TC Steering Failure

[Lindsey Parsons]

Hello There, About a week ago, shortly after making a hard right turn onto a busy local road at a stop light, the drag link separated from the drag link tube and, of course, the steering wheel became free wheeling.......not a desirable situation with much headlong traffic !!! Fortunately the car still had some of the original right hand steering input and I was able to brake it down to a stop at a large right angle to the curb. Nothing was hit and the car was undamaged. We discovered the slot in the tube in which the drag link ball rides was damaged and warn such that when the steering was at an extreme right hand demand, a large bump in the road was enough to dislodge the ball completely disconnecting the drag link assembly. This condition WAS NOT obvious to reasonable inspection ! Indeed, some years ago when I purchased the car there was little reason to question the integrity of this drag link assembly. The car is a daily driver for me and I have accumulated over 27,000 miles of local driving on it in the last five years. We have always had a rigid maintenance regimen on this machine and immediately addressed any suspect system immediately upon the first sign of trouble. Over the years we have rebuilt most of the vital systems on the car but never suspected this drag link assembly as it gave all appearances of being tight and in good condition until the incident. It might be prudent to check this system when you are next under your TC. The appropriate parts are easily replaced as Abington Spares carries the entire assembly in stock. My car was back on the road in three days with all new drag link and tie rod ends. Best Regards, Lindsey Parsons Spring Lake, NJ TC #4771

[Peter Roberts]

Thanks Lindsey! Guess what my next project will be? _Peter

----- Original Message ----- From: "Lindsey Parsons" lparsons@monmouth.com> To: "mg-tabc" mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 9:00 AM Subject: [mg-tabc] TC Steering Failure > Hello There, > > About a week ago, shortly after making a hard right turn onto a busy > local road at a stop light, the drag link separated from the drag link > tube and, of course, the steering wheel became free wheeling.......not a > desirable situation with much headlong traffic !!! Fortunately the car > still had some of the original right hand steering input and I was able > to brake it down to a stop at a large right angle to the curb. Nothing > was hit and the car was undamaged. > > We discovered the slot in the tube in which the drag link ball rides was > damaged and warn such that when the steering was at an extreme right > hand demand, a large bump in the road was enough to dislodge the ball > completely disconnecting the drag link assembly. This condition WAS NOT > obvious to reasonable inspection ! Indeed, some years ago when I > purchased the car there was little reason to question the integrity of > this drag link assembly. > > The car is a daily driver for me and I have accumulated over 27,000 > miles of local driving on it in the last five years. We have always had > a rigid maintenance regimen on this machine and immediately addressed > any suspect system immediately upon the first sign of trouble. Over the > years we have rebuilt most of the vital systems on the car but never > suspected this drag link assembly as it gave all appearances of being > tight and in good condition until the incident. > > It might be prudent to check this system when you are next under your > TC. The appropriate parts are easily replaced as Abington Spares carries > the entire assembly in stock. My car was back on the road in three days > with all new drag link and tie rod ends. > > Best Regards, > Lindsey Parsons > Spring Lake, NJ TC #4771 > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > >

[Paroor]

Dear Lindsey Parsons, Thanks for the warning. I dismantled the steering system and front suspension. I took the article of Jim Buell as reference. What I noticed in my TC 0448 was that the slot(opening) is not even all the length. To the end of the Track rod is greater. So you can insert the track ball only though that greater opening. The slot where the track ball is operating the smaller. So in my TC 0448 it is not that easy that the track rod slipping out of the slot. I do not have any comparison or any other reference. I think this give some kind of security. But if one assembles the spring and the solid part in the wrong order then the ball can slip out from the rod. May be I am wrong. Madhu -----Urspr ngliche Nachricht----- Von: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com]Im Auftrag von Lindsey Parsons Gesendet: Montag, 4. Juli 2005 15:00 An: mg-tabc Betreff: [mg-tabc] TC Steering Failure Hello There, About a week ago, shortly after making a hard right turn onto a busy local road at a stop light, the drag link separated from the drag link tube and, of course, the steering wheel became free wheeling.......not a desirable situation with much headlong traffic !!! Fortunately the car still had some of the original right hand steering input and I was able to brake it down to a stop at a large right angle to the curb. Nothing was hit and the car was undamaged. We discovered the slot in the tube in which the drag link ball rides was damaged and warn such that when the steering was at an extreme right hand demand, a large bump in the road was enough to dislodge the ball completely disconnecting the drag link assembly. This condition WAS NOT obvious to reasonable inspection ! Indeed, some years ago when I purchased the car there was little reason to question the integrity of this drag link assembly. The car is a daily driver for me and I have accumulated over 27,000 miles of local driving on it in the last five years. We have always had a rigid maintenance regimen on this machine and immediately addressed any suspect system immediately upon the first sign of trouble. Over the years we have rebuilt most of the vital systems on the car but never suspected this drag link assembly as it gave all appearances of being tight and in good condition until the incident. It might be prudent to check this system when you are next under your TC. The appropriate parts are easily replaced as Abington Spares carries the entire assembly in stock. My car was back on the road in three days with all new drag link and tie rod ends. Best Regards, Lindsey Parsons Spring Lake, NJ TC #4771

