Slimy38
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| posted on 2/4/18 at 08:31 PM |
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MX5 column to Escort rack
OK, next question (can you tell I've spent Easter in the garage?  ). I have a Mark 1 MX5 steering column, and a Mark 2 Escort rack. I
haven't yet extended the column, but I need to get from one to the other.
I still have the MX5 coupling, and it's obvious that it won't fit the Mark 2 Escort. I'm also aware of the Rally Design coupling;
http://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=13580
But I'm unclear how to use it (or given some of the reviews, whether I should be using it!). Is the idea to use the RD coupling along with their
Sierra shaft, and use the shaft to extend the MX5 column (with suitable thick wall tube)?
Are there any other solutions? Is there another coupling that will fit the escort rack?
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luke2152
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| posted on 3/4/18 at 03:02 AM |
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I did exactly what you're talking about with the column and it works fine.
Not sure if you're using mx5 uprights but I'm convinced that the mx5 uprights must have shorter steering arms than an escort as the escort
rack gives it an extreme steering lock angle (which isn't a bad thing) and makes the steering very fast.
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jps
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| posted on 3/4/18 at 09:03 AM |
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My understanding is that you don't make any modifications to the steering column as it is specifically built to be collapsable in the event of
an accident and you don't want to compromise that!
If anything needs to be lengthend/shortened its the shaft that goes from the end of the column down to the rack that you modify - i.e. one of these:
https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=900_1670&products_id=11805&osCsid=6j87slkvt984sgkjqnv5mi4ig6 which you can chop in half
and then add some thick wall tubing to lengthen it.
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Slimy38
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| posted on 3/4/18 at 01:42 PM |
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Sorry, I should have clarified. I'm preserving the whole collapsible section (the slide portion can still slide), this is the extra 12-18 inches
I need to get from the end of the splined shaft on the column and down to the steering rack. As you say, a thick wall tube is used to extend it, which
I'm fine with, but I don't want to cut and weld to extend the existing shaft if the spline is useless.
If I do use the Sierra shaft I'll just use that inside the thick wall tube instead. Which sounds like how it needs to be.
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jps
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| posted on 3/4/18 at 02:01 PM |
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Not sure if all Escort racks are the same (looks like they all have a 9/16" x 36 Spline shaft coming out of the actual rack itself) but I have
the 'Group 4' coupling at the end to pickup the 'other' end of the splined shaft and connect it to the rack:
https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=900_1670&products_id=22110.
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Slimy38
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| posted on 3/4/18 at 03:53 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by jps
Not sure if all Escort racks are the same (looks like they all have a 9/16" x 36 Spline shaft coming out of the actual rack itself) but I have
the 'Group 4' coupling at the end to pickup the 'other' end of the splined shaft and connect it to the rack:
https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=900_1670&products_id=22110.
I'm intrigued, so you're saying that coupling is compatible with the splines on both Escort rack and MX5 steering column? If so that
sounds like the answer to my problem.
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jps
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| posted on 3/4/18 at 05:05 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
quote:
Originally posted by jps
Not sure if all Escort racks are the same (looks like they all have a 9/16" x 36 Spline shaft coming out of the actual rack itself) but I have
the 'Group 4' coupling at the end to pickup the 'other' end of the splined shaft and connect it to the rack:
https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=900_1670&products_id=22110.
I'm intrigued, so you're saying that coupling is compatible with the splines on both Escort rack and MX5 steering column? If so that
sounds like the answer to my problem.
No - i'm saying to use a Sierra steering column you use:
This shaft to connect the steering column to the steering rack:
https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=900_1670&products_id=11805&osCsid=6j87slkvt984sgkjqnv5mi4ig6
One end of that shaft needs this coupling - to connect the shaft to the rack:
https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=900_1670&products_id=22110
The other end needs this coupling - to connect the shaft to the column:
http://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=13580
A search on here suggests the MX5 column is splined at 5/8 x 36 - a size which you can apparently get shafts and couplings in from "A site
called Extreme Baja Karts " (see http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=204525)
So I guess you need
Steering rack -> 9/16" x 36 Group 4 fitting -> one end of a Rally Design shaft with 9/16" x 36 splines -> a length of tube to
make up the length you need -> one end of a Baja Karts shaft with 5/8 x 36 - > a coupling with 5/8 x 36 to go onto your MX5 column.
