electro-hydraulic rack and pinion power steering on a split

[13 window deluxe]

ive taken a few photo's of my rack and pinon conversion as ive put it together for my 64 13 window deluxe split hope this might give you guys some ideas tryed to aim for as much off the shelf stuff as possible to make parts replacement easy if anything wears out in the future

photo 1 top left is the complete uncut lower steering column universal joint from a vauxhall vectra mk1 suported in the middle with a 17mm id self centring bearing with a mk2 golf lower steering column universal joint with one end cut off and 2 flats filed on opposite side to match the 17mm dd style vauxhall column, top right is a type 25 transporter steering relay box with brackets on each side a flat one on the inner side that bolts to the original steering box mounting holes and a 40mm angle bracket on the outer side bolted to the chassis with 2x new m10 bolts, in the middle is the inner column tube i used a late bay window item as it is easyier to get a aftermarket steering bosses for a late bay as the steering splines are the same as the t25 golf polo etc upto 1988,below is the outer steering column tube its from early bay (upto74) and has had the wiper/indicator stalks & lock housing removed. i cut off approximatly 10mm from the bottom of the tube and refilled the notch in the bottom 180 degree's round this puts the hole in the tube for the bay steering lock forwards so you cant see it any more


photo 2 lhd astra f steering rack to the left and right are the rack mounting these were made from approximatly 5mm steel and were seam welded for strength and are held to the chassis with 6 m12 bolts and nyloc nuts in the centre is the mk1 citreon saxo electro-hydraulic power steering pump


photo3 show the steering shaft,support bearing and relay box in place with the steering rack mounting brackets on the chassis rails


photo4 shows the rack fitted and the steering shaft now connected the rack was mounted using 12.9 grade hi tensile bolts for strength


photo5 a rear view of rack fitted to chassis


got my steering arms back from machine shop now so i've put them on to give you a idea of how things are going to look when everythings finished, just need to taper ream the steering arm the opposite way to accept bay trackrod ends upside down and mount the pump then its finished

Photo 6 steering arms: top vauxhall complete, 2nd down scrap part of vauxhall arm,3rd down complete new arm with vauxhall inner end threaded to m14x1.5 with split steering arm shortened and rethreaded inside and stock left hand threaded vw outer balljoint,bottom stock steering arm


photo7 steering arms in place on van almost complete now just needs pump fitting and wiring up

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1964 rat 13 window deluxe 1Z tdi,
1975 rhd twin slider tintop (TBA)
1991 golf 2 gti with tweaked AHU tdi,

previous tdi swaps: gone but not forgotten
1979 rhd twin slider tintop bay ahu 1.9tdi
1990 T25 1Z 1.9tdi
1993 suzuki samurai with 1Z 1.9tdi

[caddy]

ive done a similar conversion to my 58split , the only drawback is your van is left hand drive and the conversion works well with a rhd astra rack.
the angle of the input shaft to the rack is wrong for rhd split, i need a lhd astra rack to make the conversion as simple as yours.

a lhd astra rack was impossible to find , so i had to mount the rhd rack further from the chassis than your rack. the mounting angle is also different and i could not use the astra tie rods.

nice write up btw dave..
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1969 bay with vw 1.6td

[Alex (FTS)]

Nice work let us know how it works when you have it all plumbed in.
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www.faltownskateboards.com

[sven]

Is the pump giving constant pressure? A simple electronic circuit with a speed sensor and you could have a speed sensible steering.
Nice work BTW.

[vwjim]

[Zebedee]

What year astra rack are you using?
Just wondered what to look for in the scrappy.