How much movement of the manette controls inside the steering wheel is typical? Mine moves around considerably which I don’t consider correct.
Tim
If its like the later MK7-XK units, which I believe it is from seeing posts on earlier Jags, then there is a complex system of screws and posts that attach each layer of the mechanism
These are generally attached to Bakelite parts, and its not unusual for something to come loose, or be cracked inside
The entire unit should be very rigid, as it has to be to deal with twisting forces
Therefore, unfortunately, if there is lateral movement, that means the unit would need to be withdrawn and inspected, as they come apart from the bottom up
Others with detailed knowledge of your model may be able to add more
It may be better if you can describe the amount of movement with a vernier
Here is a thread from the XK forum. The XK120 has the same manette as Mark V.
Hullo Tim, you don’t say which car but that may not matter, and I will comment from the Mk IV perspective.
If you can twist the manette control around, it usually means the stator tube is not clamped well enough at the lower end of the steering box. Or the tube may not be fully projecting through the clamping plate to enable clamping. This ability to twist is used as the final adjustment to centre the canceling point of the manette control before final clamping. When the stator tube is properly clamped, the manette head can be rocked a very small amount as this represents the small clearance in the stator keyway for sliding the wheel up and down for adjustment.
The three screws in the hub - two grub, one set - should not be loosened if they are already set up correctly. The two grub screws lock the base plate, which is a bearing, and prevent the manette from being drawn out of the wheel. The top set screw is to adjust the trafficator canceling ring for any slight off-centre of the wheel for straight and level driving.
I suggest looking at the locking of the stator tube first. Note that the locking plate at the bottom of the box needs two gaskets - one conventional paper against the end of the box housing and one felt around the stator tube. The felt one provides the grip on the stator tube.
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Hello Peter, thank you for all your very helpful information. I did mention in the description MKIV, so your information is ideal. I can move the manette control about 1/2 an inch from side to side which doesn’t sound right. I will look to the steering box and see what I can see there. I’ll try and post a few photos. I’ve only just taken delivery of the car so it was very disappointing to find this issue. I’m concerned now that there may be others issues.
