yes,
well thats how I,ve done mine, but its NOT the only way to achieve the desired result .
there has been other builders using a different bearing carrier thru the bulkhead.... I think Ash G has some pics of how he did his in his build photos link.
Just an after thought......which steering rack extensions are you using ? if its the ones detailed in the book, they are wrong( too long ) & makes the wheels point left & right at same time :eek: .

cheers
andy

Oh great, I hope that's not part of my problem! I got them from saturn about 4-6 months ago? I'm not as worried about how it goes thru the bulkhead as that part seems to be ok. Slightly related though, is there an easy way to tell when the rack is 1/2 way between lock to lock (centered so to speak) as hopefully this will help tell if I've got it right?

The rack extensions from Saturn will be correct ;)

Depends on the rack you have 2.9 or 2.4 ( known as a quick rack ).....just turn the splined bit of the rack from lock to lock & count the number of turns required then go back half the number .

But its easy to re center if using a group 4 coupling as you can just undo it & adjust it on the splines on the rack/group4 coupling in relation to centering your steering wheel to the rack center point.

Hope it gets sorted for you.

cheers
andy

Ok good to know the saturn ones will be right :) I'm pretty sure my rack is 2.9 but I got it off another forum member who was selling up so I can't be sure. When it was all still attached, it took more like 3.5 turns of the wheel for lock to lock though :S Thanks a ton though for all the help, hopefully I can get it sorted so I can go back to working on the engine :)

The rack ratio is normally measured lock to lock 2.2 ,2.4,2.9 etc so at 3.5 it sounds like a standard rack.

Bob

Fair enough, it was cheap at £50 so that's probly why. I forgot to take the pictures I took last night off my phone so I'll try and do that over the weekend so you all can see what I mean. I started cutting a new rack mount and checked my book vs the amendments in the announcements and the bend angle was different but the other measurements was the same. I think from memory the book had something like 130 degrees vs the 108 degrees in the revised one so I'm hoping this well help resolve the problem. I've also ordered a group 4 coupling and one of the splined shafts from rally design to hopefully get me round the upright/diagonal tube that's causing the problem.

Right finally got round to sorting a photobucket account and got some pictures of this.

here's the original extension with the sierra->escort coupling that was fowling:




So I got one of the splined shafts and group four couplings andy suggested and it fits much better than before although I still had to move the rack about 0.5cm to the right of the book position

Looking at your photos, I can't help but get the feeling that U1 & U2 are a tad too far in at the bottom ?

This would certainly explain your clearance issues.

Like I say, just a sneaky feeling as it is very hard to tell from a picture :)

Here is a picture of my steering set up.

Have a good bit of clearance & will have a good deal more once I ditch the round tube extension & replace it with a piece of solid round bar.

Ignore the radiator, that was a Micra one & has since been replaced with the better VW Polo one ;)

I suspected that would be the case but can't face cutting them out and trying to redo or starting with a new chassis so I'll have to see how I get on when the car is running :(

Here's a better visual representation of U1 & U2 placement.

I deliberately left those just tacked in place untill the steering & suspension brackets were aligned ;)

Took this route after reading a good few posts Re: Packing out the suspension brackets :)