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power steering racks
pdm - 7/2/10 at 08:35 PM

Evening all

Do you have to change anything on a power steering rack before fitting to a kit car ? Or do you just use it as is but without the PAS pump ?

thanks
Paul


adithorp - 7/2/10 at 09:02 PM

Without the "power" it'd be very heavy to steer a power rack. I think you'll need to get hold of a manual rack.

adrian


franky - 7/2/10 at 09:31 PM

with no fluid in it should be light..... I think!


pdm - 7/2/10 at 09:35 PM

ah franky - funny you should respond !!

I was thinking about it for donor parts for a GKD Legend.

I'd have thought most Beemers would have PAS so is the refurbished unit converted or just drained of fluids ?


franky - 7/2/10 at 10:03 PM

'drained' for PAS racks i've felt have been the same as none PAS ones....

they are heavy with fluid in as it provides friction, which goes with the fluid out.

As far as i'm aware the one for a GKD build is just drained.

Have you ordered a chassis yet


MikeR - 7/2/10 at 10:19 PM

i thought i'd read a few times on here that pas racks used with out power assistance is a bad idea / mot fail / wears out quickly / causes ur first born to have horns / upsets ur neighbours etc


dlatch - 7/2/10 at 11:16 PM

all bmw non assited racks have 4+ turns lock to lock so avoid them for sure

a drained power rack will be fine think the Z3 rack is not too many turns lock to lock


morcus - 8/2/10 at 02:13 AM

My old car passed an MOT with dodgy PAS, it only worked once the engine had warmed up, before that it was really heavy. That said I did drive to the MOT and I was only there an hour so it might have slipped through.

I don't want to hijack this but how is the lightness of PAS set? My car has a button which makes it extra light below 30mph so I was wondering if you could keep the PAS but have it set up so it wasn't much lighter than without?


speedyxjs - 8/2/10 at 10:40 AM

quote:
Originally posted by morcus
My old car passed an MOT with dodgy PAS, it only worked once the engine had warmed up, before that it was really heavy. That said I did drive to the MOT and I was only there an hour so it might have slipped through.



The MOt tester would have warmed the engine up to test the emmisions anyway


MikeR - 8/2/10 at 12:17 PM

Found this post after a quick search.

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=114431

Whilst people appear to be trying to use PAS racks, it appears it could be illegal if someone knows their onions and your caught.

For your own peace of mind it might be worth checking this out further with someone official who knows what they're talking about.


pdm - 9/2/10 at 11:04 AM

Ok thanks everyone.