Steering Column Top Bush and Felt (oil impregnated) Washer Mark V

Hello once more friends!

I have been trying to locate a replacement bush which sits at the top of the steering column behind the steering wheel. In the Service Manual it says to remove the steering wheel then insert two small screws in the end of the bush diametrically opposite one another, then with a suitable puller (or stout cord!) draw out the bush and remove the felt impregnated washer. Does anyone know what material the bush is made from or more importantly, where to purchase one? Simon at Worcester Classic Spares doesn’t carry them.

Kind regards,
Tim

Ok, I think you mean this.


So you are referring to page I13 in the Service Manual.
This method wrecks the bushing, so if you want to save it you would need to take the outer column off and push the bushing out from the front end.
It is made of some porous material like maybe Macarta or Ferrobestos, looks like what I took out of my lower ball joint cups.
It is also definitely used in XK120, and possibly Mark VII, but I am not certain about that.
In the Mark VII parts catalogue there is a part listed as:
C.5196 Upper Bearing Assembly for Steering Column, comprising rubber bush, outer sleeve and graphite bush
This description doesn’t sound like Macarta or what I have in my Mark V. It may be a later replacement, I don’t know.
Anyway try XK120 vendors or look for a Mark VII column.

Thank you very much for this terrifically helpful information, Bob!

I was told by the person who serviced my car that he considered the bush to be worn and the source of a “vibration” through the steering wheel. I’m not entirely satisfied with this observation and so will remove the steering wheel in due course and look for myself. The “vibration” in the steering could be coming from other parts of the steering mechanism. I know I need to refurbish the Idler arm pin and bush as well as a top ball joint and replace the shock absorbers. Time will tell.

Best wishes,

Tim

Most likely ball joints or the rubber bushings in the upper and lower control arms, but idler or tie rod ends could also be the culprit. All the wear parts in the steering and front suspension are the same as XK120 and there is a lot of discussion about those in the archives of the XK forum.

Yanking the steering wheel on my Mark V to feel for play at the top bush shown in Rob’s photo gives the following: left/right horizontal yank gives no play felt in yanking hands or steering column near bush; vertical yank gives 3/16" vertical motion of steering wheel, discernible vertical movement of inner column relative to top bush, slight thunk feel and sound from somewhere along the column. My Mark V has over 120,000 miles on it. This steering play has never occurred to me as an issue needing fixing, no vibration issues have been noticed.

Vibration issues in steering have occurred on my car previously. These have been fixed by:
0.) Tire balancing,
1.) Adjust rocker shaft end float in steering,
2.) Upper and lower ball-pin assemblies replaced and properly shimmed (some available upper ball-pin assemblies may not seat properly),
3.) Ball-joint assemblies in good condition and assembled to 9" +/- 1/16" ball centre to ball centre,
4.) Wishbone bushes (I’ve replaced my upper bushes but don’t recall doing the lower bushes).

There probably are other possible contributors to steering wheel vibrations. You can tell I avoid worrying about the top bush on the steering column as long as possible. Good luck.

Thank you again, Rob!

The car has been little used over the preceding decades so I am certain to find more items such as rubbers perishing with use.

I’ll wade through the XK Forum. It’s very good to know that the XK120 has the ‘wear’ parts as the Mark V, thank you for that insight.

Best wishes,
Tim