589 replies to this topic

[SmacT]

Don't get me wrong, that's a great way to do it! Mines miles away from driving, which is what I like the best about cars - driving them. Great build mate.

[76lxhatch]

Did my sums and worked out I needed a 19 tooth speedo gear



Bought and installed a 19 tooth speedo gear, and discovered I need a 20 tooth speedo gear. Got that now though and I must say the speedo is probably as accurate as its ever been.

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:37 PM.

[76lxhatch]

When I did the power steering conversion I used two solid universals in the intermediate shaft and solid mounted the steering rack (which is normally rubber mounted in a Toyota). Every now and then I get a bit of vibration through the steering wheel at speed, nothing of concern but I'm starting to get annoyed at the rattles and whatnot these days. It seems to be a resonance issue and I have come to the conclusion that its actually the steering column shaft twisting (like a torsion bar spring) and causing movement at the steering wheel because there is absolutely no slop anywhere in the steering - I've put a dial indicator on the road wheel and I cannot move the steering wheel at all without a reading.
 
The simple solution is of course the factory one, a rubber damper in the intermediate shaft to absorb it. The Toyota rack has a 17mm/36 spline input shaft which is quite difficult to find matching parts for aftermarket but I have found some online examples where people have been able to use an 11/16" adapter since they clamp on anyway, the ~0.45mm difference doesn't really matter. Problem is the Toyota input shaft is shorter than the Torana rack and the only adapters available off the shelf would be too short and the rag joint would foul the cross member.
 
There are two problems with any custom made adapter:
1) I can't make internal splines properly, custom broaches are way, way out of the budget
2) we are not allowed to weld steering components (without complicated special approval), its a strange rule but I guess its just easier to say its not allowed than test everything
 
So, I have been keeping an eye out for Toyota steering parts that look like they might be useful or could at least be machined to suit. Found this which looked promising:

 
The larger diameter part is hollow and is internally splined, this part mates to the steering rack input shaft. The smaller diameter part is solid and suitable for machining, so I figured I could just reduce it to the same diameter as the Torana intermediate shaft, machine a flat and bolt on a factory rag joint. Maximum distance between centre of spline clamp bolt and exhaust header is 100mm - not going to work, now its 20mm too long! (Only the shaft itself will fit beside the front header pipe)

 
Time to get slightly creative. Take a suitable chunk of steel...

 
... and cut away everything that isn't a low profile square drive rag joint adapter.

 
Machine the male end to match

 
The two parts are a very snug fit together

 
and retained with a button head machine screw (this part actually sits inside the rubber donut)

 
Double-check the length, there's our 20mm saving, phew

 
Make up some shouldered bolts to attach it all together (it would be so easy to just weld these parts together!)

 
and assemble with nyloc nuts to keep the certifying engineer happy (and loctite to keep me happy)

 
The difference in shape of the new piece does make the rag joint a little more rigid than originally (same as aftermarket ones) but I think being a bit tighter than standard is desirable, it still has some movement. Haven't actually installed it yet but its easy enough to alter the length of the shaft between the rag joint and top universal if need be so shouldn't be an issue getting it in there. Hopefully it does the trick!

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:38 PM.

[axistr]

Well done Lx76hatch, That's basically the same reason I retained the flex joint also.

 

Solid unis on steering shaft couplings need to be in the same working angles just like a tail shaft, if not you must set them out of phase by around 45 degrease to minimise or reduce this binding feel. Many factory setups don't have even uni working angles (Have a look at a Mack truck they will defiantly scare you), so you need a relief in the system like a flexible coupling to help correct some of the poor working angles.

 

I prefer to use the flex coupling for this purpose which as you said will reduce noise up through the column as well. Depending on the style of  power steering pump used many pumps can and will induce noise and slight vibrations into the steering rack and transmitted through to the mounting points and column assembly. If you have humming in the car from the pump which will change with engine speed, you can fit a pulsation dampener on the pump pressure supply hose. This problem usually occurs at its worst at low engine/pump speeds 1,000 2,500 R.P.M.    

