I’m not sure that English is your first language but I certainly don’t read that z says the boxes are comparable.
65 Fastback- Rack and pinion Yes or No?
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Nothing wrong with a rack system. The problem is on a drag link system, there’s a lot going on that 99% people don’t realize. Every component on a drag link system including the spindles are designed to all work together. The exact same is true with a rack system right down to the exact location of the rack related to the axle center line and spindles. The problem with a lot of rack to drag link system is using a rack designed for something, mounting where space is available and not the correct space along with connecting the steering together. This is where issues come from. For starters a rack conversion absolutely has to emulate the drag link with inner tie rods due to the unseen and overlooked geometry. The two kits that use inner tie rods are the TCP and Unisteer.
My 66 is manual 16:1 with 4* caster and later spindles that have shorter tie rod arm which should quicken the steering a little bit. Except for parallel parking, the feel is absolutely wonderful. It telegraphs everything back to what the tires are doing. You feel the from coming up on the caster as you turn. The two things I did to my steering were fresh grease in the box and a roller bearing idler arm. That roller bearing idler arm is worth it’s $200 and then some. It really improves the response and feel. It’s far more direct and responsive. Dare I say rack like? RTC could be better but worth the sacrifice. If I went to assisted steering, not sure what I would do but I’m enjoying the manual steering too much.
My 66 is manual 16:1 with 4* caster and later spindles that have shorter tie rod arm which should quicken the steering a little bit. Except for parallel parking, the feel is absolutely wonderful. It telegraphs everything back to what the tires are doing. You feel the from coming up on the caster as you turn. The two things I did to my steering were fresh grease in the box and a roller bearing idler arm. That roller bearing idler arm is worth it’s $200 and then some. It really improves the response and feel. It’s far more direct and responsive. Dare I say rack like? RTC could be better but worth the sacrifice. If I went to assisted steering, not sure what I would do but I’m enjoying the manual steering too much.
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What Z is trying to say in the first sentence is that it's difficult to convince someone that a rebuilt box by Chocko is better than a brand new Flaming River box. Lots of folks out there are under the impression that new is better than rebuilt, and it's tough to change their minds.
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and I thought it was clear as mud.
people that haven’t hit the credit card limit are sometimes enchanted by parts shiny and newly manufactured, like Flaming River, etc. vs just having the stock steering box restored.
I’m not the first to point out that the quality of the newly manufactured boxes internals does not match up favorably with a restored stock Ford steering box.
Z
I’ve had a FR steering box live happily for over 15 years behind a completely rebuilt O/E hydraulic steering system. With that, the car has been driven a lot, extensive, long multi day trips to MCA shows all over the US.
A steering box relegated to just moving an O/E PS shuttle valve is under virtually no strain and should last much longer than a manual set up.
I have since switched to an EPAS and it remains to be seen how long this Argentine FR box will hold up.
With that being said I have Chock rebuilt unit waiting in the side lines.
A steering box relegated to just moving an O/E PS shuttle valve is under virtually no strain and should last much longer than a manual set up.
I have since switched to an EPAS and it remains to be seen how long this Argentine FR box will hold up.
With that being said I have Chock rebuilt unit waiting in the side lines.
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I don't think the Unisteer rack uses inner tie rods, at least on 65-66 cars. The picture shows either or outer tie rods depending on the size of the hole in the steering arm.
I follow this subject closely and I assume you want the steering links as close to where the lower crossover is/was as possible? I've never seen this stuff in person so its hard to know exactly.
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I remember a prominent forum member stating that R&P will never work on a vintage Mustang because the rack needs to go though the oil pan for proper geometry. I'm not sure how this can be. My current 1st place "in theory" R&P is the Steeroids setup because the mounts attach to where the idler arm and power steering ram used to mount pushing the "tie rod" linkage closer to the factory location, "in theory"?
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One thing a rack doesn't do that the conventional recirculating ball system DOES is to change the steering ratio as the wheels move off-center. Because the Pitman arm traverses in a circular motion, it moves the center link less as the wheel moves further off-center, also meaning a reduction in steering effort the farther the steering wheel is turned. This also means that you get a "quicker" steering response close to center than you do at the extremes.
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I never thought about that. I have heard R&P described as linear. I'm not sure it makes any real difference on the street?
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Bart made a really good and really important comment. What Bart is referring to is a sine wave. When you have an arm where one end is attached to a rotating point and the other to a rod that moves back and forth to the arm, that rod does not move a constant rate but as Bart said, speeds up and slows down. Think of a piston going up and down. Ok got this image in your mind? Now think about everything other thing in your steering linkage. That includes the tie rods to the spindles
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