So your length of tube to make up the length will need to be 5/8 OD at one end and 9/16 OD at the other to slide the shafts into it...
[Edited on 3/4/18 by jps]
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paulc
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| posted on 3/4/18 at 06:15 PM |
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In the end i got a UJ with a 9/16 36 spline on one end and a 5/8 36 spline on the other from a company called Kiley Clinton Engineering.
I used that at the bottom of the MX5 column, and made up a shaft with 9/16 splines on each end to go from there to my sierra rack.
(the escort and sierra racks are the same spline size)
I did it this way as it was easier to make up the link shaft from two ends the same diameter.
I still have the 5/8 to 5/8 uj knocking about somewhere along with a piece of bar with a 5/8 spline on it.
Paul
[Edited on 3/4/18 by paulc]
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Slimy38
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| posted on 3/4/18 at 06:31 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by paulc
In the end i got a UJ with a 9/16 36 spline on one end and a 5/8 36 spline on the other from a company called Kiley Clinton Engineering.
Thanks for the name, I've dropped them a message to see if they could make me one. I can see they have them listed but I don't know
whether they're just in stock or they're custom. Do you remember how much it cost roughly?
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PorkChop
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| posted on 3/4/18 at 09:15 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
Sorry, I should have clarified. I'm preserving the whole collapsible section (the slide portion can still slide), this is the extra 12-18 inches
I need to get from the end of the splined shaft on the column and down to the steering rack. As you say, a thick wall tube is used to extend it, which
I'm fine with, but I don't want to cut and weld to extend the existing shaft if the spline is useless.
If I do use the Sierra shaft I'll just use that inside the thick wall tube instead. Which sounds like how it needs to be.
This is being made way more complicated than it needs to be, unless you deliberately want to introduce an extra UJ into the assembly.
The simplest way to do it is what you've suggested above and in the OP (and also as described in the book). In other words:
Steering rack spline
group 4 coupling (I got mine from Motorsport Tools)
Ford splined steering column shaft (i.e. Rally Design RD849)
tube extension
original MX5 steering shaft (complete with original UJ)
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paulc
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| posted on 3/4/18 at 09:25 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
quote:
Originally posted by paulc
In the end i got a UJ with a 9/16 36 spline on one end and a 5/8 36 spline on the other from a company called Kiley Clinton Engineering.
Thanks for the name, I've dropped them a message to see if they could make me one. I can see they have them listed but I don't know
whether they're just in stock or they're custom. Do you remember how much it cost roughly?
It was £40 somthing, I think they had them in stock.
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paulc
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| posted on 3/4/18 at 09:30 PM |
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I did end up with a extra UJ, but I needed it to get adaquate clearance to everything.
The V8 is a bit of a squeeze.
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Slimy38
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| posted on 4/4/18 at 06:24 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by PorkChop
The simplest way to do it is what you've suggested above and in the OP (and also as described in the book). In other words:
Steering rack spline
group 4 coupling (I got mine from Motorsport Tools)
Ford splined steering column shaft (i.e. Rally Design RD849)
tube extension
original MX5 steering shaft (complete with original UJ)
Yep, that was my original thought, I just wanted to check I had got the combination of coupling and shaft correct as I wasn't 100%. However, for
what seems to be a little less money I can get just the UJ from Kiley Clinton, reuse the bottom half of the MX5 column and accomplish the same task.
And the Kiley UJ looks significantly more 'beefy' which can only be a good thing! I'll get one ordered today, it should be waiting
for me when I get home on Friday.
For me it's only the lowly 1.6 inline 4 that's going in, so I don't have clearance issues. A V8 does sound nice though...
Thanks again Paul, it's appreciated.
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Slimy38
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| posted on 4/4/18 at 12:02 PM |
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Small update, £45 + VAT and postage. So not cheaper than the Rally Design but I think it's a better solution. Now I just need an appropriate
sized tube to extend the existing shaft, and I can reuse both splines.
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