 

With power steering fitted the column and steering shaft doesn't carry much load anymore unlike the manual rack system, and the binding feeling is much easier detected by the driver. But on a better note with power steer the flexible coupling should last a very long time with bugger all load on it, and much less chance of torque play in the steering input shaft assembly. 

[TerrA LX]

Just passing thru and WOW, is there anything this guy can't do to a Torana?

[76lxhatch]

^ Haha thanks, its amazing what can be done with a "toy" lathe that everyone seems to think is a waste of time.

 

axistr you're onto it (of course), I had considered the cardan joint effect but hadn't noticed any feel I could attribute to that. The lower one is basically straight or the rag joint wouldn't last long as it won't cope with too much misalignment, so the angles aren't good here either. I'd also wondered about pulsing from the pump but with the change from four speed to five speed with tall overdrive nothing has changed. The double uni worked great for me with the factory rack (even the solid mounted UC one) but other things have changed since then too.

 

The input steering load is generally a bit less with power steer but if it happens to fail for whatever reason but this should be well up to the task, the steering is actually surprisingly light (relatively speaking) sitting still with the engine off. I had a small selection of donuts to choose from, this one is in pretty good nick so should last some time.

[SS hatch]

Nothing wrong with a toy lathe 4foot bed at home a very usefull tool to be had even for wood turning Chinese jobs quite cheap for the home jobs. But a old Colchester would be great if the space allowed.

[TerrA LX]

I still remember till this day, our first day in fitting and machining at TAFE, the teacher telling us "if you want to keep your fingers then don't stick them anywhere you wouldn't stick your dick".

[76lxhatch]

Well another day, another #@$!-up. Thought I'd do a quick changeover on the intermediate shaft setup, and ended up popping the top column bearing out of the coffee pot. Found a good low mileage donor pot with intact bearing to swap it with... and discovered I didn't have a matching key which is needed to release the ignition barrel. Half an hour turns into half a day just like that, but I did finally get it sorted without damaging any of the parts I actually need.
 
On the up side a quick test drive with the rag joint was promising, and at least I managed to get the steering wheel straight first time.
 
Hard to get any decent photos in that small space, but it looks factory from this end. One day I'm going to remove the header and re-work it properly.

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:40 PM.

[Heath]

Really tidy work, not sure I could have resisted pulling the welder out, though!

[76lxhatch]

Its not weird that it took me six hours to put new front tyres on, is it? Nah...

First need to remove the wheels, thoroughly clean (what a mission), remove centre caps and hub rings, and remove the old weights and adhesive. Give tyre place minimum opportunity for stuff-ups, the wheels already have big scrapes where weights were removed last time and if you've ever seen these guys use a torque wrench you'd have a good laugh. The existing tyres were on the car before the adjustable lower bushings which allowed reducing the caster to a level more suitable for the low profile tyres - they've evened up a lot since but the inside is still scrubbed and was starting to notice they didn't have the bite they used to. Down to the wear strips on the inside groove, don't skimp on tyres.



Deliver wheels and new tyres to tyre place for fitting and balancing, with strict instructions not to put weights on the outside! These wheels are pretty good and there is enough offset to get a good balance with stick-ons inside only. While this is happening, I decided I wanted to make new aluminium hub rings since the last ones weren't quite perfect. Can't buy these off the shelf as they are only 0.85mm thick.



Go pick up wheels with new tyres fitted. Way overinflated as usual, drop pressure to 32psi. Taped up the weights too.



Then of course the mandatory test drive, funnily enough the front end is a bit more stable with square tyres and there is a bit more bite again.

Will be interesting to see how these go, the Falkens (FK452) have been pretty good if perhaps a bit harsh and I was going to run them again but these came up cheap and have gotten some good reviews; I like directional tyres on the pointy end but not ready to jump to asymmetric just yet. Hankook V12 Evo (performance tyre as opposed to the S1 Evo), the BMW guys seem to like them, apparently grip is quite good but the one downfall is a slightly softer sidewall. These days I could do with a bit more comfort so willing to try them once. Can't be worse than a 15" balloon tyre anyway.

