The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop New Rack & Pinion?

I was looking for Rack & Pinion options, and came across this set up Web Site Have you ever seen such a thing, and if so, how did it perform?

Tom

Rack and pinion on a straight axle has come up several times and each time I've posted that I think rack and pinion on a straight axle is NOT a good idea. Search the old posts for that information. You'll lots of people who disagree with me.

Since the last time I posted on the subject my brother has bought a '36 Dodge pickup with rack and pinion on a straight axle. He bought it as running but not drivable and the most challenging problems are with the rack and pinion setup.

Most severe is that some of the brackets are broken because the slip joint that allows the rack to move relative to the column appears to have bottomed out.

So yes I've seen it done and it did not work very well.

My brother hasn't decided if he is going to try to correct the problems and stay with rack and pinion, or design some other steering system for this truck.

Rack and pinion on a strait axle sounds like a bad idea to me. You will get exess unsprung weight on the axle and any connection to the steering colunm would be shakey at best due to having to flex with the suspension movement. Some thing else to consider, none of the OEMs ever tried to do that,all rack and pinion setups are bolted to the frame. Racks cannot tolerate much flex in their mounting. I have seen a kit that uses 1/2 of a rack, Cavalier I think, that works as a drag link. It's bolted to the frame and is a cross steer type like the mid '30's ford or Jeep/Dodge trucks with solid axles. So far I've only seen them for early style hot rods, and I don't exactly remember who made it, but it looks much safer to me.

Robin58

I would love to have that article if you want to email it to me. [email protected]

Tom

I've seen that article, nothing in it changed my opinion at all. I don't know what the UniSteer setup is. Is that someone's power steering conversion kit?

I just looked at the site for UniSteer. That Model A setup is the one I mentioned in my earlier post. It mounts to the frame, not the axle. It would much more stable than putting a rack on the axle.

I just checked that site too. I don't see any real advantage to their Model A setup. It does use rack and pinion, but uses it in a way that replaces the gear and sector, but keeps the tie rod and drag link.

It might solve steering interference in a V-8 conversion and it does not add unsprung weight to the front axle but it seems like a lot of engineering to deal with a problem that can be solved easier and cheaper.