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I’m one year into the ownership of my first a Lagonda (1932 2 litre tourer) and now I’m getting better at the gear changes I’m really enjoying driving it. The car handles remarkably well but I have a question about the steering. How much play should there be in the steering wheel before needing to start adjusting things? I have about 4 inches of play at the wheel which can lead to some wandering on the straight at speed and I feel it would be a lot better if that could be reduced. Any tips are most welcome.
Hi, 4″ is far too much. IF the car is wondering and you have to correct the steering then it is time to do something about it. First of all check that the front wheels are properly seated on the hub and that there is no play. This can lead to vague steering.
Next check the ball joints on the steering arm. If there is movement in the ball joints this can usually be taken up either by tightening up the end screw or if there is a lot of play pack out the rear ball-joint cup. They may even be too badly worn and need ball and cups. then inspect the track rod ends for play.
After that its to steering box.
Len
Thanks Len, I’ll try these things in that order. I’m reluctant to tackle the steering box until I’ve ruled out everything else.
Luckily the steering box seems fine, it was indeed the ball joints where I have taken up the slack. You mention packing the cups. Is there a part for this (can’t see one on the club spares list) or do you make something up?
Hi Peter. I’m one month into my 2 litre ownership and also enjoying it! What issues did you have with gear changes and what technique have you developed? Thanks, Paul
Hi Paul, if you search on the forum for “gear changes” there is some good information from ColinM34 regarding the correct operation of the clutch stop (written 2/2/08). One thing that you may not be aware of and I’ve found pretty useful with my 2 litre…. is that if you are struggling with a gear change and end up in neutral whilst the car is at speed, if both the speedo and tacho needles are pointing in the same direction, this should roughly be the right amount of revs for 3rd gear. Basically in this scenario, dont worry about the numbers on either dial, just make sure the needles are aligned ie if the tacho needle is vertical, make sure the speedo needle is vertical etc…. then you should be able to get into 3rd gear. To confirm that this should work for your car…. next time you are in third gear, just check that the needles are aligned through the rev range.
Interesting tip about aligning the needles to get 3rd gear. Not that I have problems with the gears in my 16/80 but will try it. Thanks…
For info, I have a standard OH box in my 2 Litre for which the “needle trick” in 3rd seems to work… not sure about other gearboxes and am thinking that you might have a pre-selector in your 16/80 ? That said its easy enough to watch the needles as you accelerate up through the gears and find out !
My car was built with a pre-selector but at some stage it was changed for a Z box. This has a 3rd and 4th ratios close together but a large gap in ratio between 2nd and 3rd. I’ll give it a try next time out.
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