My Power Steering Install

[Chucky]

Sorry for the lack of photos, I need to sort out a photobucket account of some kind.  The whole PS system is in and working as of tonight.  The final parts list was as follows

VE Rack with hard feeds to be cut down.
Eunos Tie Rods
Holden Rodeo Tie Rod Ends
CS130 Alternator
3M hose
TS Astra PS Pump w/hard feeds (I had the bracket modified for firewall mount)
VE Intermediate Steering Shaft (Rack end cut off and welded on to the the bedford shaft in place of the rag joint)
80A resettable fuse from EBAY
Large Terminal Block
10mm plate for the brackets
4 12mm High tensile bolts
Various welding/engineering

If you can weld and have decent metalworking skills/tools it is a solid weekends work, for about $600 if you plan ahead.

I'll try and put photos up soon....honest 

[Sammy]

how legal is the welding of the steering shafts ? i know my engineer wont have a bar of it, making it very hard to sort out my setup.

[Marishka]

It makes sense the engineer dosent like it.
Because imagine doing 80 or 100 kms an hour  and the shaft snap?
Just picture what could and probably would happen?

[Chucky]

I had it done legitimately by an automotive engineering shop. It has been V cut, then sleeved, pinned, and welded.  It'll last longer than the van lol.

If you look at modern intermediate shafts (like the VE) the u-joints are welded on.

Regards,
Chucky

[Marishka]

Thats cool,
Cant get better than that.
An engineer couldn't  knock that back

[Sammy]

well that depends on the engineer, mine basically told me he will not pass anything thats welded .... but if yours does then theres nothing wrong with that....

as far as it breaking at speed, the thing that i don't understand is a road car engineer doesn't like it, but then almost all speedway cars and alot of drag racing cars have no issues passing welded steering connections, and in speedway they actually mandate a quick release steering wheel with a welded on spline!

and certainly i can safely say in speedway the steering cops a hell of alot more hard hits than anything on the street should even come close to.

i know it is what it is, but it just doesn't make much sense in my mind when anything else around the steering can be welded on, just not the steering shafts!

[Chucky]

funny that you mention dirt track......I don't baby my beddie that much ;-)

[phill]

G'day Chucky
I'm thinking of using the ve rack, any chance of getting some info or part numbers for the eunos tie rods and the rodeo tie rod ends

Cheers Phil

[BeerBeddy]

Hmmm, been in the industry for 40 + years. In that time it has always been illegal/unroadworthy to modify a steering or suspension component by heating, cutting, grinding or welding. (This includes cutting springs) And the real problem only arises when you are involved in a crash of some severity that has the police engineering people crawling over it. Parts from other vehicles (unmodified) are fine as are newly manufactured components that have the relevant engineering paperwork. Anything else, and you may be at risk, especially in court.

[phill]

I think the major mods on this conversion is the intermediate shaft and I have talked to the engineer that I will be using and he said if I sleeve and use taper pins he is happy, this is why I'm after some more info on the tie rods and ends so I can talk to him about these before I start