R26 Changed my swivel bearings today.......not!

I’ve had my R26 for almost a year now and have never been overly impressed with the handling. Although I still love it ha ha.

Turn in has never been as sharp as expected and it understeers more than It should.

Tyres are relatively new rainsport 3s - not the best I know, but should be good enough for me. (Wearing on the very outer edge though)

it wanders unexpectedly with ruts and under braking. And when going from say a left hander to a right hander..... it feels wrong....it doesn’t inspire any confidence at all.

There’s play that can be felt it the steering and when moving the wheels at the 3 and 9 positions.

The only thing that I could detect definite play in was the track rod ends. I changed these with trw parts and did the rack bush at the same time.

After a temporary alignment (using my trusty trackrite) it drove loads better.........but there’s still some play!!

I then decided to change the swivel bearings because, even though they turn freely when the track rod end is disconnected, I think I’ve narrowed the play down to there.
(And there’s a creak when pulling out of a junction which I suspect is linked)

That brings me to today.........bearings and seals in hand.

Everything was going swimmingly but, to my surprise, the bearing was in almost perfect condition. The inner race had no rust on it whatsoever.

I put the inner race inside the bearing and there was quite a lot of play! I tried it in the new bearing and it was hardly any better.
I measured the inner race and it’s a good 0.1mm down! Bummer!

After closer inspection, it looks like the inner race has been cleaned up so I suspect the bearing was changed in recent years.

I wasn’t going to waste my new bearings so the old one went back in.

Hmmmmmm......[emoji848]

Looks like I’ll be making some inner bearing races then!

The mrs thinks I’ve just wasted 3 hours for nothing.
I prefer to think of it as a bonding session between man and machine.........[emoji85]

 

They’re at that age where the components are getting tired, hey.

It’ll be interesting to hear your findings on the shocks as they’re not something I’ve considered would help with my symptoms.

Did you replace the bearing inner race/turrets when you did the swivel bearings?

 

There’s quite a bit of play in my bearings so I’m positive it’ll make a difference for me. Maybe not for the handling but definitely for the steering feel.

I’m going to manufacture my own but thanks for the info.

Mine came with h&r springs and I kind of wish it didn’t. I can’t help but think most cars handle better, on our roads, with standard equipment.
I should imagine that pairing this with tired dampers just make matters worse.

 

I would love to jump in a brand new one to compare it to mine ha ha.

I’ve made quite a few bits for my cars over the years and enjoy doing it.

I’ve always been dubious about making things for other people though, I’m too conscientious!
I’d be worrying about every last thing.

I’d be thinking....is it too cheap, is it too expensive, is it the right material, will it last.......will it break...... will it maim someone and I end up in jail......... sharing a cell with mike Tyson!

You know, that sort of thing.....

 

My irrational fear just happens to picture him in jail....... maybe he’ll go down at the same time as me? [emoji85]

 

I don’t think I was even driving when he was in jail.
You get the picture tho ha ha.

 

Just googled it, I definitely wasn’t!

 

Yep.

I’m planning on using D2 and harden up to 58-60 roc c.
I’ll leave a knacker of material on and grind them to size after heat treatment.

It’s material that’s to hand and it will be more than sufficient.

 

Roughed my turrets out.

I’m jumping on the machines during my half hour lunch breaks, so I can’t always make things in the most logical/convenient way.
I have to break the process down in to manageable chunks, which is a bit frustrating. I have to leave the machine free. so with setup and clean down, I probably only get 20 minutes really.
With these, it would have been far better to machine them on the bar and part them off but never mind, they’re getting done.

Obligatory photos.....

 

Bit more progress......

 

Cheers man.

Bet you can’t wait! I hope it’s made the difference you’re looking for.

 

What a bummer.

You wanna get the tracking bang on now that you’ve gone to this expense ay.

 

Almost there......

 

Yes, D2.

Not ideal but most convenient.

I’ll hopefully have them off for heat treatment next week. I’ve left a gnats on for grinding when they get back.

 

I will be adding the hole even though, strangely, my car didn’t have a pin!

I wondered if they were so rusted that they sheared the pin? God knows. I might put a dowel back in. Although it reassembled no problem without one.

No that’s not a groove/channel. It’s just the shoulder where I’ve turned up to. I still have to hold them the other way around and finish the back.

 

I did think about putting a couple of grease holes around the periphery but I’m not convinced it’s necessary.

You could use the grease nipple idea and alter the design of the turret to make sure grease gets where it’s needed. Overkill though i’d say.

 

Let’s hope these last another 10 years then!

Good result with the tracking. Be interesting to hear how it drives when done.

 

Yep, tyre pressures have a massive impact on handling.

The amount of times I’ve thought ‘that tyre looks low, that’ll explain the erratic handling’ only to check it and it’s fine. ‘Just the ageing suspension/steering then!’ Ha ha.

 

That’s great!

You’ve spent a fair bit on it but it’ll be worth it!

How much did the alignment cost? if you don’t mind me asking.

I’ll be looking to get mine done once I’m happy there’s no more play.

 

Been really busy recently but still managing to chip away at this.
I’m in no real rush so I’m happy with the progress.

Here’s the bearing inserts ready for heat treatment.


Back from heat treatment


Voila! The finished article.
Ground for a precision fit once again!


God (read mrs and kids) only knows when I’ll get round to fitting them though.