Hi Greg
I know nothing of quick racks except expect the steering to become heavier
the quicker the rack ratio, less turns = less mechanical advantage!
On the how do I know when to re-build a standard rack, a good indication is
how much steering do you have to do to drive in a straight line? Or does
your car drive in a straight line if you hold the wheel still!
Something else to check is the passenger side end of the rack, it runs in a
bronze bush and this bush tends to wear and allow a bit of movement, the
movement is generally in the orientation of towards the side of the tube
that the pinion is on and 180 degrees from that. This is because the rack
has a flat on it in the same orientation as the rack on the opposite end (I
think this was done to "idiot proof" the loading on to the gear hobbing
machine rather than rely on an operator to orientate the bar!).
Another thing that will give an overall indication of the condition of the
rack is the track rod, once the rod end is released from the vertical link,
the track rod should not flop down, original specs say a 2 lb force should
be needed to make the track rod move when rebuilding a rack, my experience
is that if you can tap (with a pencil or little finger) the rod end
downwards and it either does not move or it moves and stops this rack "aint
broke don't fix it!" (unless you find wear in the bush as described above).
If there is a bit of slack in the pinion and no wear to other areas then
this can be reduced by removing shims from under the large nut opposite the
pinion, start with the thinnest shim (I have not found a rack yet with all
the shims the same thickness but I bet there are a few out there), re
tighten and push/pull the rack from side to side to check for tight spots,
if there is still slack put the thin shim back and remove a thicker one,
repeat test, when you hit a tight spot put the thinnest shim back, under NO
circumstances drive with a tight spot in the rack, your self centering will
not work properly!
Graham.
----- Original Message -----
From: <Greg_Hutmacher@i2.com>
Subject: TR6 - Victoria British quick ratio steering rack
> On a closely related topic, how does one know whether or not their
> existing factory steering rack is in need of a rebuild?
>
> Thanks for any and all opinions.
> ________________________________
> Greg Hutmacher
> 1976 TR6
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