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:40 PM.

[76lxhatch]

You would be on 35 or even 30 profile with the 18s? What are they like for turn-in when you're giving it a bit of stick?

[76lxhatch]

Well I got the itch after looking at the steering and pulled the header out for a bit of a re-vamp. As can be seen here I'd previously made a scallop in the #3 primary for steering clearance, but it was still tight everywhere and having a restriction in the primary is less than ideal.



As we know due to the firing order the primaries are staggered into the secondaries on the driver side, which means that 3 and 7 sit out beside 1 and 5 instead of tucking inline. I figured there is room further back to tuck them in closer to the block. The first iteration would have fit in the hole, but there was no way of getting it there without removing the engine! Take two slides in and out as before but with a lot better steering clearance.



Also tucked the secondaries up a little for maximum ground clearance and added the flexi joints I have had for a while, the plan is to reduce the exhaust vibration a bit.



An extra mount at the flanges to the rest of the system so it hangs by itself and doesn't put weight on the flexi joints.



And repeat for the passenger side.



Took it for a quick drive tonight, seems to have dampened the exhaust vibration quite a bit. The flexi joints seemed quite stiff by themselves but with a little weight on them there is easily a couple of inches movement. The car is almost refined now! (Not really)

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:41 PM.

[TerrA LX]

Ok, so when you finally finish it and sort all the bugs, ship it across the ditch for me to look after while you tinker on a new project

[SmacT]

Man I love these updates. But yeah, don't refine it too much... :-) And TerrA, the line forms behind me! Ha ha.

[76lxhatch]

Thanks guys

Ok, so when you finally finish it and sort all the bugs...

Finish? Never finished, always something to improve on!

[BIG KEV]

I still remember till this day, our first day in fitting and machining at TAFE, the teacher telling us "if you want to keep your fingers then don't stick them anywhere you wouldn't stick your dick".

I must of had the same teacher ....lol

[TerrA LX]

I must of had the same teacher ....lol

Granville?

Anyhow, it worked, it stuck and the fingers stayed thus far lol.

Can't say I never stuck my dick in places I won't stick my fingers tho....

[myss427]

From the pic angle, can yo get at number 5 spark plug?

[76lxhatch]

Yeah just the angle of the photo, plenty of room. You can't see it but there's actually a plug in the head in the second photo above I used to make sure when dummying up.

Nothing is easily accessible at the back of the driver side head but I can still just barely (same as before) get my hand in there for leads/plugs/header bolts.

[mick_in_oz]

What size primary pipe are the extractors? Brand?

[76lxhatch]

1 5/8" primaries, Pacemaker but who knows how old

[76lxhatch]

Have noticed the rear shocks haven't been what they used to be, leaking a very small amount of fluid (although still pressurised), also noticed a bit of squeaking on a long trip. I believe they can be rebuilt but they're pretty old and a new/unused set came up cheap. Old vs new:



Feels better on the road.

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:41 PM.

[76lxhatch]

Rolled over 400kms a few weeks ago, was going to get a photo as it rolled over but forgot all about it. Done 500kms since then too


Also made a little more progress on mounting and fitting fuel rails. Milled the corners of the throttle body base on the manifold flat on a 5 degree angle to suit, made a guide to drill and tap straight holes out the side


then some aluminium stand offs to bolt the rails to, they thread directly into the manifold


and the rails have recessed holes for cap screws which thread into the stand offs in turn


The fuel rail is the ideal size to tap for 3/8" NPT fittings, did a test run with the remaining scrap piece to see if I could get it straight which was a dismal failure. So figured out a way to use the lathe to line it all up


The only compact 90 degree fittings I could find were blue, can't have that


Will get some 3/8" hard line to join the rails across the front


and the rear has a hose tail for the feed, and a standard style bolt on pressure regulator with o-ring seal


Got to make a few more holes in the manifold yet, then everything will be cleaned up and painted.

Edited by 76lxhatch, 21 July 2017 - 11:42 PM.