ZF Power Steering Racks?

[Transmitter Man]

Does anyone on the brain trust know of any vehicle that uses a ZF PS rack that is mounted 'behind' the front crossmember instead the far more common ahead of said axle?

I'm thinking one of the early Porsche or BMW's may fit one in this position.

Any ideas?

Phil
de Tomaso Longchamp GTS

[tr7v8]

Just had a look at my late 944 which is in bits. The rack is in front of the wheel centre line so that'll be the same for 924/944/968.

[e21jason]

Hi

From memormy the bme e21 thre series does i look under the car & check, but my maserati bi-turbo does

The other pre 80's BMW use steering boxes

Jason

[Transmitter Man]

Hi Jason,

OK, I have a contact who breaks BMW's so I'll give him a call.

Did they make the bi-turbo's in right hand drive?

If so, then that's another possibility albeit probably not an inexpensive one.

I called a de Tomaso parts dealer in Sydney Australia this morning and he has two RHD PS racks for my model of car but he could not confirm that they were ZF's which would make it an expensive excersise if they did not fit correctly.

I'll try and find me an early BMW.

Thanks.

Phil
79 e Tomaso Longchamp GTS

[andymardle]

What's your problem with your existing steering, exactly?

[Transmitter Man]

Hi Andy,

I'd like to convert the car to RHD.

Since I started this thread I have located two different (!) RHD De Tomaso Longchamp PS racks in Aus with a DT parts dealer so as a last resort...

Phil
79 De Tomaso Longchamp GTS

[andymardle]

Phil,
Are you sure your steering's bespoke or a special? You'd be surprised what exotics have as steering on them. Aston Martin Vantage, the previous one with the twin supercharged 5.4 V8 £200,000 ish? It's fitted with the steering from a Sierra. A Ferrari F40 apparently has fantastic steering, precise and full of feel. Bespoke racing rack? Nope, if I remember correctly it's off a manual Fiat Tipo or whatever preceeded it. I'd be very surprised if the DeTomaso is fitted with a unique rack. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't a Jaguar XJ12 or big BMW from that era, slightly modified.

[e21jason]

Hi

Yes the do Biturbo racks in RHD try richardaskew.co.uk

Jason

[Transmitter Man]

Hi Andy,

You make some very good points and I'm sure you're correct.

De Tomaso used two different PS racks on the Longchamp, one from Cam Gearswith a lousy turning circle and one from ZF as fitted to my car.

I'm going to visit a BMW breakers to check out the E30 rack and then onto Bill McGrath (Maserati specialist) to check on the Kyalami and Khamsin racks. I think they only produced the Kyalami in LHD so that's going to be a dead duck.

I've contacted Titan who will produce an electronic PS rack for around £2,000.00. I cannot afford to go down that avenue.

Thanks for the feedback. It's appreciated.

Phil
79 de Tomaso Longchamp GTS

[Transmitter Man]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for your post but if you read back to my original post I'm looking not just for a RHD PS rack but one which was designed to be mounted 'behind' the front cross-member.

That, is the problem I face.

Phil
79 De Tomaso Longchamp GTS

[andymardle]

Call me Mister Thicky but can't the DeTomaso Owners Club or whatever help? And isn't Dick Pudsey around anymore? Have you got the rack off the car yet? If you post a few pictures from different angles I might be able to identify it. And if I can't because it's a bit before my time, I've got a collegue who had a hand in developing a remanufacturing program for just about every steering rack from the last thirty odd years. He's like the Hugh Scully of steering.

[Transmitter Man]

Hi Andy,

I must admit I've not tried calling Dick. Must do that.

I've spoken to Roger Brotton and while he has a RHD Longchamp rust heap in his garage he's waiting for someone with extremely deep pockets to pay him to restore it. That's his only RHD rack.

After I gave my racks model number to ZF UK they confirmed it was unique to the De Tomaso Longchamp which I find hard to believe. Since then I've been told it may be the same as one of the maserati's.

I drive my car and have no photo's of the rack. It's hidden by 5.8 litres!

I'll call Dick tomorrow before I visit the BMW breakers and Bill McGrath Maserati.

thanks again.

Phil
79 De Tomaso Longchamp GTS

[ELAN+2]

Volvo 360 2 litre pas rack should fit the bill,IIRC, been a long time since I took cars apart for a living!!

[Transmitter Man]

Andy,

Telephoned Dick. He cannot help. He no longer works at Emmilia's in Silverstone as he's running another business.

Mark,

Great. I have owned volvo's in the past and know of a couple of breaks.

I'm first going to checkout the E30 BMW though as has been suggested previously.

Many thanks.

Good luck with that Elan. You're a better man than I.

Phil
79 De Tomaso Longchamp GTS

[Jaguarnut]

Just a thought, late model Jaguar XJ40's and X300's were fitted with ZF racks but I do not know what model. They are mounted behind the crossmember and are located with two bolts on each of the two mounts. The mounts themselves completely surround the rack tube and the metal parts effectively close the tube at both ends leaving the track rods hanging out.

Just a thought as it hasn't been mentioned before - unless I'm blind!

Edited by Jaguarnut on Tuesday 22 May 15:32

[Transmitter Man]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your feedback however, since my last post I've cross checked with ZF UK that my PS rack is indeed virtually the same as that used on the Maserati Kyalami of the same era.

And, Bill McGrath, well known in Maserati circles, has several used RHD racks in stock after a visit up there last week. ZF will rebuild one for me.

So that's that sorted.

Next job is to see if I can change my rear axle for a Jag 'outboard disc brake type such as your XJ40. Not such a simple job as my lower wishbones are monsters in size as compared to any Jag lower arms and are also AFAIK unique to the De Tomaso.

Thanks again.

Phil
79 De Tomaso Longchamp GTS