diy power steering ideas

[licence_to_drift]

seeing as i am always hard up.......

anybody got any ideas for a diy power steering system for a mk2 escort rack?

heard something bout a saxo electric system, any ideas?

[popuptoaster]

the electric ones have a motor on the column, you have to transplant the column and all the wiring for the system.

[Retromotorsport]

A really cheap way of getting easier steering, Grab an Atlas axle, strip the internals out. then lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
Put the internals back in after a month, then repeat the above steps for another 2 months.

[Clint]

http://www.anglia105e.co.uk/pages/my...ing/powers.asp

[licence_to_drift]

retro: your're a wasted talent

clint: thats blinding mate, was it difficult to fit?
was it worth doing?
roughly how much was that column?

[Retromotorsport]

"retro: your're a wasted talent"

I thank you...

[Clint]

dunno cars not seen the road yet, column was £60 about 2 years ago should be lots cheaper now.

[Banishit]

A really cheap way of getting easier steering, Grab an Atlas axle, strip the internals out. then lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
lift it up.
put it down.
Put the internals back in after a month, then repeat the above steps for another 2 months.

thats was very funny

[licence_to_drift]

clint.......let me know the out come, i might have to venture down that road

[licence_to_drift]

is this simular to the system that prepfab use?

[Clint]

Dunno but as far as I know mine was the first retrofitted system, its straight out of a Vauhhall Corsa.

[MICKEYBOY]

cant you fit a power steering pump n that found on some sierras,, i had one some body fitted to a 3 door cossie rep i had worked fine,,

[licence_to_drift]

what rack though? sierra rack wouldnt fit would it? if it did ,then id just use a cossie set up ,seeing as im running a pinto.....

[900ss]

Shame this C3 one doesn't have the motor a little better positioned







Would mean running the motor through the sump as it is
Shame cos it's a reasonably compact unit

[900ss]

Few more power column types to keep you thinking





(above) Late old shape Corsa







(above) New Corsa





(above) Punto mk2





(above) Clio mk3

I'll leave it with ya

[dazzle]

Wynn
Do you need a black box with all of them?? As Clint said in his anglebox thread, he needed black box and sensors?? Would be interested in trying something like that on the scort when I do it How much do you charge for those mate ? Just to get an idea

[Clint]

Wyn how many looms and how many wires do they each have on the Clio one ? where do the thick wires plug in ?

Looks like that could be ideal.

[900ss]

Daz I would guess yes you'll need the control units
Sorry I haven't tried fitting one myself but I know a few peeps that are in the process of fitting them. I'll let you know if I find out fa sure
Price varies depending where you shop But if you see one for £25 rip their arm off

Clint I'll try find some more info when I can

[TepiTheFinn]

as a toyota mechanic, i can tell corolla and avensis have EPS too.

[Clint]

Wyn can you get a photo of the Peugot ones, if possible I need to see the ECM and wires

[Lee S]

I dont know if this has already been said, but didnt some of the late tina's have PAS? Would it be easier to use that if they did.

[Clint]

Rack lengh and pivot points play a magor part in geometry the cortina rack would be all wrong.

Were talking about Electronic Power Steering here its better than hydraulic in many ways i.e. weight, it dosnt drain as much HP, better feel due to its speed and torque sensitive control.

However the Corsa one isnt ideal which is what I fitted before so were looking for an alternative for Escorts

[TepiTheFinn]

However the Corsa one isnt ideal which is what I fitted before so were looking for an alternative for Escorts

what is the reason? is it the feel of steering or size of the column.
toyota columns look quite similar as corsa ones, i should take some measurements when i'm back in work.....

[Sideways]

Wyn, you dont work in a breakers yard by any chance do you?

the new Suzuki's have a small compact unit to.

btw I have one of the early corsa ones fitted to my Escort

Steve

[900ss]

Clint I looked at the Clio unit n that uses 2 plugs, 1 main 2pin plug n the other a small 4pin plug. Didn't get time to see where the looms run tho. Btw what Peugeot units do you mean?

Steve
Yes I work at a breakers, that's how I get most of my bits
Be interested to see how that Corsa unit is fitted to yours

[Clint]

The 2 pin plug is the power to the motor, the other one will be the torque sensor, is the ECU separate or part of the main computer ?

[900ss]

Ecu isn't attached. Guess it's a separate unit

[Sideways]

Steve
Yes I work at a breakers, that's how I get most of my bits

I couldn't really tell

Be interested to see how that Corsa unit is fitted to yours

Basically I looked into doing this a few years ago as quite a few folk had started to fit them to their rally cars.

Firstly I looked at a kit made by West Wales Rally Spares, this kit used a modified Vectra power rack turned upside down and mounted on a modified WXCM and modified Mk2 steering column, and it used a peugeot/saxo electric pump to pump the fluid around.

A good idea and neatly done, but I didn't want a heavy pump and all that oil to pump around. plus the rack really wasn't a quick rack.

about the same time Quick Motorsport developed a kit based on the early Corsa electric column to fit escorts, which kept the std escort rack and sounded quite simple to fit.
So I got myself a corsa column from a breakers and brought the quick motorsport mounting bracket kit, only to find it didnt fit as it fouled on the bias pedal box, and when I told them about it they basically didn't want to know and said it should fit as they have fitted plenty to escorts. I have since found out that they only fit with a certain type of pedal box where the cylinders point upwards rather than horizontaly.

