installed a Unisteer Rack & Pinion and.....

[ronwest]

I put in the Unisteer rack & Pinion in my 69 Charger. Nice feel, very easy to turn almost too easy.

Problem is the turning radius is really wide and very bad. At full lock it takes a mile to turn. Forget doing a simple u turn.
The front brakes (disc) were frankenstiened from the previous owner and are from a 73-74 Challenger or something in that family. The Cragars have 1/4" spacers. And at full lock I'm about an inch or so away from hitting the stock sway bar. Got new bushings too.

Any ideas on how to deal with this. I'm stumped after spending all that cash.

thx

[Rolling_Thunder]

unfortunately that is one of the traits of converting to a rack with these cars - they do not provide the adequate travel for a tight turning radius...       

[Mike DC]

I've also heard that complaint about the Unisteer racks.  Not enough turning radius when it's all said & done. 

[ronwest]

So do you find more turning radius with the short ratio gearbox/control arms?

[Back N Black]

where did you buy the rack & pinion? No complaints from previous customers on the turning issue?

[ronwest]

YearOne

[John_Kunkel]

I've heard lots of complaints about the turning radius with the Unisteer, in fact it's about all you hear about them.

You can't fool the laws of physics, no rack is gonna have the travel needed to duplicate the travel of a steering box system. The only option is to shorten the steering arms which is more of a problem on Mopars because of the built-in ball joint.

This is how they get around the problem on cars with simpler steering arms:

[ronwest]

Yes, it's true. Unisteer played down the whole thing saying you loose a little bit of turning radius. I can clarify that it's a lot of turning radius.

But... there is a hero in all this and their name is YEARONE. They stood behind the product and are going to return it. They will have to eat it because they say Unisteer will not take it back because it's been installed. But that's ok, I spend lots of money with YearOne. And after reading this hopefully, you will too. Give them your Biz, they're good people.
Now back to my box...

[Back N Black]

Yes, it's true. Unisteer played down the whole thing saying you loose a little bit of turning radius. I can clarify that it's a lot of turning radius.

But... there is a hero in all this and their name is YEARONE. They stood behind the product and are going to return it. They will have to eat it because they say Unisteer will not take it back because it's been installed. But that's ok, I spend lots of money with YearOne. And after reading this hopefully, you will too. Give them your Biz, they're good people.
Now back to my box...

The only thing i don't like about YearOne is that their shipping cost more the parts being shipped.

[ronwest]

It's tough because a lot of the online dealers really nail you on heavy, bulky items. We can thank UPS for that. I've sold stuff on eBay so many times and couldn't believe how expensive it was to ship. It's really frustrating.

[dodgey68]

i fitted the unisteer kit, i like it, just the turning circle is not as big but i knew that before i got it,
i go around the block (i like driving it any way)

[Rolling_Thunder]

Glad to hear its getting sorted out Ron - i'm not a huge fan of Year One because of a past transaction but I'm glad they came through for you in fine style - Now get your car done so we can go cruisin   

[dangina]

I easily have spent over 3k at yearone this year, and thats on their 30% off days!!

[RallyeMike]

If you have a sure-grip, liberal application of the throttle will decrease your turning radius.

[Kern Dog]

What application is the rack from originally? Is it custom made for these cars or is it a factory unit for some GM product? The reason that I ask is that maybe a rack from a different car may give more sweep of the tires. My Charger with the steering box rubs tires on the frame rail . I ground the stops a little for increased travel. The frame is a smoothe surface, so no harm done.

[HPP]

Original application is inmaterial. Racks don't have adequate travel to match the mopar design when bolted in to the stock suspension layout. You would need to alter the geometry of the steering arms to create the right ratio of steering angle to rack travel to restore the original turning radius...or convert to an entirely refabbed front clip, like Alterkation.

[myk]

Pardon my ignorance but what's the advantage of going to a rack unit as opposed to our old boxes?

[Kern Dog]

Weight savings and header clearance?

[ChargerST]

Less slop! ball joints, even when new, give you a certain amount of slop - rack&pinion eliminates the pitman arm and the tie rod ball joints = tighter steering.

[HPP]

Less weight, more room, more precision, all correct. What you give up in the process is turning radius, oil pan clearance, additional bump steer.

Yes, all the steering joints in a stock system will have a certain amount of complaince that reduces steering accruacy. In my experiecne, this is actually a smaller factor in the lack of steering precision than flex in the steering box and idler arm mounts. Gusset these to reduce loading deflection and the accuracy over stock improves tremendously. Flex in the steering box mount is so rampant that Firm Feel has introduced a sector support shaft to accomplish the same thing without tearing apart the front end to weld in gussets.   

[lisiecki1]

If you have a sure-grip, liberal application of the throttle will decrease your turning radius.

WIN!

[Mike DC]

                           
I agree with HPP.  The stock setup can feel very tight with the right gusseting and a rebuilt gearbox.



I've thought about trying to convert a Mopar autocrosser to the Saginaw power steering box.  Same reasons people put GM motors & Ford axles in other cars - it's not better in theory but the aftermarket has made it do everything better.  Aluminum cases, tons of gear ratio options, etc.