1974 Triumph TR6 - Part 60 - Sway Bar and Steering Rack

After finishing the rear suspension we are going back to the front LOL and installing the sway bar and the steering rack. Surprisingly not as easy asit sounds.

[@toxaq]

That gaiter trick with the screwdriver is like a miniature tire machine.

[@skipgould1780]

You made that sway bar installation look way easier than Chef Tush did on his TR250!

[@cheftush]

He must have been taking notes 😉

[@TR4Ajim]

Elin, when I added new gaiters on my TR4A, I used a similar “soda can” trick but used plastic I cut from an old detergent container. Flexible enough to maneuver, but strong enough to pull out with pliers.

[@andrewf4797]

Thanks for this, very helpful. In the manual it says that when you put the clamps on the steering rack, you have to push them outwards a specific amount with a special tool to put them under pressure before tightening the bolts. I suppose this is to stop the rack moving too much inside the rubber mounts which could cause wheel shimmy. I didn't do it on mine, I wonder if others have experience of this.

[@jamcdona]

Elin, you just solved a mystery for me. My rack boots are ripping on the hose clamp that someone put on the end of the steering rack- they should have used zip ties! They used a regular hose clamp, and it's ripping the boot. I want to replace that boot, but BPNW and Moss both have them on BO.

[@kjeldlarsen912]

Thx for the video great one 😉👍

[@graycav56]

Glad you didn’t slice open your fingers with the soda can trick!

[@quentinwyne297]

On our farm we had a toolbto expand rubber washers to castrste calves Works well on cvj boots also.

[@JeffKogut]

The wire you quickly discarded is for securing the large rubber bellows that you struggled with. You ended up using a zip tie, which is probably easier in the end.

[@DavidSL64]

Another excellent video Elin. Quick question. What is the purpose of the circle things on each side of the radiator protection shield? Mine are broken on one side, so I’m wondering if I should repair or replace the shield. But if they are not for any function, I wont bother.

[@ronaldtrottier8431]

No grease fittings on the tie rods? Were they not available with the fittings on them, or just not required any more?

[@gerriteduardnico]

A remark about the way the radiator shield is mounted. The second (lower) bolt should go outside in, rather than inside out. Once you installed the radiator, it will be impossible to remove the bolt if you have to push it inside, since the radiator is blocking it. So better is to mount all bolts outside in.

[@RustyBeauties]

There are bumper brackets attaching later to the same bolts. It is much easier to remove the nut, install the bracket and put the nut back on rather than withdriving the whole bolt. I can't see a reason why I would need to remove that radiator shield, but whatever the reason, it will involve removing the radiator as well anyway.

[@gerriteduardnico]

@@RustyBeautiesThis happened when trying to swap a standard shield for a shield with an swat bar. Bols on donating car came out easy. There are countless things I came across in the past 50 yrs working on Triumphs that I did not foresee a reason for....but never mind, keep up the excellent work with your videos !!

[@mdu6]

Is it possible you installed the bracket for the steering rack the wrong way ? I would think the 2 L shape 'fingers' would be there to help kept rubber donut more thightly in place ?

[@DavidSL64]

Hi Elin - great video - those bolts that are used to mount the radiator protection shield, do you remember the size? TRF says 3/8” x 7/8” long, but frankly yours look a lot longer.

[@RustyBeauties]

Thanks David, that must be a mistake on TRF site. The bolts go through the entire frame rail, which is 2" plus the radiator protection plate. Mine are 2 1/2" for the front hole and 2 3/4" for the rear as the bumper mount on later TR6 also gets fastened there. I hope that helps!

[@steveavis4642]

I'm probably dating myself, it's ok. I was a Nissan tech for 43 years, and back in the 80's I Rebuilt dozens of 280zx rack and pinions. The factory would provide a plastic, or mylar sleeve that we used for the seals and boots. The soda can might cause rips where the mylar sleeves would not.

[@ceesklumper]

I was looking at the sway bar angle -could it be upside down?

[@RustyBeauties]

No, it has no direction. The suspension has no load on it right now and that is why it is "hanging" too low. Once the weight of the engine and the body come in play, the angle is going to be OK

[@ceesklumper]

@@RustyBeauties got it, makes sense

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

So the gaiter fitting trick is basically the same as putting a tyre on a wheel rim....

[@BADAZZ93STANG]

Hey Elin. How far should the steering shaft go down on the rack???

[@RustyBeauties]

There is only one position possible. There is a channel for the bolt that secures it in place, so you have to match it. Otherwise you won't be able to fit the bolt

[@BADAZZ93STANG]

@@RustyBeauties thanks brotha!!! I figured that but wasn't 100 percent sure. I knewn that I could reach out to you...Thanks always for the excellent information!!!

[@michaelreilly1310esq]

The supplier for the gaiters needs to be informed that the provided clamps are useless. We shouldn’t need to improvise on new parts

[@Fintoman]

I never would use a Sprite can. Things always go better with Coca Cola! Old Coke marketing slogan, maybe a bit before your time.

[@tjm3900]

Rather than a soda can I like to use the plastic perhaps from the side of a 4litere oil jug. Too bad you did not show the inside of the inner tie rods. Very often they are slack but only need a small shim to bring them back to spec. All too often owners think they need to replace a rack because of this, and buy one of those junk, unserviceable, ungreaseable, aftermarket racks. So sad 😞

[@barry6274]

Coming along very well. The gaiters' and be a lot of "fun" getting back on as you have clearly shown, glad mine are done. I used the wire ties rather than twist ties on the large end. and small clamps on the small ends by the tie rod . Looking forward to the balance of the assembly.