Steering Rack issue - binding
Discussion
Hi guys, Can anyone help with a rack issue? Standard Ultima rack. With the wheels off the ground and turning full left to right and back, I can feel a "slight" bind, or stick a couple of times. Otherwise the motion is very smooth. Think I have seen a thread about this before, but not sure. Could it be the rack internals? Anyone else had this? or I have been told it could be the joints in the steering linkage? They dont seem to bind as I have taken off quite a bit where they seem to potentialy touch, but could be the linkage. What do you think? Also, slight play with wheels on the ground. Tried to dial this out, but still a little bit there. Not enough to really hurt. Is the play dial-outable totaly?
Hi Paul:
Nice to hear you again. About your steering, it sounds as a rack internal problem. I think that Ultima rack is from TITAN. They have a webpage and probably a tech department. www.titanmotorsports.com
Good luck.
Cheers,
Javier
>> Edited by srreck on Sunday 1st February 15:46
Nice to hear you again. About your steering, it sounds as a rack internal problem. I think that Ultima rack is from TITAN. They have a webpage and probably a tech department. www.titanmotorsports.com
Good luck.
Cheers,
Javier
>> Edited by srreck on Sunday 1st February 15:46
Sounds like the steering rack clamps are causing it to distort.
To check remove one clamp bracket and then see if it still binds.
If it does'nt then the clamps need a little "fine tuning" as practised by the factory.
Bolt the rack to the chassis using one clamp only without the other fitted and measure the distance from the rack to the chassis where the other clamp fits. If this does not match then the mating surface between the clamp and chassis will need to be filed until it fits square.
It is a Titan rack by the way.
Gary
To check remove one clamp bracket and then see if it still binds.
If it does'nt then the clamps need a little "fine tuning" as practised by the factory.
Bolt the rack to the chassis using one clamp only without the other fitted and measure the distance from the rack to the chassis where the other clamp fits. If this does not match then the mating surface between the clamp and chassis will need to be filed until it fits square.
It is a Titan rack by the way.
Gary
Hi Paul,
Glad to see your still having fun with the car. Does the steering bind when you first turn the wheel or do you notice it after a few turns? The reason I ask, is that I had noticed something similar on my car when you first turn the wheel with the car off the ground. I am going through a complete rebuild and cleanup of the front of my Sports right now and when I pulled the steering column out I found that my bearings had completely dried up. I just used the factory grease that they supplied to me for the bushings, but the grease had hardened and was causing friction. Of course its been 4 years now since I installed that steering column, but I think this is an area that needs to be checked on some kind of regular interval.
Cheers!
-Mack
Glad to see your still having fun with the car. Does the steering bind when you first turn the wheel or do you notice it after a few turns? The reason I ask, is that I had noticed something similar on my car when you first turn the wheel with the car off the ground. I am going through a complete rebuild and cleanup of the front of my Sports right now and when I pulled the steering column out I found that my bearings had completely dried up. I just used the factory grease that they supplied to me for the bushings, but the grease had hardened and was causing friction. Of course its been 4 years now since I installed that steering column, but I think this is an area that needs to be checked on some kind of regular interval.
Cheers!
-Mack
I had the same issue with the rack.
after taking it apart and measuring all the parts we found that the rack itself was not straight.
when the teeth on the rack are heat treated it bends the rack. I think all ultima racks will probably have this to some extent. the rack needs to be fixed using
V blocks, a dial gauge and a press.
We also replaced the rack bushings with ones made from teflon just to be sure.
the housing is stiff enough that it does not seem to deform and cause a bind when clamped to the frame.
good luck all
after taking it apart and measuring all the parts we found that the rack itself was not straight.
when the teeth on the rack are heat treated it bends the rack. I think all ultima racks will probably have this to some extent. the rack needs to be fixed using
V blocks, a dial gauge and a press.
We also replaced the rack bushings with ones made from teflon just to be sure.
the housing is stiff enough that it does not seem to deform and cause a bind when clamped to the frame.
good luck all
Hi Jay,
I've been trying to find your email address for a while. I seem to have misplaced it. I'm redoing a few things on my sports with the suspension and wanted to talk to you about some of your mods. Also was wondering if you made up your own longer rack arms or if you got these from Titan directly. Send me an email Mack_Norris@yahoo.com
Also, wanted to tell you that I got the Sport Compact Car Magazine and its killer. What's the video like? I'm thinking of buying it if it has some video of your car.
Cheers!
-Mack
I've been trying to find your email address for a while. I seem to have misplaced it. I'm redoing a few things on my sports with the suspension and wanted to talk to you about some of your mods. Also was wondering if you made up your own longer rack arms or if you got these from Titan directly. Send me an email Mack_Norris@yahoo.com
Also, wanted to tell you that I got the Sport Compact Car Magazine and its killer. What's the video like? I'm thinking of buying it if it has some video of your car.
Cheers!
-Mack
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