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Wow, I just went to their website myself and don’t see anything about their rack and pinion systems on their website anymore.
I guess they dropped the entire line.
Sorry, it was a great system in my Factory Five and maybe it was custom built just for the Factory Five cars.
So, in the unforseeable event that I change my 79 to manual steering and install this electric steering upgrade, will I have one finger turning of the steering wheel when the car is not moving?
So, in the unforseeable event that I change my 79 to manual steering and install this electric steering upgrade, will I have one finger turning of the steering wheel when the car is not moving?
Damn, now that makes that steering upgrade a "must-have" for me that I can never afford.
I found the Flaming River Manual Rack for $600 (right here on the parts for sale section)- open box- off a stopped project for $600. About $50 in bolts and u-joint.
A visit to the junkyard- I was all in - for about $45 including the $1 admission fee!!!
So-yea- if I just went out and bought everything- it be $3K +.....
Will this setup allow me to turn the steering wheel with one figure when the car is not moving?
That likely depends on how you wire it up,, you could energize the motor as you turn key to ignition, , or you could wire it to come alive after the engine is started,,, your choice, ,
It seems like switching to the ford electric rack is uncharted territory. Just learned this is the rack on ford focus 2011-18. This was the best selling car in the world for a time so I imagine the racks are cheap and plentiful at the junk yard and ebay. (Looks like $225 used, $350 rebuilt) It would potentially be worthwhile to me to get one of these racks if I could just find at least one video of this rack operating out of vehicle connected to a single ecu. So far I only find videos of these racks connected to a specialized bench test ecu.
The popular electric power steering systems for retro fit all conveniently opperate with the p/s ecu and 12v power. The ford rack may or may not opperate without complex signals from other parts of the original vehicle.
It seems like switching to the ford electric rack is uncharted territory. Just learned this is the rack on ford focus 2011-18. This was the best selling car in the world for a time so I imagine the racks are cheap and plentiful at the junk yard and ebay. (Looks like $225 used, $350 rebuilt) It would potentially be worthwhile to me to get one of these racks if I could just find at least one video of this rack operating out of vehicle connected to a single ecu. So far I only find videos of these racks connected to a specialized bench test ecu.
The popular electric power steering systems for retro fit all conveniently opperate with the p/s ecu and 12v power. The ford rack may or may not opperate without complex signals from other parts of the original vehicle.
Go for it. Should be a low risk factor to get the rack operating on the bench. There must be a test rig out there that can operate the rack for testing purposes. Maybe get a canbus sniffer and record those messages.
Then once you get it working on the bench, figure out the geometry to fit it in the vette frame, avoid bumpsteer and so on.
Go for it. Should be a low risk factor to get the rack operating on the bench. There must be a test rig out there that can operate the rack for testing purposes. Maybe get a canbus sniffer and record those messages.
Then once you get it working on the bench, figure out the geometry to fit it in the vette frame, avoid bumpsteer and so on.
The rewards could well be worth the effort.
there does appear to be a special
test rig but I imagine it is super expensive. I have access to a factory scan tool. I wonder if that has a steering rack test mode. Of course it is possible the rack just works once powered up.
My search doesnt come up for anything when I look for a power steering ecu. I wonder if the ecu is in the rack unlike the column mounted units that have a p/s ecu behind the dash.
there does appear to be a special
test rig but I imagine it is super expensive. I have access to a factory scan tool. I wonder if that has a steering rack test mode. Of course it is possible the rack just works once powered up.
My search doesnt come up for anything when I look for a power steering ecu. I wonder if the ecu is in the rack unlike the column mounted units that have a p/s ecu behind the dash.
If the rack has a pair of CANBUS pins, then it's most likely in the rack.
From my understanding - if the rack doesn't "see" the can-bus- it'll go into a "fail-safe mode." Which should still be operational- but lose some of the fine tuning as far as steering wheel input.
I took a look at the ford electric rack as found in a 2014 escape. The electric motor and rack assembly is larger than expected. It is actually huge. I would guess this will make a problem fitting it to a c3. Based on this pic does anyone with intimate knowlege of c3 steering gear area guess if this would fit? I am willing to take one for the team in terms of playing with can and limp home mode but I dont think Inwould like to do all that with a rack that deffinitwly wont fit in a c3.
I took a cursory look at other more compact electric racks. The smart car electric rack looks much smaller than the ford but maybe too weak?
ford escape I was working on this weekend. On a completely different subject, the new ford eco boost products are a nightmare in terms of hoses plugs and wiring. The engine bay is just as complex as the high end german cars making many repairs a potential total
loss for a low value used ford. We pulled
the powertrain on a 105 k mile escape
eco boost to replace the trans. The whole front comes off and the engine/trans comes straight out the front ala audi.
Yes, the Volvo electric power steering pump turns the wheels with one finger while standing still. I just tested it.
Thanks so much for this, I'm sending a link to your suggestion to my husband. It looks like it could be done in significantly less time than the other power steering conversions I'm aware of so maybe its a possibility someday after I theoretically finish the body work on my 79. Also, an aftermarket power assisted steering column wouldn't be acceptable to me as they don't have the factory collapsible column safety feature.
I just installed the EPAS system in my 57 ****** pickup. Works great!
You can follow my install if interested. It may answer some questions on current draw etc.
03-23-2019, 11:48 AM
