NEV's Steering Column Rattle Finally Conquered

The steering column rattle plaguing NEV since he was purchased has finally been conquered and what a relief to finally drive him without having to constantly hold the gear stick to prevent it from rattling. Thanks go to all those members who offered advice as to the cause and to Ken (mcl1959) for the spring which did improve the situation a little. The final solution came down to wear in the gear selection rods and the selector levers on the gear box. These items were only given a cursory inspection previously as they looked as though they had been replaced during NEV's preservation work. The selector rods were newly cadmium plated and the selector levers freshly powder coated as were all the fittings etc. under the vehicle. Whilst installing the newly acquired 3.55 Diff. Centre Greg decided to carefully check all the components under the car and found that the gear change levers and rods were original and had only been prettied up with paint and plating. Removal of the components in question, a little welding to fill the holes and the wear and a short period of time grinding and re-drilling a few holes a nice tight fit was achieved. All parts now re-fitted to the vehicle and a few short test runs down the drive it was time to take NEV onto the Highway and head south for the ultimate test. What a difference, the gear changes are quiet and so smooth and the best thing....NO RATTLE. With the very quiet 2.55 Diff Centre and the rattle fixed an on the car all wheel balance next Monday should see all problems we had with the car sorted out and very smooth driving ahead.

Dennis