03-08-2020, 09:01 PM
I have a problem which puzzles me. My Pearl has the usual pre-1936 worm and wheel steering box with an alloy housing. Lubricant is Penrite steering box lube, a thixotropic concoction like thick oil or thin grease. There is some free play at the rim, probably less than half an inch.
The steering is fine when starting off for the day, but gradually becomes stiffer especially when away from straight ahead. I fancy it is worse when turning right. The time it takes to become stiffer is dependent on the ambient temperature, and was especially noticeable recently when it was 30 degrees C and it took only around 15 minutes running before it began to stiffen up. The stiffness is still noticeable on a gravel driveway, which suggests it's the steering mechanism and not tyres or geometry.
In other respects the steering is fine, and on uncambered smooth roads it will almost run "hands off".
I can only assume that when the box heats up from the nearby engine, something expands slightly and causes the box internals to tighten. But this seems counter-intuitive, I would have expected expansion to loosen things up !
Does anyone have any suggestions ?
The steering is fine when starting off for the day, but gradually becomes stiffer especially when away from straight ahead. I fancy it is worse when turning right. The time it takes to become stiffer is dependent on the ambient temperature, and was especially noticeable recently when it was 30 degrees C and it took only around 15 minutes running before it began to stiffen up. The stiffness is still noticeable on a gravel driveway, which suggests it's the steering mechanism and not tyres or geometry.
In other respects the steering is fine, and on uncambered smooth roads it will almost run "hands off".
I can only assume that when the box heats up from the nearby engine, something expands slightly and causes the box internals to tighten. But this seems counter-intuitive, I would have expected expansion to loosen things up !
Does anyone have any suggestions ?