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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Split steering boot/gaiter

On opening the bonnet of the Frogeye the other day, I noticed rather a lot of grease around the nearside steering gaiter and lo an behold, I can see that it's split. I think I've read enough to know that it's a bugger of a job to replace but I thought I'd change then both and also the track rod ends at the same time, then get it tracked.
My question is.....How safe/unsafe is it to drive a 100 miles or a with a split gaiter. I will be doing motorway speeds but not racing.
G Lazarus

Realistically Gary I reckon you'd be fine. Especially if you're going to change them and the TREs straight after. How much harm can you do in an hour and a half or so? You're not going to sieze the steering rack in that time for example.

If you're doubtful you could bodge it temporarily with polythene and duct tape; even shove in a slack handful of grease first, but I can't see you having any problem unless by some bizarre circumstance you manage to fill the brake drum with grease. In which case I take no responsibility :-P
Greybeard

If you don't fill the split boot with some kind of Thinning 'stuff' the grease that is in should be fine in the short time you will use Gaps on Saturday

I would just wrap it and keep extra grit OUT 'til you can get her fixed

A dash of extra grease dolloped in it won't hurt

Tesco polythene Carriers are your friend, hope you have a couple of spares

Shall I bring you a couple?
Bill sdgpM

Ditto

The main objective is to keep foreign bodies out!

You've been abusing that car, haven't you?!
Dave O'Neill 2

Gary abusing his car??

Dave, how dare you!!
Never seen a more devoted polisher in my life. ;)
Arie

I've seen that there Gaps motor around a few times, can't say I ever noticed there being any abuse


oh no sir

oh no
Bill sdgpM

thats the real crime, getting nastys into the rack... but a glob of grease will allow you a long ride

So ... what would happen if someone installed a zerk on the rack that would allow a conversion from oil into grease to be applied into the rack

Its something we never realky talk about when I first got my car and rebuilt the rack I unkowningly applied allot of grease into the rack before closing up the rack with the graitor and spawn hasnt raised hells army to track me down for a great war for the soul of the blackhole

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

For a 100 mile trip I just wouldn't fret about it. Unless you were travelling over rutted farm tracks or driving through muddy flood water you could probably go a couple of thousand miles and the only problem be that grease would get spattered everywhere. Main threat would be grease getting onto the front tyre which might make spirited driving a bit fun!
Guy W

The split is very much the radiator side of the gaiter away from the wheel. I'll blob the grease (though there's loads in there) and put some protective covering over it. Now the choice is Waitrose, Sainsbury or M&S?
Thanks for your feedback as it's made me decide against using the MGF tomorrow.
G Lazarus

And there was me thinking Poundland or Asda :(

Too durned posh for their own good down in 'That London'

The journey tomorrow isn't that far is it, didn't ye trust the wee MGF?


:)

If you got the grease out of the way a smear of Cyano would work quite well to close the split, stuporgoo loves organic materials like rubberalike such as we have on flexi-gaiters

But just for tomorrow it's not worth messing with
Bill sdgpM

Hi Bill,

Yes I took the MGF down to the Haynes Museum last Sunday, a 270 mile round trip. The problem is that now I've changed the bent rear track arm and had 4 wheel alignment, I'm enjoying the MGF a bit too much! So feel that I should take the Frogeye out (though it did go to the Ace cafe on Tuesday).
One is for pootling and the other for thrashing (I think you can guess which is which) and I fancy a bit of a hoon tomorrow morning. So unless the weather is grim and I have to put the roof up, it will be in Gaps.
G Lazarus

Weather grim? Just drive faster :-)
Greybeard

clingfilm might be easiest ?
David Smith

Gold star for david,

I like that idea...give it a spray of oil on the cling to help make it stick better !!!

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

I might have said "told you so!"

but I'm not that kind of a chap


:)

I am glad you are enjoying the F, getting similarly tempted myself I think, too
Bill sdgpM

There are some very temptingly low priced Fs around. Even on well cherished cars.
Guy W

See you & Bill tomorrow?
Alan
Alan Anstead

Sorry to back-track a little, but Prop raised a ??? that interested me too.

Is there any good reason not to drill and tap and fit a grease nipple (zerk) in the rack, thereafter using grease instead of oil in it?

I ask because I got an advisory on my MoT this week about very slight movement in the nearside inner rack joint so I guess I have a rack rebuild coming up this winter. Should be fun lol!

The TREs are less than 1000 miles old, but I'd fit new gaiters anyway.

Any opinions on this please?

Have a great weekend All. I'll be on duty :-(
Greybeard

Yes Alan, see you

Greybeard, my rack has a grease/oil nipple on it already

When I first filled it afyer my big build I used grease by mistook, subsequently used oil from a small plunge type grease gun to oil the rack so I have both types of goo inside

Not noticed any problem from that

As for a rack rebuild, good luck with that

I tried to open the end caps on mine a couple of times with absolutely zero success, the caps refused to loosen so I could reshim the ball joints

No doubt a reckoning awaits in the dim and distant...

I hope it will be very distant
Bill sdgpM

I too have a grease nipple on one side of my steering rack (the side thats split). Mine too is filled with grease rather than oil. Perhaps that's why it split.
G Lazarus

Mine has a zerk also and thats what made the mistake of grease but I modified a grease gun for oil as the zerk didnt appear to line up with the worm gear or other high friction bits and the zerk is only on one side as mentioned above

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

This thread was discussed between 15/10/2015 and 17/10/2015

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