Suggestions for a power steering rack.

[composimmonite]

I want to fit PAS to my Marlin kit car that is based on Marina mechanicals. At present there is very little clearance between the 1800TC lump and the rack but I'm shortly to transplant the 1275 engine and gearbox out of my (now sold) Austin Sprite so there will be enough room to consider a power rack conversion. I did look into something like a Corsa power column but other Marlin owners have looked at this and found it not viable due to various aspects like bulkhead, dash, etc fouling and therefore needing significant modifications.
So can anyone suggest a power rack that could be worth considering that fits behind the front wheelbase ? Due to FWD most power racks are fitted infront of the wheelbase which will limit choice. Also needs to be relatively narrow to match Marina geometry so something like Sierra will probably be too wide.

Thanks.

Paul H

[kenb]

May 30, 2014 9:17:00 GMT composimmonite said:

Also needs to be relatively narrow to match Marina geometry so something like Sierra will probably be too wide.

Thanks.

Paul H

And there will lie your problem. What ever you use it will have match your existing rack exactly or it will have to be modified to match the old rack exactly otherwise it will never work properly. I looked at hundreds of racks when trying to find a rear steer narrow normal rack for my Ford Corsair. As most modern cars seem to wide and as you say most steer from the front, it was bloomin difficult. I ended up using a Peugeot 309 rack which steer from behind crossmember and also come in PAS form. That was the narrowest I could find. It also has hollow arms which made it easy to alter to match my track rod ends, as it just meant re tapping the the thread after I'd shortened the arms to suit. The only problem I had it doesn't use standard English splines on the rack which meant I had to use a pug lower column and adapt it.

[welshpug]

if you do choose the pug rack, the 205, 309 306 zx xsara are all the same main body, just different track rods.

[composimmonite]

Actually I've had a thought.
The Minor rack is mounted behind the wheels however a modified LHD version is used upside down on the Spridget in front of the wheels.
I suppose, in theory, then a LHD rack that is in front of the wheels could possibly be used as a RHD item behind the wheels.
Do power racks still work the same when upside down ? I assume so.

Paul H

[adamb]

How about running a manual rack, with a corsa b electric steering column conversion (like they do on the escorts?)

Might give you more choice? And has to be simpler...

[kenb]

May 30, 2014 11:06:39 GMT adamb said:

How about running a manual rack, with a corsa b electric steering column conversion (like they do on the escorts?)

Might give you more choice? And has to be simpler...

He said in original post there isn't enough room but yes would be simpler if it fitted.

[adamb]

Yeah, just re-read the first post, ignore me

[colnerov]

Hi, the reason, as you know, is the rack has to have a set length to be the same as the TCA inner pivot is because of bump steer. My suggestion is to use Astra and Cavalier mk2, these are mounted behind the axle line, on the bulkhead actually, They came in power option. The difference is the the track rods are mounted on the centre of the rack/centre line of the vehicle. This means the track rod end moves through a very shallow arc which reduces the effect on bump steer.

Colin