[Charles Hill]

Lindsey, Before you condemn the ball joint as a bad or worn part, check to make sure you have the correct part and it was assembled correctly. The drop arm to drag link ball joint is NOT the same as the other 3 ball joints. In this joint, the spring is to the outside of the ball. All the others have the spring inside the ball. The only reference I've seen is in the TC Instruction Manual (brown book) on page 21. No illustration is give. Even the parts list illustration only shows the assembled drag link. The listings however show the only interchangeable parts are the springs and 2 ball cups. I'm speaking from experience. When I bought TC7387, it had a broken front spring and while replacing it, the "while I'm at it" syndrome kicked in and I rebuilt the whole front end. One of the many things I discovered was that the drag link/drop arm ball joint wasthe wrong one. I ordered a replacement from both MOSS and Abingdon - both were the wrong part and promptly returned. A fellow TABCer came up with the correct part. Sounds like Madhu has the correct part - at least the housing. With the other joints, the enlarged portion of the slot is to the inner end of the housing. Regards, Charles Hill Paroor wrote:

>Dear Lindsey Parsons, > Thanks for the warning. > > I dismantled the steering system and front suspension. I took the article >of Jim Buell as reference. What I noticed in my TC 0448 was that the >slot(opening) is not even all the length. To the end of the Track rod is >greater. So you can insert the track ball only though that greater opening. >The slot where the track ball is operating the smaller. So in my TC 0448 it >is not that easy that the track rod slipping out of the slot. I do not have >any comparison or any other reference. I think this give some kind of >security. But if one assembles the spring and the solid part in the wrong >order then the ball can slip out from the rod. > >May be I am wrong. > >Madhu > >-----Urspr ngliche Nachricht----- >Von: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com]Im Auftrag >von Lindsey Parsons >Gesendet: Montag, 4. Juli 2005 15:00 >An: mg-tabc >Betreff: [mg-tabc] TC Steering Failure > > >Hello There, > >About a week ago, shortly after making a hard right turn onto a busy >local road at a stop light, the drag link separated from the drag link >tube and, of course, the steering wheel became free wheeling.......not a >desirable situation with much headlong traffic !!! Fortunately the car >still had some of the original right hand steering input and I was able >to brake it down to a stop at a large right angle to the curb. Nothing >was hit and the car was undamaged. > >We discovered the slot in the tube in which the drag link ball rides was >damaged and warn such that when the steering was at an extreme right >hand demand, a large bump in the road was enough to dislodge the ball >completely disconnecting the drag link assembly. This condition WAS NOT >obvious to reasonable inspection ! Indeed, some years ago when I >purchased the car there was little reason to question the integrity of >this drag link assembly. > >The car is a daily driver for me and I have accumulated over 27,000 >miles of local driving on it in the last five years. We have always had >a rigid maintenance regimen on this machine and immediately addressed >any suspect system immediately upon the first sign of trouble. Over the >years we have rebuilt most of the vital systems on the car but never >suspected this drag link assembly as it gave all appearances of being >tight and in good condition until the incident. > >It might be prudent to check this system when you are next under your >TC. The appropriate parts are easily replaced as Abington Spares carries >the entire assembly in stock. My car was back on the road in three days >with all new drag link and tie rod ends. > >Best Regards, >Lindsey Parsons >Spring Lake, NJ TC #4771 > > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > >

