GO
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| posted on 7/5/03 at 04:55 PM |
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Track Rod ends and Hubs
I have a mkII escie rack, and Sierra hubs (or will have shortly).
The question is, do escort track rod ends fit sierra hubs, or do sierra track rod ends fit escort track rods?? Or are neither of these true and
I'm gonna need to get a shortened sierra rack?
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dutchsuperseven
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| posted on 8/5/03 at 12:05 PM |
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Track rod ends & hubs
The parts are all interchangable. It all depends on your track-width. Poss.you'll have to machine extension bushes.
Sex, drugs and Supersevens
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James
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| posted on 8/5/03 at 12:10 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by GO
I have a mkII escie rack, and Sierra hubs (or will have shortly).
The question is, do escort track rod ends fit sierra hubs, or do sierra track rod ends fit escort track rods?? Or are neither of these true and
I'm gonna need to get a shortened sierra rack?
I've re-written this answer 3 times now as keep thinking of new issues! 
Firstly, are you using standard (book) length wishbones or are you using the Sierra track?
I ask because it affects what you do with the rack as the Sierra front track is 6"/7" wider than the escort.
If you've got book wishbones and Sierra uprights you're going to have problems because the top and bottom holes are in relatively
different places between the Sierra and the Cortina.
I considered using an extended arm Escort rack with Sierra track myself and was told by MK that this gave problems with bump steer.
So basically we need more info from you about what u plan to use!
HTH,
James
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GO
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| posted on 8/5/03 at 01:20 PM |
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James, thanks for the warnings but I think it'll be ok. I've got velocity chassis and wishbones from Luego. Chassis is book width,
wishbones are adapted slightly to take account of the ball joint locations on sierra hubs. So from that side of things it should be ok with escort
rack. I was just concerned that escort track rod ends wouldn't fit the sierra hubs and the sierra track rod ends wouldnt fit the escort rack!!
Sounds like it will be fine though.
dutchsuperseven, or anyone else for that matter, are the escort and sierra track rod ends identical? or if they're not, whats peoples preference
on which to use strength/weight/anything else wise (assuming they are completely interchangeable as you say).
Cheers guys.
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Danozeman
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| posted on 8/5/03 at 06:52 PM |
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Mmmm, This is kind of the question i was gonna post..
I am gonna use sierra hubs and sierra rack and as im going to widen my chassis i wondered how much longer the sierra rack was over the escort
one..
I have the leugo sierra wishbones.
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craig1410
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| posted on 8/5/03 at 08:33 PM |
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Hi,
I have similar questions:
I am building a 4" wider than standard chassis (+4" right down the middle) and I am using Cortina uprights. I already have a Sierra
steering rack but was intending to use it as a trade in against a new Escort quick rack. Perhaps I shouldn't be so hasty though if bump steer is
an issue.
I've not laid my hands on my Sierra rack yet since it is at my Dad's house but I'll be checking it out this weekend to see how well
or otherwise it fits. I'll post my findings here once I figure out which is most suitable.
Going by the Des Hamill suspension bible the important thing is to make sure that the inner balljoints (opposite end of track rod from the track rod
end) are closely aligned with the suspension pivots for top and bottom wishbones. If you look from the front of the car and draw a line between the
top pivot and bottom pivot, the steering balljoint should be close to being on that line. That will mean that the track rod will follow suspension
movement without bump steer. I think in my case I would need to lengthen the escort rack to suit this requirement or shorten the Sierra one. Hmm...
Cheers,
Craig.
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James
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| posted on 9/5/03 at 03:37 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by GO
James, thanks for the warnings but I think it'll be ok. I've got velocity chassis and wishbones from Luego. Chassis is book width,
wishbones are adapted slightly to take account of the ball joint locations on sierra hubs. So from that side of things it should be ok with escort
rack. I was just concerned that escort track rod ends wouldn't fit the sierra hubs and the sierra track rod ends wouldnt fit the escort rack!!
Sounds like it will be fine though.
dutchsuperseven, or anyone else for that matter, are the escort and sierra track rod ends identical? or if they're not, whats peoples preference
on which to use strength/weight/anything else wise (assuming they are completely interchangeable as you say).
Cheers guys.
A little confused now but glad you're happy with it!!! 
James
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James
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| posted on 9/5/03 at 03:51 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Danozeman
Mmmm, This is kind of the question i was gonna post..
I am gonna use sierra hubs and sierra rack and as im going to widen my chassis i wondered how much longer the sierra rack was over the escort
one..
I have the leugo sierra wishbones.
If you've got Sierra length wishbones (longer than standard to match Sierra +7" track) and you are going to widen the chassis 4"
aren't you going to end up with the wishbones being 2" (each side) wider than the Sierra track? How will you resolve this?
