Subaru Power Steering in an S

[tvrgit]

There have been various discussions about fitting power steering to an S, either using an electric steering column or the power rack from a Chimaera. The Chimaera racks are impossible to get at a reasonable price, so owners have converted their Chimaeras to “the Subaru option”. The big question has been - does the Subaru system fit an S?

Well, it does - Phillpot posted here just a month ago that he had installed a Subaru rack with a Citroen Saxo electric pump. That inspired me to have a go, so I started gathering the parts for a winter project… Subaru rack, Vauxhall Astra pump, Ford Ka U/J - then I started modifying them… then trial fitting… then final fitting… so it’s done!

I’m not the first to install the Subaru system, but I think I might be the first to write a full description of how to do it (and how not to!) which is available here:

http://www.andrewc.org.uk/tvrgit/powersteering.htm...

Edited by tvrgit on Wednesday 22 June 08:54

[tvrgit]

mentall said:

Thanks, Andrew. A wonderful project, and beautifully presented!

Just one question: did you consider the 'Easysteer' column-mounted kit?

My friend Bill has one on his Marlin, and swears by it. His looks as though it would fit the 'S' easily (also a Sierra column). And it has effort-adjustable and speed-sensitive options as well as a possible GPS input (not sure what that does for you).

I enthusiastically take your point about having to remove the dash; however, mine is already out, and won't go back for some time. And the necessary fitting and fabrication to the column looks much more in my league than your impressive efforts.

Bill also says Easysteer are friendly and helpful, although he's better at spending money than I am!

I'd be fascinated to hear your thoughts.

Best wishes
John

Hi John

I did think about the electric option - Barkychoc on here did that with his B8S some years ago. My main concerns were:

having to remove the dash to install the proper brackets;

having to cut and weld the steering column which needs a specialist (and I am somewhat sceptical of "specialists" who turn out not to know what they are doing at all); and

increased lateral stress on the bulkhead bearing - ok when in a nice metal bulkhead but maybe not so good in crackly fibreglass.

I accept that I might be wrong in those assumptions - but the hydraulic rack / electric pump option seemed easier because I could do it all myself! (Just!)

[tvrgit]

TVR-Stu said:

nice things:

Thanks for your kind words. I have no plans to sell the S, and the website will be around until I'm not around to pay for the web hosting!

[tvrgit]

mentall said:

I share your reservations!

AND a Subaru rack would look good, with the Subaru radiator that's already there!

All you need now are big yellow decals up the sides and a “555” on the doors!

[tvrgit]

Lewdon1 said:

Thank you for the brilliant write up which is very much appreciated. It gives me confidence to go ahead with mine.
I have my impreza rack (3 and 1/4 turns lock to lock, which rather surprised me) and an Astra H/MK5 pump, I have the material for spacers and cunifer tubing etc, but I am concerned by the parts to make the connection between the pump and the rack,
Where you have fitted the copper washers is rather rough on my rack, and there is very little recess, so I am concerned it will not seal. (did you fit the copper washer in the same place on the Astra pump, as there is no recess round the hole on my pump?).
Has anyone else who has done the conversion used a different way to seal the connection between the rack and the pump?

Edited by Lewdon1 on Thursday 23 June 08:58

Good point.
When I ordered the bits for making the hoses, I ordered “bum tube adapters” but didn’t realise that they were flat washer types.

The CORRECT bump tube adapters are supposedly available from JLS motorsports (Page 29 of their catalogue). Their part numbers are:
791415 for the M14 adaptor for the high pressure feed into the rack
791615 for the M16 adaptors which is the low pressure return from the rack, AND the high pressure feed out of the pump.

They look like this:



JLS say that Pirtek are their local distributor. My local Pirtek said on the phone that they could get those, then when I went in (20 miles away is local apparently) they said they couldn’t, but that the adapters I had would be ok as long as the washer seats properly.

I was so pee’d off with JLS and Pirtek that I decided to try it, just to see if it worked, and they seem to be ok so far, no signs of even the slightest weep.

Now that I know that the system all works, I might buy those connectors, so that I can change them if I need to.