[Terry Sanders]

For a while in the late 80's Moss stocked the wrong part and it was the same as the other three. This was corrected when I bought it Chris Nowlan's attention by returning the incorrect part. Terry Charles Hill candahill@worldnet.att.net> wrote: Lindsey, Before you condemn the ball joint as a bad or worn part, check to make sure you have the correct part and it was assembled correctly. The drop arm to drag link ball joint is NOT the same as the other 3 ball joints. In this joint, the spring is to the outside of the ball. All the others have the spring inside the ball. The only reference I've seen is in the TC Instruction Manual (brown book) on page 21. No illustration is give. Even the parts list illustration only shows the assembled drag link. The listings however show the only interchangeable parts are the springs and 2 ball cups. I'm speaking from experience. When I bought TC7387, it had a broken front spring and while replacing it, the "while I'm at it" syndrome kicked in and I rebuilt the whole front end. One of the many things I discovered was that the drag link/drop arm ball joint wasthe wrong one. I ordered a replacement from both MOSS and Abingdon - both were the wrong part and promptly returned. A fellow TABCer came up with the correct part. Sounds like Madhu has the correct part - at least the housing. With the other joints, the enlarged portion of the slot is to the inner end of the housing. Regards, Charles Hill Paroor wrote:

>Dear Lindsey Parsons, > Thanks for the warning. > > I dismantled the steering system and front suspension. I took the article >of Jim Buell as reference. What I noticed in my TC 0448 was that the >slot(opening) is not even all the length. To the end of the Track rod is >greater. So you can insert the track ball only though that greater opening. >The slot where the track ball is operating the smaller. So in my TC 0448 it >is not that easy that the track rod slipping out of the slot. I do not have >any comparison or any other reference. I think this give some kind of >security. But if one assembles the spring and the solid part in the wrong >order then the ball can slip out from the rod. > >May be I am wrong. > >Madhu > >-----Urspr ngliche Nachricht----- >Von: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com]Im Auftrag >von Lindsey Parsons >Gesendet: Montag, 4. Juli 2005 15:00 >An: mg-tabc >Betreff: [mg-tabc] TC Steering Failure > > >Hello There, > >About a week ago, shortly after making a hard right turn onto a busy >local road at a stop light, the drag link separated from the drag link >tube and, of course, the steering wheel became free wheeling.......not a >desirable situation with much headlong traffic !!! Fortunately the car >still had some of the original right hand steering input and I was able >to brake it down to a stop at a large right angle to the curb. Nothing >was hit and the car was undamaged. > >We discovered the slot in the tube in which the drag link ball rides was >damaged and warn such that when the steering was at an extreme right >hand demand, a large bump in the road was enough to dislodge the ball >completely disconnecting the drag link assembly. This condition WAS NOT >obvious to reasonable inspection ! Indeed, some years ago when I >purchased the car there was little reason to question the integrity of >this drag link assembly. > >The car is a daily driver for me and I have accumulated over 27,000 >miles of local driving on it in the last five years. We have always had >a rigid maintenance regimen on this machine and immediately addressed >any suspect system immediately upon the first sign of trouble. Over the >years we have rebuilt most of the vital systems on the car but never >suspected this drag link assembly as it gave all appearances of being >tight and in good condition until the incident. > >It might be prudent to check this system when you are next under your >TC. The appropriate parts are easily replaced as Abington Spares carries >the entire assembly in stock. My car was back on the road in three days >with all new drag link and tie rod ends. > >Best Regards, >Lindsey Parsons >Spring Lake, NJ TC #4771 > > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > >

Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[fnitz]

This is a great reference on correct assembly of the whole front end. Fred TC1353 -----Original Message----- From: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Charles Hill Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 10:57 AM Cc: mg-tabc Subject: Re: AW: [mg-tabc] TC Steering Failure Lindsey, Before you condemn the ball joint as a bad or worn part, check to make sure you have the correct part and it was assembled correctly. The drop arm to drag link ball joint is NOT the same as the other 3 ball joints. In this joint, the spring is to the outside of the ball. All the others have the spring inside the ball. The only reference I've seen is in the TC Instruction Manual (brown book) on page 21. No illustration is give. Even the parts list illustration only shows the assembled drag link. The listings however show the only interchangeable parts are the springs and 2 ball cups. I'm speaking from experience. When I bought TC7387, it had a broken front spring and while replacing it, the "while I'm at it" syndrome kicked in and I rebuilt the whole front end. One of the many things I discovered was that the drag link/drop arm ball joint wasthe wrong one. I ordered a replacement from both MOSS and Abingdon - both were the wrong part and promptly returned. A fellow TABCer came up with the correct part. Sounds like Madhu has the correct part - at least the housing. With the other joints, the enlarged portion of the slot is to the inner end of the housing. Regards, Charles Hill Paroor wrote:

