Cam plate adjustment.

[RichardT10829]

Fitted my cam plate back in tonight along with the linkage rods, I adjusted the rollers in and when i turn the wheel it feels quite rough and notchy, is there a specific distance the rollers should be from the cam plate when it is in the central position as mine are both touching the cam plate now.

[rob love]

They should be touching with almost no freeplay, and both rods should be the same length. One issue I have seen in the past is where guys have tried to build up the cam plates for some reason. Truly a terrible idea, as you are messing blindly with mathematics. If you think about it, the total distance across any point, through the center of the bearing, and back to the opposite side must remain the same at any point of travel.

[RichardT10829]

Yeah that's how they are, one rod is a smidge longer than the other (about 2 - 3mm) the yoke is centralised with the single spoke on the steering wheel parallel to the steering shaft, the rear of the cam plate is parallel with the edge of the aperture that the cam plate bolts to. I just thought that the steering would be a bit lighter as all, it's a two handed job to turn it.

[rob love]

Is the center bearing new? Are both the rollers at the hull free to turn? Is the crosshaft clean? Have you had the cross shaft right out?

One hand should move the hull left and right during the travel of the cross shaft. Two hands indicates other problems.

[Ben]

Is the weight of the hull on the crosstube rollers (is it sitting on the wheels) I think the weight has to be on the crosstube otherwise your pushing the tube through the hull and not using the rollers.

I'm just building the same area up. I've put new bearings in the cam rollers, steering and cam. The crosstube rollers got stripped and greased too. Interested to see how you get on, you can be the guinea pig

[RichardT10829]

Carrier on axle stands, brand new bearings in rollers and cam plate, cross tube is immaculate now, I could push and pull it through with ease by hand prior to fitting the cam plate.... it was fine until I adjusted the rollers closer in so I think it's something I have done rather than a knackered component

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by RichardT10829

Carrier on axle stands, brand new bearings in rollers and cam plate, cross tube is immaculate now, I could push and pull it through with ease by hand prior to fitting the cam plate.... it was fine until I adjusted the rollers closer in so I think it's something I have done rather than a knackered component

the camplate bearing, is it supposed to be a self aligning type? Maybe it is a normal ballrace fitted and not in line with the linkage.

[RichardT10829]

I got the part number from the book and purchased an identical one all be it a sealed version of the same bearing.

What it looks like to me is the cam plate is being pushed into the opposite roller with some force, I will check my UC-F1 when I find it..... There must be a tolerance setting or some sort of feeler gauge used to set the distances.. (Or am I being all modern here)

Keep the suggestions coming though as it helps us all I am sure.

Cheers

Richie

[Richard Farrant]

OK Rich,
I recollected talk of these bearings recently and wondered if it might be the reason it was tight when connected to the camplate. Best of luck.

regards Richard

[kevin powles]

Rich, look in the chigwell book, it shows you the way of adjusting the rollers, from memory the inner one is adjusted to touch when cam central then a clearance is obtained on the other. One thing to note is that if you have your rear brake rods connected also it could be notcy because of a problem there. I had a similar issue with mine, what had happened is the rod had pulled out the brake adjuster, when assembling your adjusters tape both the actuating pistons in fully and remove the tape when located on the brake shoes, correct size split pins in the adjusters will stop this happening but best to tape up also whilst fitting.

Measure your cross tube protrusion from carrier hull to check distance is equal also when cam central and adjusted.

[RichardT10829]

Right just got back from the garage... The front to rear brake rods are not attached (at this time they are yet to even exist ). I backed off the inner roller a wee smidge and it runs like butter now. The axle was centred before I started each stub measuring 13" give a gnats tadger. There is no obvious free play and everything appears to look good. It may not be much of a job real time, but over all it is a big deal as its the first time the control surfaces have worked correctly since I got the carrier, and first time in nearly twenty years they have worked full stop.

Bit firmly between my teeth now !

[rob love]

If the hull is on axle stands, then the cross shaft is dragging on the bottom of the hull, rather than floating up against the rollers. Put the vehicle weight back on it and try again. Ben said it first, so I won't take credit if that is the case.

[RichardT10829]

Yeah I will do, but in comparison to last night it is much much better now.i pretty much had the rollers squeezing into the cam face which is probably why it was so tight to turn, the rollers are juuuuuuuuust touching the cam face in the neutral position now, and like I say, no slop, and smooth one handed action... Ahem no puns....

[Lynn Eades]

Richard when the carrier is on its tracks with the weight down. swings the hull easily from side to side. the rollers should have a 0.001" clearance. What Rob was referring to was that a badly profiled cam plate will not maintain this clearence through its travel.
The self aligning bearing goes in the bottom of the steering column, not the cam plate. It seems it wasn't important to use one, as many were fitted with annular grooved ball races (ordinary brg) in service.
Be aware that the spline at the steering box is indexed to the column, and needs to be correctly timed. The Canadian MkI* book gives a very good description of how to set it all up.

[RichardT10829]

Cheers guys, I suppose I won't really know until its on its wheels again. Good news is now that the cam is in and the bellows are on the axle, I can drop it onto its wheels + tracks. Imminently !