steering box) and came to the conclusion that the steering box is providing most of the play.
Can anyone help in providing:
First of all critique of my diagnosis.
And (if I’m correct) a solution - adjustment/repair/replacement - and of course suitable suppliers of items I may require.
If you have read this far I thank you for your patience.
Chris
1935 Rover 14 - steering box
Re: 1935 Rover 14 - steering box
Dear Chris,
I've been hoping that any people who really know how to fix these may have replied to you but I'll tell you what I can until you receive better information. Bit of background, I currently have six P1/P2 cars and have had two others, as well as a couple of P6s in times gone by.
Rovers have a tendency to have a bit of play in the wheel which my father would have described , holding out his arms and moving his hands up and down an inch or so , as "a bit of that". If you've been used to driving a car with rack and pinion steering, on a good road surface and on the straight, your hands may hardly move but with a car with a steering box, it's likely you'll be more akin to a driver in the studio in "Z Cars" or "Carry on Cabby".
Some are better than others, probably due to varying amounts of wear. I have to confess, I also have a collection of 1930s Daimlers and Lanchesters and compared with the Rovers, most if not all of these cars have travelled fewer miles and slower. However, they too have the same steering arrangement (Marles Weller or Burman)and I've yet to find one with the wear that some Rovers have. Interestingly, none of these Daimlers and Lanchesters were fitted with a centralised chassis lubrication system (that came to Daimlers for the 1936 season) and a 1938 Lanchester I have which has done 13800 miles from new has steering almost on a par with rack and pinion steering, as have some of the Rovers which have had attention.
From the above and other bits I won't bore you with, I deduce that : a) the original steering was very good b) the provision of the chassis lubrication system made owners forget to fill the steering box, c) even if they did fill the steering box, the oil came straight back out due to the failure of the seal in the bottom for the stator tube d) the ability of the Rover to travel faster coupled with little lubrication accelerated wear in the steering.
It would be interesting to know whether the 14 you were driving has adequate lubrication in the box. The answer today is to fill the box with self levelling fluid grease. This will not be done in a minute. As the books describe, the steering needs to be turned to fill the box but it also takes quite a bit of time until the level becomes steady, unless it is simply falling back out of the bottom. If it does need filling, the question is then as to how many miles have been travelled with it in this condition because it will have had accelerated wear with no lubrication.
The 1946 14 I have came to me with a railway lubricator fitted to the top of the steering box and this was filled with oil which then ran down into the steering box and out again through the totally non-seal being made by a plastic washer in the bottom plate where a proper seal should have been. A wine bottle cork provided the raw material to make a new one and it hasn't dripped at all since.
Regarding repairs, the 1938 14 I have has a receipt with it, in front of me at the moment, from December 2013, from "Steering Services", Dorking - Mr. S.P. Everett, - Rover 14 steering box reconditioned - £300 +VAT. Of course, it is all to dismantle from the car and then to refit.
Just to return to my father a moment, one of the stories he told me was of talking with an old farmer in Wigtownshire in probably the 1950s and this farmer was still running a middle 30s Rover : pulling a trailer, milk churns, hay, calves in the back - as well as being the family car. The old farmer was reciting the virtues of the Rover and concluded with : "Aye, these Rovers run a long time after they're done" .
I've been hoping that any people who really know how to fix these may have replied to you but I'll tell you what I can until you receive better information. Bit of background, I currently have six P1/P2 cars and have had two others, as well as a couple of P6s in times gone by.
Rovers have a tendency to have a bit of play in the wheel which my father would have described , holding out his arms and moving his hands up and down an inch or so , as "a bit of that". If you've been used to driving a car with rack and pinion steering, on a good road surface and on the straight, your hands may hardly move but with a car with a steering box, it's likely you'll be more akin to a driver in the studio in "Z Cars" or "Carry on Cabby".
Some are better than others, probably due to varying amounts of wear. I have to confess, I also have a collection of 1930s Daimlers and Lanchesters and compared with the Rovers, most if not all of these cars have travelled fewer miles and slower. However, they too have the same steering arrangement (Marles Weller or Burman)and I've yet to find one with the wear that some Rovers have. Interestingly, none of these Daimlers and Lanchesters were fitted with a centralised chassis lubrication system (that came to Daimlers for the 1936 season) and a 1938 Lanchester I have which has done 13800 miles from new has steering almost on a par with rack and pinion steering, as have some of the Rovers which have had attention.
From the above and other bits I won't bore you with, I deduce that : a) the original steering was very good b) the provision of the chassis lubrication system made owners forget to fill the steering box, c) even if they did fill the steering box, the oil came straight back out due to the failure of the seal in the bottom for the stator tube d) the ability of the Rover to travel faster coupled with little lubrication accelerated wear in the steering.
It would be interesting to know whether the 14 you were driving has adequate lubrication in the box. The answer today is to fill the box with self levelling fluid grease. This will not be done in a minute. As the books describe, the steering needs to be turned to fill the box but it also takes quite a bit of time until the level becomes steady, unless it is simply falling back out of the bottom. If it does need filling, the question is then as to how many miles have been travelled with it in this condition because it will have had accelerated wear with no lubrication.
The 1946 14 I have came to me with a railway lubricator fitted to the top of the steering box and this was filled with oil which then ran down into the steering box and out again through the totally non-seal being made by a plastic washer in the bottom plate where a proper seal should have been. A wine bottle cork provided the raw material to make a new one and it hasn't dripped at all since.
Regarding repairs, the 1938 14 I have has a receipt with it, in front of me at the moment, from December 2013, from "Steering Services", Dorking - Mr. S.P. Everett, - Rover 14 steering box reconditioned - £300 +VAT. Of course, it is all to dismantle from the car and then to refit.
Just to return to my father a moment, one of the stories he told me was of talking with an old farmer in Wigtownshire in probably the 1950s and this farmer was still running a middle 30s Rover : pulling a trailer, milk churns, hay, calves in the back - as well as being the family car. The old farmer was reciting the virtues of the Rover and concluded with : "Aye, these Rovers run a long time after they're done" .