>Dear Lindsey Parsons, > Thanks for the warning. > > I dismantled the steering system and front suspension. I took the

article

>of Jim Buell as reference. What I noticed in my TC 0448 was that the >slot(opening) is not even all the length. To the end of the Track rod is >greater. So you can insert the track ball only though that greater opening. >The slot where the track ball is operating the smaller. So in my TC 0448 it >is not that easy that the track rod slipping out of the slot. I do not have >any comparison or any other reference. I think this give some kind of >security. But if one assembles the spring and the solid part in the wrong >order then the ball can slip out from the rod. > >May be I am wrong. > >Madhu > >-----Urspr ngliche Nachricht----- >Von: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com]Im Auftrag >von Lindsey Parsons >Gesendet: Montag, 4. Juli 2005 15:00 >An: mg-tabc >Betreff: [mg-tabc] TC Steering Failure > > >Hello There, > >About a week ago, shortly after making a hard right turn onto a busy >local road at a stop light, the drag link separated from the drag link >tube and, of course, the steering wheel became free wheeling.......not a >desirable situation with much headlong traffic !!! Fortunately the car >still had some of the original right hand steering input and I was able >to brake it down to a stop at a large right angle to the curb. Nothing >was hit and the car was undamaged. > >We discovered the slot in the tube in which the drag link ball rides was >damaged and warn such that when the steering was at an extreme right >hand demand, a large bump in the road was enough to dislodge the ball >completely disconnecting the drag link assembly. This condition WAS NOT >obvious to reasonable inspection ! Indeed, some years ago when I >purchased the car there was little reason to question the integrity of >this drag link assembly. > >The car is a daily driver for me and I have accumulated over 27,000 >miles of local driving on it in the last five years. We have always had >a rigid maintenance regimen on this machine and immediately addressed >any suspect system immediately upon the first sign of trouble. Over the >years we have rebuilt most of the vital systems on the car but never >suspected this drag link assembly as it gave all appearances of being >tight and in good condition until the incident. > >It might be prudent to check this system when you are next under your >TC. The appropriate parts are easily replaced as Abington Spares carries >the entire assembly in stock. My car was back on the road in three days >with all new drag link and tie rod ends. > >Best Regards, >Lindsey Parsons >Spring Lake, NJ TC #4771 > > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > >

Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Charles Hill]

Fred, Forgot about this. I keep forgetting about the excellent resources available on the T-ABC web site. For the rest of the list, Fred attached Jim Buell's paper on the TC Front End which is in the Special Files section of the TABC web site. It went directly to me but would have been stripped off by Yahoo for everyone else. Regards, Charles Hill fnitz wrote:

>This is a great reference on correct assembly of the whole front end. >Fred TC1353 > >-----Original Message----- >From: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of >Charles Hill >Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 10:57 AM >Cc: mg-tabc >Subject: Re: AW: [mg-tabc] TC Steering Failure > >Lindsey, > >Before you condemn the ball joint as a bad or worn part, check to make >sure you have the correct part and it was assembled correctly. The drop >arm to drag link ball joint is NOT the same as the other 3 ball joints. >In this joint, the spring is to the outside of the ball. All the others >have the spring inside the ball. The only reference I've seen is in the >TC Instruction Manual (brown book) on page 21. No illustration is >give. Even the parts list illustration only shows the assembled drag >link. The listings however show the only interchangeable parts are the >springs and 2 ball cups. > >I'm speaking from experience. When I bought TC7387, it had a broken >front spring and while replacing it, the "while I'm at it" syndrome >kicked in and I rebuilt the whole front end. One of the many things I >discovered was that the drag link/drop arm ball joint wasthe wrong one. >I ordered a replacement from both MOSS and Abingdon - both were the >wrong part and promptly returned. A fellow TABCer came up with the >correct part. > >Sounds like Madhu has the correct part - at least the housing. With the >other joints, the enlarged portion of the slot is to the inner end of >the housing. > >Regards, >Charles Hill > >Paroor wrote: > > > >>Dear Lindsey Parsons, >> Thanks for the warning. >> >> I dismantled the steering system and front suspension. I took the >> >> >article > > >>of Jim Buell as reference. What I noticed in my TC 0448 was that the >>slot(opening) is not even all the length. To the end of the Track rod is >>greater. So you can insert the track ball only though that greater opening. >>The slot where the track ball is operating the smaller. So in my TC 0448 it >>is not that easy that the track rod slipping out of the slot. I do not have >>any comparison or any other reference. I think this give some kind of >>security. But if one assembles the spring and the solid part in the wrong >>order then the ball can slip out from the rod. >> >>May be I am wrong. >> >>Madhu >> >>-----Urspr ngliche Nachricht----- >>Von: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com]Im Auftrag >>von Lindsey Parsons >>Gesendet: Montag, 4. Juli 2005 15:00 >>An: mg-tabc >>Betreff: [mg-tabc] TC Steering Failure >> >> >>Hello There, >> >>About a week ago, shortly after making a hard right turn onto a busy >>local road at a stop light, the drag link separated from the drag link >>tube and, of course, the steering wheel became free wheeling.......not a >>desirable situation with much headlong traffic !!! Fortunately the car >>still had some of the original right hand steering input and I was able >>to brake it down to a stop at a large right angle to the curb. Nothing >>was hit and the car was undamaged. >> >>We discovered the slot in the tube in which the drag link ball rides was >>damaged and warn such that when the steering was at an extreme right >>hand demand, a large bump in the road was enough to dislodge the ball >>completely disconnecting the drag link assembly. This condition WAS NOT >>obvious to reasonable inspection ! Indeed, some years ago when I >>purchased the car there was little reason to question the integrity of >>this drag link assembly. >> >>The car is a daily driver for me and I have accumulated over 27,000 >>miles of local driving on it in the last five years. We have always had >>a rigid maintenance regimen on this machine and immediately addressed >>any suspect system immediately upon the first sign of trouble. Over the >>years we have rebuilt most of the vital systems on the car but never >>suspected this drag link assembly as it gave all appearances of being >>tight and in good condition until the incident. >> >>It might be prudent to check this system when you are next under your >>TC. The appropriate parts are easily replaced as Abington Spares carries >>the entire assembly in stock. My car was back on the road in three days >>with all new drag link and tie rod ends. >> >>Best Regards, >>Lindsey Parsons >>Spring Lake, NJ TC #4771 >> >> >> >> >>Yahoo! Groups Links >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > >

[viv@trax.co.za]

Hello Lindsay, The following are List extracts that I kept after a similar incident a couple of years ago. I think it's worth repeating. The other point to remember is that the drop arm end of the drag link is the only ball joint to have a taper on the pin. All the others are parallel. By the way, the incident and repair details were featured on our local TV motoring program. "I know this was debated in the past but I can't remember the outcome. Last week at the MGCC of SA national Indaba at Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape, I was embarrassed during the driving tests by bursting the steering box end draglink ball joint while hanging my black TC's rear end out round some pylons. The embarrassment was worsened by being caught under the car full of grease and leaked XPAG oil by the local TV crew! There was no other damage but I suspect that the joint was either wrong or wrongly assembled when I restored the car. Now when I look at the Moss catalogue, this ball joint has a different part number to the other 3. The Octagon spares list only shows one part number. What is the difference between the various joints? I think the situation was worsened by the amount of force that the Datsun steering can exert on the ball joint during a full powered slow tight turn but it could have happened on a mountain pass. We repaired it with 3 x 2 cent coins, a hammer and a hose clamp. Badger would have approved. After a 700 mile drive home it is still holding but it's due for immediate replacement!" ".............Viv, the steering box end of the drag link is a different part from the other 3. The ball and spring are in the joint backwards from them........................ " "Thanks Charles,you have confirmed what I thought. I'll pull out my owners manual and check it from there. The way I see it is that the tie rod ends should have the springs on the inside and the drag link steering box end should have the spring on the outside. This would mean that the tie rod end casings should allow ball entry nearest the tie rod and the drag link box end should allow ball entry nearest the outer end of the casing. I think this is the major difference. I used the wrong casing and this allowed the whole works to force itself out of the casing and release the ball from captivity. As you will have seen, Ian Thomson and Peter deBruyn have confirmed what you said."

