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How many steering links!
Sean - 12/4/05 at 04:27 PM

My kit is fitted with a Rover V8 which necessitates the steering column going through a number of unions to change direction in order to miss the exhaust manilfolds. However this still means that the column at the wheel end is slightly of true and therefore the wheel is at a slight angle also. The driving is ok, but it feels a little odd. A bit like the offset in old mini pedals. To get this straight I think I will need to start with it in line at the drivers end. What I was wondering is whether there is a recommended way of changing the columns direction, and will this also have an effect of the steering feel. Thanks

Peteff - 12/4/05 at 06:27 PM

I think he is using multiple u.j.'s for the same reason.

Sean - 13/4/05 at 04:25 PM

Thanks, but which one, there are two on the members list?

Liam - 13/4/05 at 05:43 PM

Hello...

That'll be me. I have 4 ujs in my column due to the need to clear a wide engine and front differential. The two front joints that have a fairly large angle on them are phased to cancel out each others non-uniform velocity. So steering is nice and smooth. Unless they are porked, ujs have virtually no play in them at all - so 4 ujs is no worse than 2 and doesn't give you sloppy steering. It actually works fine which I'm quite relieved about!

My wheel is pretty much central to the drivers seating area. It is slightly more vertical than most make theirs, and has a bit of left to right tilt because the far end of the column had to move outwards slightly to clear the engine. But once you've sat in it and held the wheel a few times it feels perfectly normal - you just get used to however your wheel feels. Production cars I've been in have wheels and pedals offset miles from the seating position and you probably never realise unless you change cars a lot.

Hope that helps

liam

Liam - 13/4/05 at 05:44 PM

Oh, and some photos here:

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=22720

And in my archive.

Liam

Sean - 14/4/05 at 06:48 PM

Thanks for the pics. Very helpful. I shall study them more carefully over the weekend and then bug you with any questions if that's ok?
btw very nice car.

Sean - 15/4/05 at 06:38 PM

I am probably being a bit thick here, but do yuo have to have multiples of two for uj's to appose each other properly and maintain a smooth feel. Also, am I right in thinking there are the 4 uj and the set of bushed brackets that the column goes through. It all looks very good indeed. What are the components sourced from, or have you fabricated your own to achieve the desired length?

Liam - 17/4/05 at 04:39 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Sean do yuo have to have multiples of two for uj's to appose each other properly and maintain a smooth feel.


Well not reeeeeally. Ujs that hardly have any angle on them wont give you a problem i wouldn't have thought. Only my two joints with large angles (the front two) have been phased. Technically I think you could work out a phasing for an odd number of ujs each with significant angles on them anyway.

Basically i think you'll be fine if you only need three.

I've sourced some MK4/5/6 escort columns if I remember. These come with nice ujs with 22mm tube either side, which matched my sierra 4x4 coupling. It was then a matter of cutting and sleeving to get the right length, and i had the sleeves professionally welded.

With your average two uj column you only need the usual rack and column mounts. With 3 ujs you need an extra support in there and with four, two extra supports. I made nylon pillow blocks to support the middle two ujs. 22mm spherical bearings are hard to come by and expensive, and these pillow blocks have the advantage of comming apart to allow me to take the column out. Spherical bearings would have had to be inserted on the column before welding and not be removable (unless I used loads of clampable column joints instead of welding).

Hope that helps

Liam

Liam - 17/4/05 at 04:59 PM

The photos in my archive show the column quite well...

The black painted front part with the front two ujs is basically a whole MK4/5/6 escort column with the steering wheel end chopped off and the spline chopped off and replaced with a MK2 escort fitting to fit my rack (i can provide details of this if relevant - but you might just want to use the whole MK2 front uj. I didn't have one - just a donut thing with nothing to go in the other end).

The unpainted part is just one uj and some shaft from another escort column (again MK4/5/6 - these are all similar but slighly different and I cant remeber which was which - shouldnt matter). You can see the 22mm id sleeves on this section (before they were fully welded).

The last uj is the sierra 4x4 item that clamps onto the triangular shaft. Unlike 2WD versions, this has a rubber coupling that presumably reduces vibration/kicks arrising from the fact your steering wheels are also driven.

You can also clearly see the nylon pillow blocks.

Liam

Sean - 18/4/05 at 04:52 PM

Thanks for all the info. My rack is actually off a triumph and so I am not sure what else has been used. At the moment the car is at the painters, but when it is back I shall give it all a proper look and see what is what.