epas, electric power steering
Discussion
Im over the moon with my newly fitted power steering,works an absolute treet,its the epas unit from cosa with a seperate knob for adjustment of sensitivity,my p&j is now even better with pas,i had previously told everyone it did not need it,but now its on what an improvement,ill take some pics if anyones intrested in going down same route.total cost £90 for bits.
pics as promised sorry for quality its hard lying camera on floor then pot luck as to what comes out.control knob for adjusting sensitivity 
bracket made from 2mm plate bolted to pedal box.
control box bought off ebay £38
the column was £40 from corsa b in scrap yard.@£10 spent on wiring/40a fuse holder.
remove column measure its length,make sure its the same length when youve put the corsa bit in the middle of it,i didnt keep any of the measurements so just be careful,its still a collapsable column using the bit off the corsa welded to tvr top part of column.i left corsa uj in afterepas bit and welded that to the bottom part of tvr column.i made a "L" ish shaped bracket to go full width of pedal boxand bolted epas unit to that.
the wiring was simple enough using corsa ecu you need 6mm cable for + and - from battery with 40amp fuse goes to ecu,i bought the control box off ebay which just needs an ignition live and small earth thats it without writing war and peace.i would have preffered to have it speed sensitive but it works drives just fine.anyway any questions just ask.
pic of corsa column used
bracket made from 2mm plate bolted to pedal box.control box bought off ebay £38
the column was £40 from corsa b in scrap yard.@£10 spent on wiring/40a fuse holder.
remove column measure its length,make sure its the same length when youve put the corsa bit in the middle of it,i didnt keep any of the measurements so just be careful,its still a collapsable column using the bit off the corsa welded to tvr top part of column.i left corsa uj in afterepas bit and welded that to the bottom part of tvr column.i made a "L" ish shaped bracket to go full width of pedal boxand bolted epas unit to that.
the wiring was simple enough using corsa ecu you need 6mm cable for + and - from battery with 40amp fuse goes to ecu,i bought the control box off ebay which just needs an ignition live and small earth thats it without writing war and peace.i would have preffered to have it speed sensitive but it works drives just fine.anyway any questions just ask.
pic of corsa column used
After Googling Corsa B steering there is mention amongst the various threads of cracked bulkheads due to the torque reaction of the electric motor. Chim pedal boxes have been known to crack on there own account. I think the conversion is a great idea but great care in the fabrication of brackets needs to be taken.
hi safety wise the column will collapse the same as it would in a corsa,its as good as origional column/better,if you take youre origional column off and see how its been lengthened youd know what i mean.
Please give me a link to any corsa eps about cracked bulk heads as i would love to read it.
so long as bracket is good and strong there should be no twisting by the column itself,its on a worm drive.The motor turns the worm,turns column.the motor is at 90 degrees to column motor turns one way,column the other.
Im crap at explaining myself but do you really think id drive an unsafe car,knowing i caused it.
please dont anyone do this mod unless they are very mechanical/very good welders.
Please give me a link to any corsa eps about cracked bulk heads as i would love to read it.
so long as bracket is good and strong there should be no twisting by the column itself,its on a worm drive.The motor turns the worm,turns column.the motor is at 90 degrees to column motor turns one way,column the other.
Im crap at explaining myself but do you really think id drive an unsafe car,knowing i caused it.
please dont anyone do this mod unless they are very mechanical/very good welders.
Edited by nuttyfruitbat on Tuesday 10th August 17:10
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t...
This link briefly mentions the bulkhead mounting problem. Just thought it might be worth further investigation. No criticism of what you have done was intended, just wish I had the skill to do it myself.
Racing Green do an electric conversion so the conversion is obviously do-able as you have proved yourself.
This link briefly mentions the bulkhead mounting problem. Just thought it might be worth further investigation. No criticism of what you have done was intended, just wish I had the skill to do it myself.
Racing Green do an electric conversion so the conversion is obviously do-able as you have proved yourself.
Hi Nuttyfruitbat, thanks for the info!
Im exactly the same as you in that i have been convincing myself that heavy steering and all that feedback is what its all about, however i have been thinking about doing this all year!
Glad to hear you are happy with it.
Couple of questions though, did you weld the shaft together (above the motor) then weld the column sleve/tube to the motor?
You say you kept the shaft after the motor with the universal joint on and welded this to the shaft on the car,all im wondering is does this seem solid as there seems to be an extra u/j,i guess if the motor is mounted solid enough then there is no issue.
Lastly does it show,as in hang down in the footwell?
Thanks again. Steve.
P.S. not worried about the tourque reaction/bulkhead cracking,sure that adequate mounting will be enough.
Im exactly the same as you in that i have been convincing myself that heavy steering and all that feedback is what its all about, however i have been thinking about doing this all year!
Glad to hear you are happy with it.
Couple of questions though, did you weld the shaft together (above the motor) then weld the column sleve/tube to the motor?