[ROSS TAYLOR]

On the original drag link ends was a cover which prevented ihe ingress of dirt etc into the top of the drag link end this also acted as a sleeve to prevent the ball from jumping out of the housing . my TC had one fitted when I bought it in 1968 but it was lost somewhere allong the line , I have never seen one since in any cattledog. Ross AGAIN

>Lindsey, > >Before you condemn the ball joint as a bad or worn part, check to make >sure you have the correct part and it was assembled correctly. The drop >arm to drag link ball joint is NOT the same as the other 3 ball joints. >In this joint, the spring is to the outside of the ball. All the others >have the spring inside the ball. The only reference I've seen is in the >TC Instruction Manual (brown book) on page 21. No illustration is >give. Even the parts list illustration only shows the assembled drag >link. The listings however show the only interchangeable parts are the >springs and 2 ball cups. > >I'm speaking from experience. When I bought TC7387, it had a broken >front spring and while replacing it, the "while I'm at it" syndrome >kicked in and I rebuilt the whole front end. One of the many things I >discovered was that the drag link/drop arm ball joint wasthe wrong one. >I ordered a replacement from both MOSS and Abingdon - both were the >wrong part and promptly returned. A fellow TABCer came up with the >correct part. > >Sounds like Madhu has the correct part - at least the housing. With the >other joints, the enlarged portion of the slot is to the inner end of >the housing. > >Regards, >Charles Hill > >Paroor wrote: > > >Dear Lindsey Parsons, > > Thanks for the warning. > > > > I dismantled the steering system and front suspension. I took the >article > >of Jim Buell as reference. What I noticed in my TC 0448 was that the > >slot(opening) is not even all the length. To the end of the Track rod is > >greater. So you can insert the track ball only though that greater >opening. > >The slot where the track ball is operating the smaller. So in my TC 0448 >it > >is not that easy that the track rod slipping out of the slot. I do not >have > >any comparison or any other reference. I think this give some kind of > >security. But if one assembles the spring and the solid part in the wrong > >order then the ball can slip out from the rod. > > > >May be I am wrong. > > > >Madhu > > > >-----Urspr ngliche Nachricht----- > >Von: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com]Im Auftrag > >von Lindsey Parsons > >Gesendet: Montag, 4. Juli 2005 15:00 > >An: mg-tabc > >Betreff: [mg-tabc] TC Steering Failure > > > > > >Hello There, > > > >About a week ago, shortly after making a hard right turn onto a busy > >local road at a stop light, the drag link separated from the drag link > >tube and, of course, the steering wheel became free wheeling.......not a > >desirable situation with much headlong traffic !!! Fortunately the car > >still had some of the original right hand steering input and I was able > >to brake it down to a stop at a large right angle to the curb. Nothing > >was hit and the car was undamaged. > > > >We discovered the slot in the tube in which the drag link ball rides was > >damaged and warn such that when the steering was at an extreme right > >hand demand, a large bump in the road was enough to dislodge the ball > >completely disconnecting the drag link assembly. This condition WAS NOT > >obvious to reasonable inspection ! Indeed, some years ago when I > >purchased the car there was little reason to question the integrity of > >this drag link assembly. > > > >The car is a daily driver for me and I have accumulated over 27,000 > >miles of local driving on it in the last five years. We have always had > >a rigid maintenance regimen on this machine and immediately addressed > >any suspect system immediately upon the first sign of trouble. Over the > >years we have rebuilt most of the vital systems on the car but never > >suspected this drag link assembly as it gave all appearances of being > >tight and in good condition until the incident. > > > >It might be prudent to check this system when you are next under your > >TC. The appropriate parts are easily replaced as Abington Spares carries > >the entire assembly in stock. My car was back on the road in three days > >with all new drag link and tie rod ends. > > > >Best Regards, > >Lindsey Parsons > >Spring Lake, NJ TC #4771 > > > > > > > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > >