Steering Quickeners

[DocDirk]

Tom, did you re-engineer something or did you eliminate a joint? I've got a little side to side play in my steering linkage with a new rack and a virtually straight shot through my rag joint I'm considering installing a steel connector ("rag joint eliminator").

Any advice?

Thanks!

Dirk

[Rog246]

Originally Posted by DocDirk

Tom, did you re-engineer something or did you eliminate a joint? I've got a little side to side play in my steering linkage with a new rack and a virtually straight shot through my rag joint I'm considering installing a steel connector ("rag joint eliminator").

Any advice?

Thanks!

Dirk

Dirk you won't believe the difference of just getting rid of the rag joint ! I used to work in the steering industry 20 something yrs ago and we used to fit urethane replacement rag joints with great success. We had owners coming back after taking delivery of their cars asking "What did you do....it feels like a whole new car !" make the chane you won't regret it.
Rog

[Tom Wells]

Dirk,

I endorse the elimination of any sloppy or unnecessary joints in the steering. As Rog says, the difference can be dramatic.

In my case, the original E-M design involved three steel u-joints and a pillow block bearing to locate the center shaft.

From the steering wheel there is a short shaft and a u-joint, followed by another short shaft and a second u-joint; this second shaft was supported by a pillow block bearing since it had a u-joint at each end. Then a third short shaft connects to the rack via a third u-joint.

Kinda like this:

------(X)-------(X)------(X)-|
Strg
Wheel - - - - - - - - - - - - - rack

After the mod, the center u-joint is gone, leaving something like this:

------(X)----------------(X)-|
Strg
Wheel - - - - - - - - - - - - - rack

The original steering layout was designed to clear the headers for a side exhaust setup. I have the undercar exhaust so the clearance was fine with a one-piece steering shaft. Something to assess before you start changing things.

If you have a rag joint anywhere, substituting a steel joint can likely offer improved steering accuracy.

None of this has anything to do with how quick the steering is, as requested by andyl in his original post....

Tom