Need help modifying C4 rack and pinion
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 1,023
Likes: 1
From: New Carlisle, Ohio
Need help modifying C4 rack and pinion
In contacting various rack and pinion rebuild manufacturers, there are supposedly no other front steer racks that are substantially shorter than the C4 Corvette. I need one 3" shorter to match our narrowed front suspension. Approximately 22.5" between inner tie rod pivots.
Got a price from Maval for $699, they say they can do it. So am now looking at how it can be done, and can this be done by ouselves?
I have taken the Corvette C4 rack and pinion apart in an effort to see how it may be shortened.
The biggest obstacle at this point is moving the piston 3" on the rack shaft. It appears to be placed on by heat, and shrunk to the shaft. Do you know anyone that has done this, or attemted this?
I don't want to score the shaft in moving it, and am considering making a new piston and cutting off the old.
Any ideas. or people that I can contact that would know more about this.
Got a price from Maval for $699, they say they can do it. So am now looking at how it can be done, and can this be done by ouselves?
I have taken the Corvette C4 rack and pinion apart in an effort to see how it may be shortened.
The biggest obstacle at this point is moving the piston 3" on the rack shaft. It appears to be placed on by heat, and shrunk to the shaft. Do you know anyone that has done this, or attemted this?
I don't want to score the shaft in moving it, and am considering making a new piston and cutting off the old.
Any ideas. or people that I can contact that would know more about this.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 20,869
Likes: 961
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
Welcome to the club! I've been chasing after a narrow rack for quite a while myself. I've got a narrowed C4 suspension on my spare '69 frame, and the rack is the last issue remaining. I spent the majority of a recent day roaming a self serve junkyard with my tape measure, but no luck. Most of the front steer racks I found were 24 inches or more. I've since sent a request to Maval/Unisteer for an estimate, but no reply yet. (I may have to call them and light a fire under someone.) Please keep me updated on your findings with this modification. My understanding is that narrowing the rack gets complicated by the resulting restrictions in the available piston travel. I've seen some circle track parts suppliers that sell a very narrow (about 16 inches) rack, and perhaps some modifications to the tie-rod area might allow changing the pivot width, but I haven't pursued that option yet. Or, I might just have to get myself conditioned to the idea of manual steering on this project.
Mike
Mike
