Any powered steering experts out there?

[Yatesy350i]

Hi All

I've just completed a PAS upgrade to my 350i. Slow speed manoeuvring, parking etc is way better than none PAS but my car does seem to suffer from heavy steering?

However the steering is noticeably easier to turn right than left. Also whilst driving and turning right there is a Nast vibration through the wheel! Nothing when turning left.

Does this sound like the rack is toast and ready for a £125 + vat refurb I wasn't expecting. Or could it be something else?

Wheel alignment will obviously be check when the car is taxed. But the overall dimensions of both raks were identical as we're the positions of the track rod end retaining nuts. So I think it's pretty close as I had the alignment checked last year.

Cheers Karl

[Jack Valiant]

Assume you have changed the fluid for the correct one and spent some time on bleeding the system by working the steering from lock to lock? Any noise from the pump when on full lock but not on the stops? No sign of the belt slipping? 1/4 of an inch play on the belt at the longest run? Unusual for the rack to display this kind of fault unless it has been set up wrong let us know how it goes

Chris

[hallsie]

Its for girls,

MAN UP!

[Jack Valiant]

Come on Stu .... anyone can rough it

[hallsie]

Girl

[Yatesy350i]

No belts Chris.

It's a Citroen electric pump.

Karl.

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Mate...As Chris said with the bleeding of the pump..Full lock to the left and then to the right, Repeat a few times and then check the fluid level..It should knock a little on full right hand lock..More of a 1/4" bounce..Are the rotations equal from centre to left and centre to right?...If not then this could indicate wear in the rack..If it is equal then it could be the bearings in the pump..Did you empty out any old fluid...If so was it black!...Have the track rod ends been adjusted correctly...Ziga

[Yatesy350i]

hallsie said:

Its for girls,
!

That's the ideal Stu. I'm trying to persuade Mrs Yatesy that TVR's are wonderful, beautiful things that can be driven but short a$$ women. She's having none of it though. Thought the PAS might help?

It's also a nightmare to park with manual steering. However the black FHC I just sold wasn't?

Karl.

[Yatesy350i]

mrzigazaga said:

Hi Mate...As Chris said with the bleeding of the pump..Full lock to the left and then to the right, Repeat a few times and then check the fluid level..It should knock a little on full right hand lock..More of a 1/4" bounce..Are the rotations equal from centre to left and centre to right?...If not then this could indicate wear in the rack..If it is equal then it could be the bearings in the pump..Did you empty out any old fluid...If so was it black!...Have the track rod ends been adjusted correctly...Ziga

Hi Ziga

Yep all new fluid however the old stuff was clean and also newly poured prior to removal. Track rod end all fine and actually needed zero adjustment. Goes a bit stiff in both directions just before full lock? Turne steering lock to locl twenty times with and without pump on. Wheels off the floor.

Cheers Karl.

[Jack Valiant]

Just wondering if the electric pump is up to the requirements of the rack, have you got the Ford or Supra rack? Does the Frenchy pump have any adjustment?

[Yatesy350i]

Jack Valiant said:

Just wondering if the electric pump is up to the requirements of the rack, have you got the Ford or Supra rack? Does the Frenchy pump have any adjustment?

Now that's what I was thinking. But as I know bu££er all about PAS thought I'd ask first. After all the Saxo I would imagine is quite light over the front wheels compared to a Wedge. However the setup I'm using came out of a Wedge and seemed to be working fine.

The only other thing I can think of is when you look at the Saxo installation the hoses come of the pump at 12 o'clock. Straight up. Due to the way I've mounted the pump the come of at about 2 o'clock so not quite straight up?

I had a chat with a guy in Birmigham a few days ago as I was thinking if it all went wrong I would refurb the rack and start again. I said " I have a PAS rack off a 2.3 Cortina how much would it cost to refurb?" He said " I haven't seen one of them for years, they used to fit them to TVR's you know" that was it for me I knew if I needed work doing on it he was the bloke. I might give him a bell in the morning with the symptoms.

cheers Karl.

[Yatesy350i]

Its got Ford stamped on it Chris. So is this not a Supra rack then? I didn't realise there were two types.

[Yatesy350i]

Here's another idea. Has anyone got a belt driven pump and associated brackets they are to butch to use

[ElvisWedgely]

I used to own a 400SE, with the usual power steering setup, that had this problem of heavier to turn one direction than the other. Though it was not cured when I sold it I can tell you what wasn't causing the problem. We changed the pump so it wasn't that. We had the tracking done and it wasn't that. So that only leaves the rack or more likely the suspension geometry. I hope my elimination experience helps to solve your problem.

Tony.TCB.

[mrzigazaga]

If there is fluid leaking from either the ends or the centre gear housing then the rack seals are knackered..If there is movement in the ends then it will definitely need a refurb..I had a Cortina mk4-5 power rack with a Citreon electric steering pump on the 280 and to be fair it wasn't that smooth..Its nothing like modern power steering..The one finger jobbie in fact it was a tad stiff..You might be able to get an SD1 PAS pump from the bay or grimmers but it might prove a bit of a mission to find the bracket..Unless a kind soul on here has one...Ziga

[Wedg1e]

Yatesy350i said:

Hi Ziga

Yep all new fluid however the old stuff was clean and also newly poured prior to removal. Track rod end all fine and actually needed zero adjustment. Goes a bit stiff in both directions just before full lock? Turne steering lock to locl twenty times with and without pump on. Wheels off the floor.

Cheers Karl.

Not surprising it goes stiff if the wheels are off the floor, the ram will be bending under the strain as the suspension is at full droop.

[Jack Valiant]

Well a lot of things could cause this issue within th rack.... he usual culprit is the pe-load on the worm gear (column to rack) due to wear. They should do all of this along with seals at the refurb. The orientation of the pump should make little difference fella as its all hydraulics! There were originally two types of PAS rack on the Wedge the Ford one as mentioned, or the later Supra one which is the make not the donor car! If I read correctly you mentioned that this fault is also the same while driving? I would check the Frenchy pump for any adjustment and if not then pull it off and look for a Rover SD1 blue top pump on the bay or try Rimmer Bros. They will also probably have the mounting hardware but they are a bit on the pricey side so be ready for lie down!!

This is the sucker.......

Edited by Jack Valiant on Thursday 3rd April 08:43

[V8 Fettler]

[mrzigazaga]

V8 Fettler said:

Jees if thats what a "Bull worker" does to you then count me out!........Wait...I remembered what it was called..Must be showing my age...

[Jack Valiant]

On a serious note if this car has the PAS rack its more cost effective to refurb or do it as designed rather than the nonsense back stepping for a manual conversion. So back to the PAS and roof off police, God help me!