[tvrgit]

Lewdon1 said:

I too have tried to find the bump tube adapters recommended by our chimaera chums but without success. (What is a bump tube anyway?) When i phoned JLS they said they had none in stock and didn’t know when they would get any, same answer from Pirtek, Torque uk, SJR hydraulic and others. Mr Phillpot – what did you use?

That's exactly what I found - so after I noted that the rack already had machined washer seats, I decided to try the flat adapters I had, with adjustment so that they would compress the washer enough. I also used Loctite and a large-ish spanner! I thought that would have a better chance of sealing, than using a different flared / o-ring adapter (of which were are many options, apparently). So far, I've been right! Tomorrow, I might be wrong...

Edited by tvrgit on Thursday 23 June 12:29

[tvrgit]

phillpot said:

Must admit I impressed myself

I don't think that I would have been confident about getting a flat enough seal with a hand file. But on the other hand, I think that many "home mechanics" (and I don't mean that in any derogatory way since I only know a little about your experience, but enough to know that it's probably more than mine!) can afford to put a lot more time and care into a project like this, than a mechanic who is "on the clock" so can't take too long without costs getting out of hand.

I think that a project like this does require a little ingenuity as you go along, but my purpose in writing the article was to give a little guidance, a little idea of the possible pitfalls, and to make it a little easier for those who wish to try it.

[tvrgit]

I had a recollection of somebody doing it - as I said, I don’t claim to be the first - but no amount of searching pointed to that thread. I think that can be a difficulty on PH where things can get lost in bigger threads - even reading 40-odd pages of the Chim thread can be confusing because later posts contradict what someone said 20 pages ago and not everybody is always right.

I think your points are helpful, such as:

On that other thread Blue 30 said:

I researched and found that 90's Toyota Corolla track rod ends were the correct thread, the correct taper, and the correct length for tracking adjustments.

Oh how I wish I had known that!

And

Blue 30 said:

Cut the other u/j off & discard then 'graft' the u/j with the stub onto the tvr column shaft. How you do that is your choice.... It's your life that will depend on it

I think you need to be VERY confident with welding (or know someone whose competence is as good as their confidence, which isn’t always the case) to take that chance. The Ka UJ option might be fiddly, but once it’s on, it’s on.

What it does show is that there is more than one way to do this, and any info is helpful to those setting out to do this job!

[tvrgit]

Blue 30 said:

Now then.... Do I trust that single little bolt holding the Sierra u/j clamp at the bulkhead end of the steering shaft ?

Sleep well.

I do. The UJ isn't going to suddenly fly off a 2-inch long pinion shaft.

ZZZzzzzzzzzz

[tvrgit]

Here's a photo of the JLS adapters in your link.



Here's the photo of the JLS adapters again.



If those are the ones that fit (according to the Chimaera boys) then I can see 2 possible problems with the ones in your link.

First, the actual tiny flare and o-ring that I've circled seems to be a slightly different shape, and I'm not sure if that is compatible. The man at Pirtek told me that you get a huge number of these type of connection, all different, and they don't always seal if you mix them up.

Second, the threads in the rack body don't go all the way down the hole. If you look at the distance from the end of the thread to the end of the connector (the red arrow) I don't think that the black connector would screw far enough in, to complete the connection. You might be able to file off the last 3 threads or so to make it reach - but the o-ring and flare are still different so I'm not convinced.

The Pirtek man said that the best option would be to get the original Subaru pipe ends and fit new hoses to those. Failing that, he said, use the copper washer recesses in the rack (even although Subaru themselves don't!), because that was likely to be the best guarantee for a proper seal. So far, he was right!

Edited by tvrgit on Friday 24th June 18:14

[tvrgit]

Lewdon1 said:

Can I have some advice please. I am having trouble removing the pinion housing from the rack. Both allan screws removed but it comes about 5mm then refuses to come further. I've tried gently tapping it but I am reluctant to use a bigger hammer. Should i slacken the large nut on the top of the rack which presumably preloads the rack against the pinion. (or will it be difficult to get it back to the right pressure on the rack. afterwards)

Don’t touch the big nut!

maybe you just need to eat a Weetabix! Mine was was exactly the same, and hard to pull free, I needed a combination of twisting the pinion out of the teeth on the rack, and pulling. Maybe a wee lever twisted in the gap, careful not to damage the faces. Watch for all the wee shims in the recess inside - mine had 3.