Replacement Steering Tube Bushing for 1934 Cars

Old Fogey UK

The rubber bushing inside my steering tube has dried out and become loose.
Please can anyone tell me the source for a replacement or a modern substitute ?

terraplane8

The Railton Club should have these, made of a white delrin type plastic.

bob ward

Modern substitute. I used a bearing that is a tap fit into the tube and a sliding fit on the shaft. Loctite to positively locate the bearing in the tube.

Geoff

I machined one out of white nylon material.

Old Fogey UK

bob ward said:

Modern substitute. I used a bearing that is a tap fit into the tube and a sliding fit on the shaft. Loctite to positively locate the bearing in the tube.

What bearing did you use, Bob ?

Jon B

It would be nice if someone would make these (on a regular basis) and offer them for sale.  It would bring in a little "side money" for whoever makes them.  The supply of original rubber ones will dry up at some point (and Delrin or other modern material is probably better anyway).   Not all Hudson owners are skilled in machining plastic or ordering custom bearings.  

Or, maybe the Railton club could do a trial program of offering them through the H-E-T Club Store, to see if it would be feasible.  It would seem to be a win-win for everyone.

Old Fogey UK

Jon B said:

It would be nice if someone would make these (on a regular basis) and offer them for sale.  It would bring in a little "side money" for whoever makes them.  The supply of original rubber ones will dry up at some point (and Delrin or other modern material is probably better anyway).   Not all Hudson owners are skilled in machining plastic or ordering custom bearings.  

Or, maybe the Railton club could do a trial program of offering them through the H-E-T Club Store, to see if it would be feasible.  It would seem to be a win-win for everyone.

I'm about to order some ROC parts. I'll put your suggestion to them, Jon.

bob ward

Its a while since I put the bearing in I don't recall the sizes, but it would have been an off the shelf imperial size ball bearing. ID of whatever the size is of the shaft (5/8"?) and OD to suit the inside of the tube (2 1/8"?)

Jon B

Thanks, Fogey.  I wonder if the Railton club might consider working closer with the H-E-T on repro parts?  The Railton club has sponsored the reproduction of many hard-to-find Hudson parts over the years, but generally has made these only available to Railton club members, as I understand it.  Possibly the club could offer these parts to outsiders, but Railton club members would get a discount.  That way, the club sells more parts and makes money, and non-Railton people get access to needed parts.

Old Fogey UK

An update and a word of warning to all -
I'm afraid the nylon bushing supplied by the ROC is the wrong size for H and T cars. I'm guessing that a different steering wheel and  column must have been used in Railtons.
It has a collar on it that you have to cut off to get the steering wheel on. I did that and although it would fit over the inner column, it wouldn't go inside the outer tube. I sanded it a bit to get it to go in. It was a tight fit but I guessed it needed to be to prevent column wobble. However, once in, the inner bore was compressed and  binding on the inner column and the steering wheel was turning the tube as well.
After half a day trying to pull it, poke it and chisel it out, I gave up and took an angle grinder to the tube.
I am now waiting for a suitable bore tube to arrive so I can fabricate a new tube and had to cancel last Saturday's appointment to set up my steering geometry 
Hopefully, I can sort this out before my re-arranged appointment next Saturday.
At the moment, I'm not thinking of using another bushing. What I might do instead is to superglue a rubber collar on the inner column of slightly smaller diameter than the inside of the outer tube.
Opinions, please, on whether that would work.

Courtesy Man

A simple plastic collar with or W/O a flange should be easy for those of us with a metal lathe - I would be glad to give it a try if I had dimensions - others on the forum may also be interested in making this part available - could be black or white plastic whichever appears more like the original.  Is it a one piece ? 

Old Fogey UK

In my 1934 car the diameter of the inner column is 19mm and the outer tube is 38mm outside diameter with walls 1.5mm thick.
If the bushing is made exactly to size, you're likely going to have the problem I had. There's got to be a little wiggle room both on its inside and outside diameters. I'm not sure how much wiggle would need to be left.
It's one piece and the colour of the plastic doesn't matter because it doesn't show.
The length of the bushing wouldn't really be critical, the ROC one was about 40mm so that's probably about right I guess.
 If anyone is going to make some, please put me down for one.

bob ward

1.5" OD x .080" wall tube. Turn the ID down at the top to suit a 1.25" x .75" bearing, the little ledge keeps the bearing in place. The bottom will probably also need to be turned to slip over the steering box spigot.

Old Fogey UK

I think that's going to be the best permanent solution, Bob, and I'm going to go for it long term.
As a stopgap - because I have to get the car into the shop on Saturday to get the steering adjusted - the only tube I can get quickly has a wall thickness of 1.5mm which won't allow enough "meat" for insetting a bearing.
So what I'm going to do is to superglue a rubber collar around the inner column of slightly smaller diameter than the inside of the tube. That should prevent steering column wobble at least temporarily.

bob ward

A 1.5" (38.1mm) tube with 1.5mm wall will have an ID of 1.381" which is 6 thou bigger then a 1.375" bearing. Loctite will hold it in place. Or you can buy a bearing that has an inner collar that will securely grip the steering shaft.
From memory I used 80 thou wall tube because that's all that was available.
I stuffed up the bearing OD in my post above, 1.25" OD is incorrect.

Old Fogey UK

Thanks Bob.
Let me get next Saturday out of the way and I'll be taking the tube around to a model engineer friend to do the necessary reaming.

Old Fogey UK

I found a plastic bushing in my local lawnmower store.

After cleaning up some moulding flash with steel wool (took 30 seconds), it fits perfectly with no binding when the steering wheel is turned.

I think it's for a lawnmower or garden tractor.

It's described on the packaging as -

Wheel bush/bearing Murray AYP, OD 1.375", ID 0.75"

Stens 225-029

MURRAY/491334

It cost me £6.

I can't post a pic because it's now installed in the car !

Geoff

So  how do you get rid of the grass clippings in your lap each time you drive?

Glowplug

Thanks GEOFF... causes this old mind to create a pause and think... what????? then the buzz of the neurons becomes deafening... as the answer to this question creeps into view... fun stuff this HUDSON FIXIN!

Old Fogey UK

Actually, Geoff, the local Austin Seven club have allowed me to join as an honorary member because I've used so many of their parts on my Hudson - and I'm not kidding !
A lawnmower part is a first, though.