Craig1979 said:
The manufacturer's performance claims state that the rack & pinion eliminates all the on-center wander and vaqueness that is so common to the C3 factory power assist steering system (especially evident with wide tires).
This is due to the nature of the recirculating ball technology used in the OEM setup. Typically, the worm gear gets worn and over time more slop is introduced into the steering.
Was the improvement in steering quality truely significant??
Without a doubt, 110% YES!
Was there any U-joint binding that you were not able to eliminate by the steering column adjustment procedures suggested by the manufacturer??
Besides adjusting the steering column, the install also required shaving areas of the u-joint to avoid binding
Was the steering radius of the car reduced after the install of the rack & pinion (ie: did the front wheels not turn as sharp in a full-lock turn - like making a tight u-turn)??
I wish I could recall exactly the difference. I believe it's
just about the same. However, due to the nature of the setup, the car will turn a slightly tighter arc when locked left than when locked right. (Or I may have that reversed...I can't recall now)
If you were using headers, did the conversion clear your headers OK?? (If so, what make/brand of headers were you using??).
It was tight
during the install, but once in, the headers weren't a problem. (I have Hooker headers.) However, we did have to notch the lower control arm just a hair in order to clear one of the set screws.
Any other general considerations, warnings, or observed performance improvements that you can pass along to other thinking about this conversion??
Your in luck. I found the email that I sent to VB&P as a "suggestion" for future sales and/or installation documentation revisions. Here ya go! (Oh yeah, this is no "few hours" project if you are going to do it correctly. It's more like a full weekend (or more) if you want it perfect. If "almost perfect" is acceptable, then yes, you could probably do it one long day. And I don't care what magazine said they did it in 3 hours...that's in some fairy tale utopian world!)
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Back in 2004 I also purchased your complete VB&P O-ring caliper kit (lines, pads, mstr cylinder, etc). Regarding your complete brake kits, with all the hardware, it seems kinda silly that you'd leave out the brake proportioning valve since it is part of the system, AND prone to failure. We (vette owners) have to get it elsewhere such as MidAmerica or Corvette Central.
Notes Regarding the Steeroids package for my 1980:
1) The hollow aluminum tube that connects between the u-joints is supposed to be notched so the setscrews seat into it. It was not notched on either end. This required EVER SO CAREFULLY getting a drill in there to notch the tube when everything was already in place. This is a very cramped job and not very easy to do once everything is lined up and in place! Additionally, with that tube being so light, too much pressure on the drill and you'll drill right through the surface.
2) The pressure hose is almost exactly 3" too long. Between the sharp angle on the hose connector and the rigidity of the hose, it is essentially impossible to mount due to it getting in the way of the A-arm travel. As soon as the car would be down on the ground, it would hit the hose and likely break it off or do critical damage to the fitting on the pump. I had to go out and have a custom high pressure hose made along with the proper size and angled fittings.
3) I took a die grinder and had to notch the frame in order to have the lowest setscrew (u-joint on the rack) have clearance for a full rotation.
4) There were extra washers supplied, however they were the smaller, incorrect size. Unfortunately, at this time, I don't recall the exact washers needed or on which parts they were on. I know it was towards the end of the installation.
5) It seems kinda silly that the tierod sleeves aren't shaved on both ends for wrenching/adjusting. They only have the wrench flats on one side, which adds to the difficulty of adjusting either the inner or outer, depending if you have them on the inside or outside.
6) The gusset bracket DEFINITELY needs to have some manual intervention on the part of the enduser. Although it's nice that they put the extra piece of steel to align with the frame, it has to be significantly grinded/filed down so it gives a seemless mating surface with the frame. This requires a lot of 'check for fit...shave it...check for fit...shave it'. Then, to keep it from rusting, we coated it with rustproofer. This is a critical part that was more or less unmentioned in the documentation. That bracket is what bears the load of the pressure on the frame from the rack. If that's not flush with the frame, eventually you are going to have wear and slop in the system, and worst case scenario it will break. Years ago, this actually occured with my OEM setup I had. The frame itself actually tore with the bracket still attached, which caused the pump shaft to snap over a bumpy corner.
7) The drivers side bracket which holds the steering shaft support bearing... If that tab that carries the support bearing was rounded off instead of being squared on the ends, it would make the adjustment of the pinch nuts way way easier, not to mention less
dangerous because of the sharp corners. When wrenching down on those nuts, the amount of turn/leverage that you can get from a wrench big enough to fit them is damn near zero, due to space constraints. Having the edges rounded off on that tab would not
incur any loss of rigidity or supporting strength.
...That's all I can think of right now. If you want pictures, I suppose I could supply some.
