My biggest lesson here is to PUT THE SCREW BACK IN. I had hammered and pressed the bushing/cup into the rack with quite a bit of force. When I cleaned up my work bench (the car was all done) I found a tiny screw. The one that holds the bushing in place. I didn't think it would be that much of a deal until 8 months later when the rack was rattling.

Yesterday I took the rack out (man, it was really easy this time) and found the bushing moved way over to the outer edge of the housing. I inspected it and saw nothing wrong so I pressed it back in, WAY into the rack. I still had the screw so I installed that too. Put it all together and now have NO noise, TIGHT wheels and a quicker car. Quicker because I'm not scrubbing expensive rubber by plowing!

Every part of that car was there for a reason. Shame on me for forgetting a step and thinking it wouldn't matter.

P.S. Don't know if I mentioned I machined the new bushing from a slightly larger piece of nylon. Looks to be holding up nicely when it's in place!

My biggest issue with fitting a solid bushing to the rack is the need to remove the rod end so the bushing can slide into place.  It's been many years since I did this but I remember the worst part of the job (for me at least) was getting the rod end off and then creating a new "key" to prevent it from loosening when I put it all back together.  I have vague memories of drilling and tapping the assembled rod end and rack so I could fit a set screw to key it all keyed together.  

The split hose can be installed without completely taking the rack apart which makes this repair possible with the rack on the car.  I did my Delrin bushing repair/installation with the rack installed but it was a pig of a job to handle working on my back under the car.

I remember something about the three contact lobes of the later factory bushings having grooves on them to fit the part without holding tight tolerances.  If I am remembering that correctly, the three lobes should help dampen vibration a bit but more importantly, the flats between them will allow oil circulation.

Doug. 

     In wisdom you have shared to the mini community = i was using some old posts you also had made for the ideas to remove and repair.
Valuable information all around....  I too read one where you discussed the hydrolic hose and was going to fully take that route.. but hey = the ' mini' busing was in my spares bin... So for now = i have gone ahead with it.  The fit both ID and OD was Perfect.

Im Wondering = the mini bushing isnt fully ROUND but is actually = triangle ish... flat on 3 sides. I wonder if that will allow some 'Give" to avoid Super hard knocking or issues.

Time will tell.   This was an 8$ solution that mini suppliers have on hand + will get a rack serviceable again... This car isnt going to see a' hard knock life when back on the road.

I used a section of hose that lasted for a while, then failed. I bought a couple nylon bushings and ground them to fit. They too worked for a while, now are knocking again. Is a bronze bushing NOT a good idea? if so, why not? Kinda sick of the clunk and now burning up $90 Yoko 008s. Is there a long term fix? Should I just go the MK II rack route?

Years ago I made a Delrin bushing for my car's rack.  It worked but I would NOT put a firm bushing in there again. 

Years ago there was a member here who ran Dean Brothers Garage (or something similar).  They proposed a fix that I wish I had used.  They removed the metal ring as you suggested.  They bought a short piece of hydraulic hose whose inside diameter just fit the rack and split it lengthwise with a razor blade.  Then they used a disk grinder to reduce the outside diameter to fit inside the metal ring.  Finally they cut some axial grooves on the outside diameter of the hose to allow oil to move back and forth.  

The piece of hose was installed on the rack and secured with the metal ring.  The fact that it was split axially meant it could be installed without removing the rod end from the rack.  The hose dampens out vibrations better than a solid bushing and eliminates the "clunk" that happens when the original bushing fails.  

In summary, the hose bushing was cheap and easy to fabricate and I wish I had used that method instead of machining a bushing from Delrin.

Excellent post!  An elegant solution to an old problem.   My own car has been banging away till I find time to pull it apart!

Many of us have had it happen, and mostly understand that there is not an off the shelf fix when  your Mk1 - offside rack bushing fails.

That busing in the end of the rack is really a metal ring =with cork insert to keep the shaft tight.
  Drys out = fails = knocking rack


Just FYI for all...

While Fixing up a Mk1 = I found this bushing dead.

wanted to fix... did the normal procedure to remove the metal bushing ring.. ( long deck screws + washers wedged between the rack Shaft and the bushing use the rack to push out the ring... ) it worked.

Clean out the old cork material.

In this case= I have heard there are different racks ..
For this repair a Later mk 2-on rack bushing WILL FIT.  but It must be modified slightly  to fit inside the ring.

https://www.minimania.com/part/37H8064/Classic-Austin-Mini-Cooper-bush-Nylon-Steering-Rack


This bushing fit Perfectly inside my = lock ring. But is too wide overall

Cut bushing nylon down to the' Ring width and THIS will fix that perished bushing in your mk1 rack. The ID of the busing is EXACTLY right for the rack size.

The ring holds the nylon bush in place.

Note on re installation= mark your metal ring= on the edge so you know where the small phillips set screw hole is oriented. you must put this set screw back in + algin the hole back for re assembly and holding the bushing in place

Beautiful Fix...