Rack and pinion

[tiny1]

Hey guys i was debating on putting a rack on my truck whats y'all thoughts on a rear steer rack and pinion? And which car has rear steer ? trying to save a few foot steps at the U pull for this old fat man.

 

[donsrods]

Tiny, I assume you are referring to using a straight axle setup with R and P? I'm not a fan of these, but I know some people have posted that they have them and they work well. A buddy of mine (who is no longer with us ) had a T bucket with a r and p steering setup and he asked me to drive it home one day from a show. It was the scariest ride I have ever taken, the car was very twitchy and you never knew which way a bump would take you.

They say the right way to do it is to mount the rack to the axle itself rather than the frame because as the wheels move up and down they rack tends to steeri the wheels one way or the other. By mounting it to the axle it moves with the axle and acts sort of like a tie rod. I know there is the new uni-steer setup that is essentially half of a r and p, but it only acts like a regular steering box because you still have a tie rod, and the drag link comes off of the uni-steer.

Like I said, when this subject has come up before some people say they like em, but everything I have seen or read contradicts that. Hope whatever you do works out ok though.

Don

 

[Gastrick]

Dodge Omni is the common rear steer rack that is used in these applications. The Chevy Citation is another one that's used.

 

[chopper tom]

I would like to try this some time too ,ive only seen it on a couple over the years but the people who had them loved them .
Be sure to post pic's if you try it tiny!

 

[Caddad65]

This is what I've done on my pickup.

I've never seen anyone but me try this yet.

This is a unisteer rack & pinnion setup mounted to the frame rail where an F1/F100 box would be.

The angle of the u-joints are near their limits but operate perfectly.
I used a speedway hoop up front too.

I do plan on painting the body of the rack... it's just to dang shinny for me.

Hope this helps,
-Mike-

 

[motomech]

nice set up caddad how much travel does that thing have ....will it turn the wheel fully both ways?

 

[shortyforty]

What Don said is something I hadn't thought about in a short wheelbase rod. I know the R&P in my mustang is touchy, not used to it after driving trucks and vans with conventional steering all my life. I'm not really sure I like R&P unless I was going to road race, and I've been thinking of putting it in my Falcon. I still have to think about it more.

 

[Caddad65]

nice set up caddad how much travel does that thing have ....will it turn the wheel fully both ways?

This setup turns with the save tavel as a Vega box. I've been really impressed by it. It's smooth and safe.
Not to fast either.
I didn't want to half way my steering.

-Mike-

 

[35Mastr]

Tiny,Those racks that Gastrick mentioned are pretty reasonable rebuilt from a local parts store.

 

[tiny1]

after reading what don has to say maybe i need to rethink how i want to steer the truck. Thanks guys for the help as always you all have been helpful thanks .

Robert

 

[donsrods]

Well like I mentioned Tiny, I'm sure there are lots of people who like their setups, so maybe there is a way to do this and have it work well. There was an article on this subject a while back and in it they discussed and diagramed why mounting the rack to the frame created bump steer. However, they built some brackets off of the rear of the axle and solidly mounted the rack to the axle itself and they said that did the trick. Only problem I see there is that you are adding to the unsprung weight of a car and also you have to make some sort of slip joint on the input steering shaft so it will allow some travel as the car moves up and down. Not impossible to do as there are probably some splined shafts out there from wrecked cars that would do the trick.

Steering is one of those tough things to work out on a rod. There aren't all that many choices it seems, and most are designed for bigger cars making adapting them hard.

Don

 

[tiny1]

I'm still not sure which way i want to go just yet. I've seen them mounted on the back side of the axle and i just never really liked that idea. We found a slip joint with a rag joint on it at the wrecking yard a awhile back and picked it up. It just seems like you would have the feel of it moving in an out up an down in the steering wheel with it mounted to axle.

I may have to try and find a Vega box or something that i can kinda half way hide. although i like the look of Caddad65 the way he did it.

 

[pablo]

Tiny

this topic has been kicked around by a lot of guys and gals. my suggestion is to type the term rack into the search option of several of these types of forums and read the info. you will find a lot of info that way. my only caution is what ever you do keep saftey as you first concern and cost a second when it comes to steering components.

Pablo

 

[Caddad65]

Tiny

this topic has been kicked around by a lot of guys and gals. my suggestion is to type the term rack into the search option of several of these types of forums and read the info. you will find a lot of info that way. my only caution is what ever you do keep saftey as you first concern and cost a second when it comes to steering components.

Pablo

Agreed Pablo,

That's why I oppted for the Unisteer.
New, Safe, & Engeneered for hotrods.
I think it costs about the same or alittle less than a brand new Vega box...but better.

-Mike-

 

[roddguy]

Hey Tiny, what Don said is completely correct, the rack mounted to the frame will cause bump steer. However there is a way to get around this or at least limit it to where it won't be an issue. I'm going with the rack mounted to the frame on my truck and have been giving this a lot of thought. The main reason the this setup experiences bump steer is because of the way the springs are attached to the axel in the buggie sprung style. During normal suspension travel the axel is able to move from side to side as well as up and down. This automatically causes steering imput. All you need to do is set it up so the axel can't do this. A panhard bar would be one way to accomplish this. However, I'm going to build a bracket that will extend down from the spring perch that will have a pin that is mounted dead center on the axel running through it. It will have some machined nylon bushings to limit any chatter or squeeking. This will allow the axel to run up and down normally but not side to side. So as long as the Rack is mounted at the same plane as the axel the arc of the tie rod ends will not be enough to cause any serious bump steer. Well at least that's the theory anyway. Good luck with what ever you come up with.

 

[Geech]

Agreed Pablo,

That's why I oppted for the Unisteer.
New, Safe, & Engeneered for hotrods.
I think it costs about the same or alittle less than a brand new Vega box...but better.

-Mike-

That's the exact same reason I went with the Unisteer on mine, I'm not on the road yet but hopefully I will enjoy it.

 

[ouh506]

Caddad65- What year,model,make is your rack from?

Fred

 

[Caddad65]

Caddad65- What year,model,make is your rack from?

Fred

Brand New Cross steer rack, made by Unisteer.
LENGTH: 33"
TURNS LOCK TO LOCK: 3.75
TRAVEL: 6"
THREAD: 11/16"-18
SPLINE: 9/16"-26

Check out their web site. www.Unisteer.com

If you cut & paste the address below into your browser it'll take you right to the cross steer unit on their web site.

http://www.unisteer.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=8000470-02&Store_Code=UNISTEER

 

[ouh506]

Will all racks have the same amount of travel ?
$499 for the unisteer is way out of my range,need wecking yard information as to make/model/years.

Fred

 

[Caddad65]

Will all racks have the same amount of travel ?
$499 for the unisteer is way out of my range,need wecking yard information as to make/model/years.

Fred

$499 is suggested retail. I've never seen on over $300 from a dealer.
Infact I saw one on Ebay today Buy-It-Now for $290 ish.

-Mike-