You say you kept the shaft after the motor with the universal joint on and welded this to the shaft on the car,all im wondering is does this seem solid as there seems to be an extra u/j,i guess if the motor is mounted solid enough then there is no issue.
Lastly does it show,as in hang down in the footwell?
Thanks again. Steve.
P.S. not worried about the tourque reaction/bulkhead cracking,sure that adequate mounting will be enough.
spinbo said:
P.S. not worried about the tourque reaction/bulkhead cracking,sure that adequate mounting will be enough.
I would have thought that would be the only thing to worry about.With manual steering the force required to turn the wheels is provided by the driver. With the original PS the force required to turn the wheels is provided by the chassis. With electric units the column mounting has to provide it, so the mounting/shell/bodywork is designed to take it.
There is a big difference between a mounting suitable for hanging a steering column from and one suitable for an electric unit to transmit the torque from. Getting a unit in there wired up and turning the wheels isn't the problem, getting it in there mounted in such a way that it doesn't eventually make a bid for freedom is what this conversion is all about.
Anyone know what RG do about any extra strenghtening?
It seems the main torque reaction has been taken by the pedal box, as stated by the O/P.
This seems, imho, a good point to distribute the load.
It is better to keep the stress nearer the chassis then higher up as I previously thought.
This is something I have been thinking about as a winter project as even though mine has P/S, there are no repair spares for the rack if you have wear in the rack bar and pinion.
Well done that man and thanks for the description, I will be in touch in the future for more, "finer" details.
P.
This seems, imho, a good point to distribute the load.
It is better to keep the stress nearer the chassis then higher up as I previously thought.
This is something I have been thinking about as a winter project as even though mine has P/S, there are no repair spares for the rack if you have wear in the rack bar and pinion.
Well done that man and thanks for the description, I will be in touch in the future for more, "finer" details.
P.
hi spinbo
dismantle corsa column top part remove 3 bolts holding it to epas unit,the corsa shaft joins the epas unit via a collapsable spline drill the nylon pins out from spline and tap off outer spline piece,this is the bit to cut and weld to the tvr column so it taps/slides back into place and can collapse if all goes wrong,the outer consertina part welds to tvr column and bolts back on to epas unit,for belt and braces aproach see second pic just above concertina bit i drilled 6mm hole so i could see splines were properly together.also doing it this way means no heat during welding goes into epas unit.
the bottom part i kept corsa uj again so as no heat from welding goeas to epas unit,where corsa nuckle joint is conected knock out the centre part,its round with two fats,same is found on the tvr column knock this back in and weld,just make sure measure twice cut weld once.
On the subject of torque and bracketry peter is right the pedal box is best place for it,+the motor only turns the inside bit of column,nothing is trying to turn the outside of column.
As for it showing only if you put youre head down to look for it,while driving it cant be seen,or felt by my feet(size 10s)or my knees.
Hope this helps nfb.
dismantle corsa column top part remove 3 bolts holding it to epas unit,the corsa shaft joins the epas unit via a collapsable spline drill the nylon pins out from spline and tap off outer spline piece,this is the bit to cut and weld to the tvr column so it taps/slides back into place and can collapse if all goes wrong,the outer consertina part welds to tvr column and bolts back on to epas unit,for belt and braces aproach see second pic just above concertina bit i drilled 6mm hole so i could see splines were properly together.also doing it this way means no heat during welding goes into epas unit.
the bottom part i kept corsa uj again so as no heat from welding goeas to epas unit,where corsa nuckle joint is conected knock out the centre part,its round with two fats,same is found on the tvr column knock this back in and weld,just make sure measure twice cut weld once.
On the subject of torque and bracketry peter is right the pedal box is best place for it,+the motor only turns the inside bit of column,nothing is trying to turn the outside of column.
As for it showing only if you put youre head down to look for it,while driving it cant be seen,or felt by my feet(size 10s)or my knees.
Hope this helps nfb.
Edited by nuttyfruitbat on Saturday 14th August 13:22
If the front wheels were off the ground there would be virtually no reaction between column and inner shaft. But the minute you lower the car to the ground the friction of the tyres on the road add load to the motor and it has to react against something to continue turning the wheels. Consider a handheld electric drill, whilst the drill bit is turning your hands (the bulkhead) feel nothing, as it starts to bite into the material you are drilling you have to take a tighter grip. If the drill bit jams in the hole it can almost twist the drill out of your hands!
On a Corsa, the reaction no doubt, is taken by structural bracketry, (trickery) under the dash.
If the column outer is fixed/braced to the pedal box, which is man enough for the job and itself securely fixed, I see no problem.
I have yet to inspect that area but it sounds the best place to locate, at worst, possibly beef up the pedal box area.
(You can see I am slowly working myself into this project!)
My 2D worth.
If the column outer is fixed/braced to the pedal box, which is man enough for the job and itself securely fixed, I see no problem.
I have yet to inspect that area but it sounds the best place to locate, at worst, possibly beef up the pedal box area.
(You can see I am slowly working myself into this project!)
My 2D worth.
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