http://www.corvettesteering.com

 

Check here. These kits fit our corvettes
http://www.corvettesteering.com/55-57%20chevy.htm
I have installed one of these and was very satified.

 

Bullshark,
As Norval said, the Jeep box has the PS control valve built into the input side of the box, eliminiating the dino-tech "catch-up" control valve on the steering linkage. That system doesn't provide power assist until you the pitman arm starts moving. The Jeep system kicks in as soon as you move the steering wheel.

 

What you describe is definitely out of the norm. There should be zero play in the steering wheel. Let me re-iterate the previous comments relating to column bearings. They can make quite a difference. It does, however, sound as if there is something else going on. Since you said that it looks like the play is in the rack then the most likely problem is the lower u-joint on the pinion. Loosen both of the set screws on the pinion and then tighten the one that is on the flat of the pinion. Tighten the other set screw on the indentation of the round part of the pinion last. This can remove a significant amount of slop. Also, if there is any binding in the u-joints it will translate into slop because the bind is causing the u-joint to move laterally rather than rotating.

 

In response to Twin_Turbos comments let be begin by saying that the bracket material is .134" which is about 3.4mm and not 2mm. Also, we have encountered a wide range of dimensions on stock Corvette frames such that the tolerance can be as high as +/- 0.375". Adding everything up we have seen hole locations and engine perches be as far off as .75" from where they should be. Keep in mind that this is usually with no damage repair to the frame. It is just how it came from the factory. So a slightly angled rack installation is not that much of a surprise to us because we have seen it on more than one occasion.

The bracket flex you mention has to be an exaggeration. Turning the wheels with the car at a stand-still yields the highest loading the steering will ever see other than an impact. Movement of the rack at this point is a matter of the mounting bushings and the brackets. Keep in mind that performing the same test on the stock Corvette steering will result in the frame flexing because the loads are so high. This is a good time to mention to everyone that you should have any car rolling (even slightly) when turning the steering. This will significantly reduce the loads placed on the steering and frame.

 

Hi Norval - do you know if the column needs to be collapsed for the jeep kit?

 

Will this kit bolt right up to a 68 vette?
http://www.corvettesteering.com/55-57%20chevy.htm
I assume this kit bolts to the power steering pully and then to the manual steering linkage via the pitman arm??
Any fabrication/mods needed to fit this to my car that is currently manual steering?
My car has the early steering box, will a stock early rag joint bolt to the above power steering boxes?
Was just about to order the steeroids, now I am rethinking the situation.
Thanks guys.

 

My Steeroids went in easy (by me) and has a very nice feel with no slop. It is not overly assisted. I did have a slight binding issue until I adjusted it correctly. There are no clearance issues under the car.

 

Yes the column needs to be collapsed but I found mine really easy to do. I just used a rubber mallet and it effortlessly collapsed back into itself. I am convinced if I over collapsed it I could have pulled it back out with vise grips.

 

And then there are many guys like me who did their own rack installs from scratch, and have no problems for years now....

tmrw is another day, however.....

 

This guy built his own rack setup. Looks pretty stout...

see the 4th link down.
http://www.corvetteforum.net/c3/427v8/

Yes it's my alter ego ;-)

 

I would agree that the slop in the Steeroids kit has been a disappointment for me as well.

I've posted several times about the play in my steering wheel. I've probably got 5 degrees or so of play, and it drives me nuts. I watch the linkage while my wife moves the steering wheel back and forth, and I can see it moving around. It's just inherent movement that I can't get out.

I checked Speed Direct's website for answers, and I replaced the lower column bearing, but it didn't do much. The reason they push the bearing idea is because of the way the kit is engineered, it's loading the column laterally (which is not natural for the column). The u-joints operate near their maximum range at all times...not well engineered at all.

After all that ranting though, I will say that the car does steer better with the kit. I just wish they had a better solution for the u-joint design.

 

My Steeroids works fine (for many years now as I had one of the first).

