Dale
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| posted on 8/5/04 at 02:43 PM |
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cutting down steering gear
Just curious as to what you guys are doing when cutting down a rack to get a chance at minimal bump steer. The rack gear on mine is hardend so
tapping it without a lathe and carbide tips is going to be difficult. I have been told that just cut out the section of the gear I dont need bevel the
edges down and reweld in a jig to keep it straight and it will be more than strong enough, this way I keep the original threads on the end for the
tierods.
????
Dale
Dale
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mangogrooveworkshop
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| posted on 8/5/04 at 03:07 PM |
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have you thought of getting mk to do this.
ASLEEP MISSED THAT GOOD POINT
However there was a stateside post that said they did mustang rack width conversions Cant find it at the mo
[Edited on 8-5-04 by mangogrooveworkshop]
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flak monkey
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| posted on 8/5/04 at 03:15 PM |
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I think he is in the US....
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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Dale
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| posted on 8/5/04 at 03:45 PM |
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Ontario, Canada actually, I can cut it down and weld it back without any trouble I think, Ideally it woudl be cut and rethreaded but I dont want to
got to the extra expense if not neccesary as I will have to get someone to reweld the cassing as its alloy for me.
Dale
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Bob C
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| posted on 8/5/04 at 04:24 PM |
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I've not done it yet but....
As far as I can see, the gear teeth part of the rack is heat treated but the rest isn't so I hope I'll be able to saw/ drill etc the
nearside part where it's round & where a peice needs taking off - all done in the lathe including the thread. The outer case I was going to
take a slice from the middle & turn a sleeve accurately to the outside diam of the rack tube so it would have to weld back square. My main worry
with the whole procedure is that the rack mountings thus move 4" closer together so the whole thing will be a bit wobblier - may have to ditch
the rubber & mount it solid! Also I'll need to weld right round or the oil will leak out....
cheers
Bob C
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Bob C
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| posted on 8/5/04 at 04:31 PM |
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Looking at the original post you clearly don't have the escort rack that I have..... If you DO have a hardened item you won't get away
with cutting up & welding the toothy bit
1) you'll never get it accurately in line so it will likely bind at full lock
2) weld a hardened item - I wouldn't trust it to hang my shopping on after that!! It either won't be hard any more or more likely so
brittle near the weld that a tap with a toffee hammer will snap it off. & steering's kinda important..... It might work but do be
careful!
cheers
Bob
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marc n
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| posted on 8/5/04 at 05:07 PM |
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would strongly recommend thet you do not cut and reweld a component like this, im sure you local machine shop would charge very little to do it
proparly, why not find someone in the us to supply a shortened quick rack for you, then you have the besty of both worlds
regards
marc
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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Dale
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| posted on 8/5/04 at 05:21 PM |
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Its a power rack from a full size ford t-bird , being converted to a manual. where I want to cut it is not where the teeth are but in a spot where
the rod just passes through the tube and no bushings are there. I can mark it with a file but its not as easy as mild steel so I dont know if its
just surface hardend or what. I have to cut it anyway so I may as well cut it off at a spot that it can be threaded still and see if the cuttoff is
harded on the surface or entirely. I like the rack as its only 2.3 turns lock to lock compared to 3-4 for standard
Dale
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