Anyway I shelved the idea until I got the rest of the car finished and back on the road. I then decided to make my own brackets to mount the corsa column. this was a pain in the arse as it took many evenings to get the angles right and also making sure it cleared everything.
As you know a std escort steering wheel is offset to the centre of the car and also at a slight angle, but the beauty of fitting one of these is you can more or less position the wheel exactly where you want it in front of the driver.
I had to brace the dash up as the motor is quite heavy compared to the std column and had to double skin the brace that goes behind the clocks from the bulkhead to the column mounting point to stop it from flexing.

I made up a new shorter column to go from the rack to just inside the floor, mainly to do away with the naff splines on the std column that always seem to twist. the gp4 knuckle was modified at one end to suit this. I also fitted a bearing in the floor to support the column. this then mated the corsa unit using the std corsa knuckle joints.

A electronics aren't my strong point, electrics yes, but when it comes to electronics I'm lost, so the electronics side was done by modifying the ECU by a company in Maldon Essex D C Electronics as the std ecu is connected to the gearbox speed sensor and the engine ecu, they fit a potentiometer so that you can adjust the sensitivity of the assistance.

You then have the choice of fitting vauxhall switches/stalks or modifying the escort ones to fit.

The beauty of fitting this type of system over the power rack type is that the std ecort rack is retained and if a fuse/motor goes, then it acts like a std esort rack with no assistance.

I can tell you that with a 2.2 turns quick rack and wide sticky tyres this set up makes a big difference, and well worth the expense and effort to fit it, even if it is a bit of extra weight to carry around in the car, but if the car is easier to drive you will be quicker at the end of the day

phew...that's enough typing for now, my digits are sore as I've been typing engineering reports all morning as well

Cheers
Steve

[Sideways]

Here's a pic of the kit from West Wales Rally Spares I mentioned, which uses a LHD Vectra rack mounted upside down.
At the time (2 yr ago)it was £1500 with exchange column, a touch expensive considering you had to provide the wiring for the pump up and also supply and fit the hydraulic lines in yourself.



Steve

[Sideways]

Here you go Wyn....

Heres the Corsa item I got from the scrappy's


Here's the new shaft I had made with the modified Grp 4 joint on


the shaft fitted in place, as it goes through the floor with the self aligning bearing fitted to give it support


and the column fitted to the dash





the Corsa linkage/joints bolted up to the new shaft


note the ECU is only resting on the dash whilst I tested it, it is now mounted behind the dash and the wiring tidied up.
Also these pics show no switches/stalks fitted as they were taken before I bodged the Mk2 ones on

With this modified ECU there is only two wires to connect up, +ve & -ve and mount the assistance level rotary switch to the dash

Cheers
Steve

[Sideways]

Forgot to mention that the splines on the Corsa column for the steering wheel boss are exactly the same as the splines found on a Mk1 Escort column...

Strange but true.....

Cheers
Steve

[Dom]

I hate threads like this because now I'm going to have to do mine just because I now know it can be done That looks a really tidy install Steve

[900ss]

Now that is cool
Well worth knowing and seeing how it all goes together

[robrs2]

Steve, What or where is the bearing from that bolts to the floor??

[TepiTheFinn]

This is eps column from UK made '03 Avensis 1.8
it's from LHD car. don't know how much your RHD cars differ.



steering wheel has tilt and "depth" (see splines) control

Cheers,
Tepi

[Sideways]

Cheers guys, its definately a worthwhile conversion, the hardest bit is making the brackets to bolt it to the dash, and making sure it doesnt flex, Also getting the angles right is a pain as 2mm difference at the bracket end is about 30mm at the steering wheel end, and also getting it to clear the pedal box cylinders is tricky as its very tight under there.
I have remade the bracket again since taking those pics now on mk4...lol

Dom,
you know it makes sense to do this conversion, you can even refit your mk1 wheel....lol

Wyn,
I should imagine it should be a little easier on your car, as there maybe a little more space under the dash to fit it all in than there is on a mk2

Rob,
Its a standard off the shelf self aligning bearing for a 3/4" shaft, straight out of the RS catalogue.

Cheers
Steve

[Sideways]

Tepi,

That looks like another posibility, I don't know how big it is compared to the early Corsa one, if its bigger you might struggle to get it under the dash with a bias pedal box in.
I know the later longer Corsa one with the height and reach adjuster in, wont fit under a mk2 with a bias pedal box as its quite a bit longer and, you will end up with the steering wheel too close to the driver.
I know because I tried one.

Cheers
Steve

[DarthVader]

Really SWEET!!!- Do you mind lifting the Part number of the unit for me please ?

[Clint]

Steve what are your thoughts of having the power assistance level on a knob on the dash, would you not prefer it to be automatic as in with a sensor on the wheel, my thoughts were that I would not want the steering to be able to vary otherwise you would be constantly learning how to drive it.

A dash adjuster would be very simple to do, a load to stop the ECU thinking the sensor is faulty and a pulse circuit (555 timer maybe) variable via a potentiometer or multi way switch.

Do you adjust it while driving or is it set to a position you have found to like ?

[TepiTheFinn]

Tepi,

That looks like another posibility, I don't know how big it is compared to the early Corsa one, if its bigger you might struggle to get it under the dash with a bias pedal box in.
I know the later longer Corsa one with the height and reach adjuster in, wont fit under a mk2 with a bias pedal box as its quite a bit longer and, you will end up with the steering wheel too close to the driver.
I know because I tried one.

Cheers
Steve

if i would put that toyo thing in, i'd probably leave tilt and depht section off (as you can see in pics, it can be pulled off) and cut the outer spline tube and mix/weld it with piece of escort spline shaft and column tube . that way i could make it to any lenght i want and use escort steering wheel.
do you understand any of my writings
Cheers,
Tepi