Grease your universal joint!

[bobbe]

(If you have not done it recently, anyway)

Mine was looking a little sorry for itself - dried out with a bit of surface rust. Not a lot of rust, but it was just beginning to getting a bit crusty. So I tidied it up with a wire brush and packed it with grease and - lo and behold - the steering was immediately lighter and more direct (which I expected) and there is noticeably more feedback and feel (which I did not)

This is probably the single biggest improvement to how the car drives that I've made since I bought it, and it cost me about £7 for a tub of grease (and I still have loads left over)

So, there you go. Just a reminder if anyone hasn't done it for a while, or some new information for anyone who didn't know they needed to

[Gaz mr-s]

These joints are usually needle rollers, greased inside & sealed.  The usual way of finding out if its failed is to spray wd40 or similar, which gets past a failed seal.
If you've managed to do it with grease it must have had damage.
It may be fine, but you should be wary.
A wrap of stout polythene cable-tied top & bottom will protect it.

[bobbe]

These joints are usually needle rollers, greased inside & sealed.  The usual way of finding out if its failed is to spray wd40 or similar, which gets past a failed seal.
If you've managed to do it with grease it must have had damage.
It may be fine, but you should be wary.
A wrap of stout polythene cable-tied top & bottom will protect it.

Steering universal joints are known to rust a bit and stiffen up if they're not looked after. This is a thing that can happen on most cars, including MR2s (as has been well documented here and elsewhere), and is not to do with the internal rollers but to do with the externals. That doesn't at all mean they're damaged, just old and uncared for. As long as it's surface rust, wire brushing and greasing them solves the problem

[Gaz mr-s]

You said 'a bit of rust'.  I haven't read of anyone free-ing up a joint just by wire-brushing it. I've seen them looking like they've spent a life at sea, hanging with rust & not be tight.

If it was usually the case that stiff steering was sorted just by wire-brushing it, then most owners wouldn't be replacing it.  But many have.

[Dev]

My car has had that area rusted since 2004 and pretty much all of the cars I have seen has that same surface rust. Some had the area cleaned an painted.  Nothing really comes of it as the joints are sealed as Gaz mentioned.
 If you add grease it might be in an improvement but over time the grease mixes in with other contaminants and you are back to where you started. 

[Gaz mr-s]

My car has had that area rusted since 2004 and pretty much all of the cars I have seen has that same surface rust. Some had the area cleaned an painted.  Nothing really comes of it as the joints are sealed as Gaz mentioned.
 If you add grease it might be in an improvement but over time the grease mixes in with other contaminants and you are back to where you started.

No Dev, it's oft-reported that folk get heavy steering or play detected at MOT tests over here.

[Dev]

No Dev, it's oft-reported that folk get heavy steering or play detected at MOT tests over here.

 I did not know it was that bad over there. I cant recall anyone having this issue over here.

[bobbe]

You said 'a bit of rust'.  I haven't read of anyone free-ing up a joint just by wire-brushing it. I've seen them looking like they've spent a life at sea, hanging with rust & not be tight.

If it was usually the case that stiff steering was sorted just by wire-brushing it, then most owners wouldn't be replacing it.  But many have.

Yes, a bit of rust. Not lots of rust. A bit of rust. Surface rust. My steering was not stiff. It had become a bit stiffer than usual. Clearing off surface rust and adding some grease in around it sorted it. My steering is noticeably lighter and more direct, with more feedback and feel. So if your steering is getting a bit stiffer than usual and your universal joint has a bit of surface rust, then - as I say - this may well deal with it. If it is further gone than that, as many people's may be, then you will probably need to replace it. It may even be the case that at some point in future my universal joint will need replaced anyway. But, for now, this has made a big difference. Feel free to try it yourself, you may even notice a difference.

[Gaz mr-s]

Mine are  fine. They're protected as I described above.

Your experience doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but hey-ho.

[Dblock]

Yes, a bit of rust. Not lots of rust. A bit of rust. Surface rust. My steering was not stiff. It had become a bit stiffer than usual. Clearing off surface rust and adding some grease in around it sorted it. My steering is noticeably lighter and more direct, with more feedback and feel. So if your steering is getting a bit stiffer than usual and your universal joint has a bit of surface rust, then - as I say - this may well deal with it. If it is further gone than that, as many people's may be, then you will probably need to replace it. It may even be the case that at some point in future my universal joint will need replaced anyway. But, for now, this has made a big difference. Feel free to try it yourself, you may even notice a difference.

When I bought my mr2 it was on the mot advisories. I just thought the MR2 had very heavy steering because maybe it was mid engine or something. But once I changed the UJ it made a world of difference. It's no longer stiff and it feels more precise also.

[bobbe]

When I bought my mr2 it was on the mot advisories. I just thought the MR2 had very heavy steering because maybe it was mid engine or something. But once I changed the UJ it made a world of difference. It's no longer stiff and it feels more precise also.

If the steering was very heavy and the u joint was an MOT advisory then it sounds like yours was past the point where wire brushing and greasing would have sufficed

[Dblock]

If the steering was very heavy and the u joint was an MOT advisory then it sounds like yours was past the point where wire brushing and greasing would have sufficed

I did that, it made a slight difference the first few times I drove it then it seemed to get heavier again. But since changing it, it's stayed light and nimble feeling.

[Snelbaard]

And of course you can keep it in perfect condition with one of my UJ dust boot kits

[J88TEO]

And of course you can keep it in perfect condition with one of my UJ dust boot kits

I can vouch for that! Installed one in mine.