Hoses: The high pressure was fine but I needed to make my own low pressure (71/406 SB).

Brackets: Yes, the brackets allow some movement when turning the tires at rest, but so do many GM and Saab brackets. When the car is in motion it's not a problem.

Steering Play: You can minimize any U-Joint binding by spacing the Steering Column rearward.

Ground Clearence: Yes, it hangs low, but not lower than the pan. That said, I think this is it's greatest weakness. If you car is lowered then this is an issue that the Jeep Box doesn't have.

Feel: There's no way any Recirculating Ball Box can have the road feel of a Rack & Pinion, no way.

Install: Steeroids, bolts in with some minor Die Grinding of the Frame in my case. Took a couple of hours with a helper is all.

Install: Jeep, requires moving the front Brake Lines as I understand it, though I've never installed one. How easy is it?

Weight: Steeroids.

Price: Jeep.

I like my Steeroids, but I'm sure both do a good job when properly installed!

Doug

 

I have the steeroids setup in my car and its tight and responsive. I have no noticeable slop in it at all. Of course I bought mine about 3 years ago so they may have changed the design since then...

 

I vote for Norval to please install a rack in his car for a test drive/season, and report to us as to which setup has the superior road feel, and so forth.....he is the only one of us with the time and talent to do this without spending a fortune......

what say Norval???

 

I'll make a vid of the bracket flex when I have the car back on it's wheels again..you can see it with a blind eye!

 

Gene I will be busy installing the 540. While the engine is out I will spend a fair amount of time welding gussets everywhere. I will also cut the firewall in two places. One to make more room for my wife's purse. well that is actually the corner of the floor and also right beside the brake booster to allow the heads to slide off over the studs. My passenger head is effortless to slide off over the tall studded block but the drivers side hits the firewall. I want to be able to pull both heads quickly so I will cut and refiberglass the firewall.
Gene I looked at alot of pictures of steroid installs and really hated how low that thing hung under the car, how it interfered if I wanted to drop the pan quickly, the linkage setup etc etc.
I really feel at $1249 it was way overpriced but again that didn't affect me since I would make my own system so cost wasn't part of it but it is for most.
I honestly feel the Jeep box besides being 1/2 the price is a great fix for out steering problems.
That said I also found the REAR stabalizing bar has a big influence on steering precision and braking control.
As you know I had problem under high speed braking and turning at the same time and the rear sway bar besides tightening that problem up totally made the car stable under rough road conditions.
Absolutley no twichness?? under all driving conditions

 

Marck many many years ago I had a out of balance control valve. I had the car on stands so the front wheels were not on the ground and started the engine to set the balance. I couldn't believe how much the frame flexed at the wheels rotated back and forth. I don't think most have ever seen the amount of flex. It seems as if the frame was a piece of rope, it whipped back and forth so much.
At that point I started bracing the frame in that area , even went to solid mounts and gussets on the frame rail motor mounts and will do even more this winter with the motor out.
You can not go far enought to support the frame in this area.
I would love to see a video of your flex as well as a stock setup. It would be a real eye opener.

 

Thanks for chiming in. I'll try your suggestions as soon as I can this week. Hopefully that helps. At issue though is what appears to be play at the rack. Reaching down and grabbing the lower u-joint, I can freely twist the input about 10 degrees before any real resisitance is felt.

I understand that everything is cumulative. When I installed the kit (a very easy project, and well thought out) I discovered the slop in my column support bearings. Unfortunately, I was renting a lift bay, and was unable to get the parts in time while I had the bay. (I also did the upper and lower A-arm bushings while I was at it)

With the front end on stands, and the motor off, I can go from lock to lock with one finger on a spoke.

I talked to many people, and read a lot of posts on your product prior to taking the plunge. The positive remarks overwhelmingly outweigh the negative, so I'm sure I'm experiencing an anomaly, and I'm not trying to drag you through the mud with this.

 

Keep at it, now that I have mine adj properly it is a pleasure to drive compared to to the manual set up before.