15 replies to this topic

[callumwebber]

Does anyone know what the best grease is to use on steering column bushes? i recently changed mine and the steering is a bit stiff any help should be greatly appreciated cheers.

[wile e coyote]

Are you sure nothing else  is wrong? shouldn't be at all stiff with new bushes.....and a bit safety critical....

 

If all ok then a bit of general / multipurpose grease will be fine.....

 

to be honest though just about any you have lying around of any sort will do ......the column is hardly a heavy use / high friction fitment...

[tsumini]

If you're talking about the felt bushings I would use a fairly heavy oil and let it soak into the felt. I probable prefer to use graphite/alcohol mixture to apply then alcohol evaporates and leaves good lubrication. This method used extensively for piano action bushings.

[KernowCooper]

As above the felt bottom bush is supposed to be soaked in oil pre install and the upper is plastic, the later cars had plastic lowers if I remember correctly.

[sonikk4]

As above the felt bottom bush is supposed to be soaked in oil pre install and the upper is plastic, the later cars had plastic lowers if I remember correctly.

 

Yes the later columns do have upper and lower plastic bushes. 

[petey81]

I had felt on the bottom but replaced with plastic one and used a little bit of lm grease.

[tsumini]

Yeah I assumed felt but plastic should use grease. Nylon and teflon would probably not require any lube.

[callumwebber]

thanks for the reply's i must have got it wrong i guess they are the later plastic type its not super stiff but it creeks a bit as well i think the cold weather isn't helping but i'll put some multi purpose grease on them

[jaydee]

Yes smear some grease on the plastic bushes and you should be fine.

[sonikk4]

Without doubt the felt needs to be lubricated otherwise it will wear very very quickly. When i have replaced the Nylon sleeves / bushes i have always used some lubricant in this particular case a Molykote product. Better some than none.

[callumwebber]

i greased them the other day with some grease i got from a industrial machinery company next to my work steering is very smooth and easy bow thanks for the replies 

[M30]

I replaced the lower plastic bush on mine a few weeks ago. It was ok at first then started creaking when i was driving, so I sprayed some spray grease in the very top of the column and through the steering lock hole and let it run down to the bush. Spray grease is good for this as it is very thin when you spray it then it thickens up after a few minutes. all is well now with now tightness or squeek.

 

Stu

[tiger99]

If the column is stiff, it is almost always a sign of a very dangerous but easily rectified condition, the rack and column being out of alignment. Loosen the 4 nuts on the rack U bolts and tap them back slightly to ensure that they are loose, tighten the column fixings and the pinch bolt, and then do up the U bolts again. If it has been like that for more than a few miles, take the column off and inspect the internal splines for damage.

 

If there is misalignment for any appreciable time, the column lower splines will fail suddenly, resulting in no steering. It used to be the biggest killer in Minis, in the early days when idiots were fitting incompetently designed drop brackets. Nowadays not so frequent, but there is a case of spline failure on this forum every couple of months, and each of these could easily have been a fatal accident.

 

It is very unlikely that the column bushes themselves are making the steering stiff, so it is vital that the alignment of the colum to rack is checked. Your life, and that of others, depends on it. If it is still too stiff, the next vital thing to check is the ball joints, if they have been replaced recently. Second killer in a Mini, if too tight, because they suffer fatigue fracture, causing suspension collapse, but if they have not been touched recently that can be ruled out. If a Mini has ever been run with tight ball joints, don't just re-shim, but replace them, as there is no way of knowing whether the fatigue life has already all been used up, and they may be at the point of failure.

 

If you do want to grease the plastic column bushes, the red grease used in knuckle joints is ideal, but not necessary, as they always were assembled dry. Sadly, you can't easily get it nowadays, so you may as well use LM, a supply of which is needed for Minis anyway.

[colinu]

Regarding the lower plastic bushes... can a felt bush be replaced by a plastic one? Some TMF topics seem to imply it's OK to do, but I tried on what i think is a mid-80's column and it was stiffer than I expected (even with a bit of grease and before I'd fitted it back to the steering rack).

[petey81]

Yes you can I had a lower felt bush and replaced with plastic one