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Hi Guys,
Now we have established Fred has a “Vintage” Marles box, here are my thoughts. These have a roller cam which is adjusted by slackening off the centre bolt and adjusting it till all the play goes in the centre of the travel. Shims are not required. So how do you get that this?
Undo the stay under the scuttle and the four bolts holding the box on the chassis. Also, unscrew the end cap of the drag link to free the ball joint. There may be other brackets you have to remove as well. The box will then flop around with the wheel on the driver’s seat. You may decide to remove it as well. Then wriggle the box up and round till you see the backplate which you can take off when it is uppermost. You will then see the roller cam which you need to adjust.
This is generally a horrible job but at least you do not need to remove the box. However if the shaft is loose it will need re-bushing so everything will have to come out. In this case you will also need to pull off the drop arm. This will be on very tight and will need at least a 10 tonne puller to get it off.
Good luck!
Colin
The shims are actually brass, not steel, so your scissors can breath a sigh of relief. I went to Steering Services in Wimbledon to buy all these parts to do the job myself….and he was happy to sell them, so not essential to make your own.
The shims go where the column joins the box, and also the end plate at the other end of the box; their purpose is to adjust free play in the column bearings, and to centralise the worm gear in relation to the roller.
Colin refers to bushes, whereas my Marles has ball bearings; which emphasises that you’ll need to establish which model/variant of Marles box you have there, both to follow the correct instructions & to order parts.Laurence
I like all the information I got from you and I think to know what
I’ll have to do.
But for further discussion : I found on my Marles box the number
L3/18818.
I Googled this number but no effective result. I am sure that
one of you knows all specifications off this box.Fred
Fred,
At a guess that probably means a type “L3” box, serial number (or just casting number if it’s cast, not stamped in.
That said, if you can get the Newnes set, I think you’ll find it pretty easy to establish the particular type if you compare your box with the diagrams. Unfortunately all my books are still boxed up (despite moving here 3 years ago!), otherwise I’d look up the chapter concerned.Laurence
Is this what you need? I can’t find a date but the book looks about the right period. I hope you can read it.
David
Hi David,
This the information will help a lot. As far as I can see I have the
same steering box as in the article.I thank all forum members for their help. I am now aware that
a hard job is waiting for me next winter.Fred
Dear Readers,
Please be aware of the dangers of misunderstandings here. From 1926 to around 1931/2 Lagonda fitted the “vintage” MARLES box which has a roller which can be adjusted to take up the play. From then until 1938 when the LG6 came out they fitted BISHOP CAM which uses brass shims to adjust them. This is what I have on my 16/80 and M45. I bow to superior knowledge that they then went back to MARLES for the LG6 and the V12 but it was a different design that I believe also uses shims to adjust it.
I followed up what happened to Marles boxes post war and they were the preferred choice for things like dump trucks when cars went over to rack and pinion.
Readers, feel free to correct me if I am wrong, or endorse my thought s if you think I am right.
Cheers Colin M34
Hi Colin,
Following your comment I conclude that my 1931 3L has a
vintage Marles steering box with a roller. Do you adjust the
play in the same way as mentioned, or is it different?Fred
Hi Fred,
Yes this is how you adjust it. Once you get access to the roller, it’s only about a 15 minute job and very satisfying! You then have the boring job of assembling everything which always takes twice as long as dismantling!
Colin
Hi Colin,
Yes, I recollect the guy at Steering Services saying that we had dump trucks etc to thank for the continued availabilty of most parts for the Marles gear (as fitted to LG6 & V12 anyway).I’ve managed to find my set of Newnes…it’s actually titled “Motor Repair and Overhauling”. The Marles boxes are covered in a general chapter “Steering Gear”; you may be interested to know that there is a separate chapter solely concerned with “The adjustment and repair of Bishop steering”.
Laurence
Here is the Bishop info from volume 1 of “Motor Repair and Overhauling” It is 14 pages long.
final 4 pages. I can post the Marles info as well if you want.
Hi Barry
One word to describe this information: BRILLIANT. Thanks.
Colin
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