418 replies to this topic

[axistr]

Hi all , well after waiting for the engineer since late december he finally fronted this afternoon, we load tested and checked the brackets for flex ect,ect and has passed all his strength tests. he has now given me the go ahead to fit it to my torrie for the final lot of tests. He was very happy with all the steering geometry and reconds it should steer better than the factory unit plus the added bonus of power steering which is what we all set out to do. As soon as I get time I will paint and detail the rack and brackets then put the rack into my car. It's getting close now.

I need a alloy pulley to bolt onto a sagnall pump as fitted to the vy-vz commodore multirib belt 6pk. does any body have one ? or know who sells them in sydney area.

Len.

[ls2lxhatch]

Summit list a pulley that may be suitable.
http://store.summitr...amp;autoview=sk

http://store.summitr...mp;autoview=sku

Edited by ls2lxhatch, 11 February 2009 - 12:08 AM.

[TerrA LX]

Very nice work there.

[Evan]

thats great to hear!!
Cant wait to c how it drives.

Evan.

[axistr]

Thanks Keith, I rang John today but he only has one for alternators. ls2lxhatch thanks for the heads up, I looked at the summit site some time ago but I didn't notice any sizes or the off set and if I order one from the states I carn't return it, I was hoping to try local first but if not I will have to bit the bullet and hope for the best from Summit. The second choice is I just fit the standard Holden steel pully but I was hoping to keep the P/S pump to match the rest of the accesories drive except the A/C compressor which you don't notice as it's mounted down below on the N/S.

Len.

[ls2lxhatch]

Len,

Can you post a photo of the power steering pump you are using to confirm the type? I know of a place that makes alloy pulleys for LS1 and LS2 power steering pumps.

Edited by ls2lxhatch, 11 February 2009 - 09:21 PM.

[axistr]

Hi ls2lxhatch, after months off and on chasing the right pulley I found a company only two miles down the road from work, Dam all that chassing and you find one in your own back yard. They will make any pulley any shape so I can order one to suit my ratio ect. (australian pully co) I will try to organise it next week. When I mesured up some P/S pumps I found the vy-vz v8 pump lines up with my A/C serpentine belt, as the ls1-ls2 pumps bolt up to the front of the N/S head it should bolt directly to my standard GM patern head with no brackets needed. I will try and pick up the pump next week and double check alignment before ordering the pully. I also think the standard commodore pulley will also line up but I want an alloy one to match the other pulleys.

Len.

[ls2lxhatch]

Len,

I look forward to seeing how the pump turns out. With a local manufacturer it should be no problem to get it sorted.

[axistr]

The steering pump turned up today, I got hold of a second hand saginal pump from a Jeep which fits my configuration. I will get an aluminium pulley made for look only but the steel pulley is 5 1/2" which gives me the same ratio as the Subaru pump. The rack and bracket have paint on them and the steel pipes from the cylinder to the rotory valve have be remade to tidy up the look. Lock stop collars fitted and steering stop clearances have been set. I will reco the pump, paint it and send the pulley out as a sample to be made then Just fit the system and make hoses.





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[axistr]

I have now gone to stage 2 or was that stage 22 anyway the racks in, all bolted up OK and no mods to the car or steering column. just waiting for the pump pulley to turn up sometime next week, hook up some hoses and then the test drive ? Fingers crossed.

Axistr.

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[antelopeslr5000]

I just hope you're ready for the relentless request from Torana owners on this forum for you to manufacturer a power steering system for their cars!

Fantastic job, well done!

[axistr]

Thanks for the encouragment guys it has just draged on for so long, I for one will be glad to see this project finished.

Lenny.

[axistr]

Job done,
I now have the Subaru rack up and running, the road test went very well better than expected, no bump steer at all and the ratio is excellent at high and low speeds. I think the steering is around 30-40% better that the torana set up at any speed. I have no under or oversteer problems at all. It is very perdictable and no kickback through the steering column on rough roads. The power assist at idle is great from lock to lock. I would like to increase my caster angle further as I'am only running 1deg pos, the car has good road feel through the steering wheel but I think it would improve further with more caster. Due to extractor clearance adding more caster angle isn't that easy on my torrie. So for now I will leave it as is and just clock up sone Kays and enjoy it, it's the best mod on my car. I also made up steel pipes to keep the temp down and run them around behind the front appron and radiator. Today with the Air conditioning going power steering working and all the other mod cons I have now it's like driving a new car built around 1996 not 1976.

The whole system looks factory fitted, If you didn't know that torries never come out from the factory with P/S you would think this system was a factory option. There are no mods done to the torrie so it is a direct fit which is a big plus when you have an original SS or A9x. Because I'am a bit of a perfectionest I may change the control arms to UC torana to increase caster further in the future. One of the best handling cars I have driven is my 3 series BMW so I tend to compare the torrie steering with our Beamer which is a big ask and now we have just ordered a new M3 that gap will widen a bit, and I will be driving it every chance I can when it turns up in MAY.