Or do Luego do a +4" Sierra donor chassis? I wasn't aware of one.
Anyway, I'm interested in how you're doing this so keep us updated! 
Cheers,
James
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James
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| posted on 9/5/03 at 04:01 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by craig1410
Hi,
I have similar questions:
I am building a 4" wider than standard chassis (+4" right down the middle) and I am using Cortina uprights. I already have a Sierra
steering rack but was intending to use it as a trade in against a new Escort quick rack. Perhaps I shouldn't be so hasty though if bump steer is
an issue.
.
As I've said before I was thinking of using an extended escort rack until Martin Keenan told me that it would give me Bump Steer problems. So as
I have the Sierra rack that's going to get chopped and extended.
Another thing to bear in mind (as well as the as-yet unresolved track-rod compatibility issue) is that if you're planning to use the Sierra
steering column with the escort rack then you may have issues with the splined shaft that the column UJ attaches to.
I haven't personally checked as I don't have an Escort rack or column but I've been told that the Escort and Sierra have different
numbers of splines.
HTH,
James
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craig1410
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| posted on 11/5/03 at 11:04 AM |
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James,
Thanks for the reply, it was quite useful.
However, I still don't know what to do for the best tbh...
I can get a standard escort rack for £21+vat reconditioned (exchange basis or £30 s/c) OR I can get a high-ratio rack for £31+vat which I'd
prefer.
I have a Sierra rack just now which is needing attention (new t.r.e's and inner bj's) and obviously it is far too wide even though my
chassis is +4"
My concern is the safety of a cut-down Sierra rack. Can anyone put my mind at rest and tell me if a cut down rack is safe enough? Also, should I get
myself a reconditioned rack and cut that down or just recondition the one I have and have it cut as part of the recon process. If I do this, what
other bits should I change (seals, bearings etc) and how expensive is this likely to be?
I'd be very interested to hear if the Sierra t.r.e's are compatible or not with Cortina uprights. I should be getting my uprights later
today so I should be able to check. I'll post my findings.
Cheers,
Craig.
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craig1410
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| posted on 11/5/03 at 11:06 PM |
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Hi,
As promised earlier, I tried the Sierra Track Rod Ends into the Cortina uprights and as far as I can tell they are indeed a perfect fit. I can't
be sure about the taper angle but it feels "right" and there is just the right amount of thread left sticking through for the castelated
nut.
Dutchsuperseven did say that the parts were interchangeable in an earlier post but to me this sounded too good to be true. Sorry for doubting
you...
I'm thinking that the correct way to go is to modify a Sierra rack now. Does anyone know for certain what threads are used on the ends of the
rack where the track rods screw on and also on the track rod ends themselves. I believe it is M14 fine but I'm not 100% certain. Anyone?
Cheers,
Craig.
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westdown
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| posted on 12/5/03 at 06:55 AM |
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track rod ends
Hi
The rack ends are 14mm but I'm sure they are not metric fine I think they are more likely to be 14 x 1.5. My rack has been cut and weilded by a
professional weilder and he is happy they will be strong enough. Hope this is of some use.
Dave
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craig1410
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| posted on 12/5/03 at 12:08 PM |
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Thanks Dave, hopefully someone will know the thread size. I must get myself a thread gauge...
Cheers,
Craig.
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James
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| posted on 13/5/03 at 10:22 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by craig1410
My concern is the safety of a cut-down Sierra rack. Can anyone put my mind at rest and tell me if a cut down rack is safe enough?
There's quite a few MK's out there now with cut racks. I've not heard of anyone having any problems with them.
Either that or they didn't survive to tell the tale....
Are you planning to chop it yourself or get someone to do it?
Cheers,
James
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craig1410
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| posted on 13/5/03 at 12:32 PM |
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James,
I was thinking of chopping it myself but having the critical faces tidied up on a lathe and then professionally welded. I've never tried welding
aluminium and I don't intend to practise on my steering rack...
What I might do is use an old Sierra rack to perform the modification initially and just pop rivet the rack together to check that it all works as
expected and that bump steer is not an issue. Once I'm happy with the design I will draw up some plans and get an engineering company to do it
for real on a reconditioned rack.
Before all this though, I'll contact MK Eng and ask them if they would do a rack for me on an exchange basis. It might be cheaper in the long
run but I'm not sure if they would be able to accommodate my 4 inch wider chassis.
In terms of safety of the modified rack, I think I'd be right in saying that if both halves of the rack body are bolted firmly to the chassis
then there shouldn't be any significant stresses on the weld and even if it did break, provided that the mountings are still good it
wouldn't come to any harm other than the grease/oil would run out. Am I right?
Cheers,
Craig.
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