Now for any drawbacks, well the only one would be I would like to have achived a better toe out on turns around 2-3 deg but I have the exact same amount that the torries come out with on my car after many check both torrie and Subaru rack I come up with 3/4 toe out on turns. The only other drawback is the amount of time and money to sort out the mod and make it all happen, much harder than the A/C project.

Hope the above all makes sence and I am sure there will be many questions from all the forum members watching with interest.
Thanks for those who helped, John from A.P.S at Richmond N.S.W Australian Pully Co South Windsor N.S.W
Axis Truck Repairs Mulgrave N.S.W


Lenny.
AXISTR.

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[ls2lxhatch]

How does the turning circle compare with the factory rack? My TF Cortina power steering has a slightly larger turning circle.

[axistr]

Ls2lxhatch, I didn't do a turning circle test on the old or new rack on the car only the test cradle but the toe on turns are the same and full lock is about the same. I made rack stops on the end of the rack shaft and have a five mm gap between the steering arm and lower control arms on both sides so I can set the rack stop even closer if I want, but I like to have a small gap to protect the rack and steering arms as this is how most vehicles are from factory, they would only touch if a tap on the wheel on full lock like when you wife is parking the car and hits the gutter. When M@tt was doing some tests on the cortina rack his major concern was the bad toe on turns and I would think this is where you bad turning circle comes from. Because of the size of my front tyres and rims they come in contact with the rear of the inner guards and I have already removed the seam when I restored the car so any more lock and it would only foul even harder.
dapperUC thanks for the offer.

AXISTR

[Evan]

Congrats on the compelted job AXISTR!!!
Have got to be really happy with the way it turned out.
Got any plans to make a kit for this conversion??

Evan.

[axistr]

Hi Evan, at this stage I'am not saying yes or no. I need to get the final paper work from the engineer which should be done in the next few weeks, when I spoke to the the bloke that does all my steering racks and pumps, he said he would reco the racks and pumps after I do the mods on them but to make it proffitable he would want to do at least six at a time. Allthough the racks when modified will bolt directly onto any LH,LX.UC engine cradle, the power steering pump is engine dependant, so the type of engine and drive belt system comes into play. The engine mount on the drivers side may be an issue if some one has modified it. My chev uses CRS engine mounts and have reasonable room for the pipes and the rotory valve. The company that made my P/S pump pulley would do custom pulleys but you could run standard components from other holden models like the pump and brackets on HQ-VS or standard chev parts from P/S pump set ups. I got them to make an alloy pulley to suit my serpentine belt system and the correct diameter for a good pump speed as in the Subaru. To get a good price on the steering shaft adaptor I would need to order at least six, but with this adaptor it makes the conversion easy I used all the original parts I just fitted the rag joint straight onto the new adaptor with only reversing the safety drive pin plate.

Now comes the hard part, because it's a steering modification and if used for street use it must be signed off by an engineer, if I sold a kit to someone and they didn't get it signed off after fitting the system and that vehicle was involved in an accedent who would be liable. To sell the kit by law I would need to take out product liability insurance and that's worth around $10,000.00-12,000.00 how many systems would I need to sell just to recoupe the insurance money. So I would then need to put the kit through my company Axis Truck Repairs, I would then need to charge out any work carried out at our normal hourly rate or the workshop would suffer, cost,cost ,cost add g.s.t. Do I then fit the system at my workshop, wheel align the car and get all the engineering report to safe guard me and my company? hard if you from the west. I spent around eighteen months sorting out the fitment of this system and to sell a kit to some one and expect them to fit it on a saturday afternoon with a couple of beers could easy run into a desaster which could come back to bite me. As you can see there is a lot to think about.

Let me know what you guys think would be the best approch. In the next few weeks I will just be clocking up a few klicks in "HOLDON" and make sure thier are no snags. At this stage I strongly advise anybody "NOT" to modify there steering untill we can find the best way of doing this mod.

Thanks Lenny

Axistr.

[Evan]

hey axistr.

The power steering pump and brackets would be easier for guys that are running holden motors. Lot of off the shelf stuff that shaint be too hard to get to fit.

I would imagine that there would be 6 people here that would want the steering shaft adapter.

It certainly wont be worth it if you have to pay 12k a year on insurance

I can fully understand where you are coming from with liability if you sold a kit. How wold hopper stoppers go with selling their brake kits? , i imagine that it would be much the same circumstances. I think that for there to me any claim against you the kit would have to be installed by a certified merchanic and you would have to have engineer's reports for any aftermarkey bracketry. You get a copy of the engineers reports for the adapter plates used in the hoppers kit.

Hopfully as you clock up a few Km's on it it all runs smoothly.

Again congrats on getting it finished with such sucess.

Evan.