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5 GT Turbo R5 GTT Power Steering conversion

r5gordini

Well-Known Member
Hi All,
I have embarked on the above project! To fit power steering to my GTT. I have seen this post:
http://turborenault.co.uk/threads/39/page-6#post-8111
But I have questions for anyone that has done this before...
I have bought a Clio Mk I rack...
  1. Did you have to change the rear engine mount as per the above thread?
  2. Did you have to change the steering shaft?
  3. The Clio track rod ends are different. The R5 ones are not compatible (internal vs external threads). OK to fit Clio ones?
I think the answers to all questions is yes. Here's the drawing of the Clio steering shaft:
Clio steering shaft.webp
Here's the R5 shaft:

GTT steering shaft.webp

I have the Clio rack all ready to bolt up (once I have removed the seized track rod ends - grr)! I need to get some pipes made up. Pirtek should do it?? Or Hydraquip? I like the way it was done above - where a fitting was fitted to the bulkhead panel to pass the pipes through but I'm going to have to do it the other side - driver's side. I will probably punch holes through the bulkhead panel.
More photos later...
Andrew
 
Your electric power steering set up appears to be quite neat and compact Bob, a lot of the others I have seen are bulky and require the dash cutting up.
What setup have you used and can you vary the assistance?
 
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It's a Corsa B power steering electric motor - you can buy kits from ebay to adjust the assistance manually but as we have Clio 182 hubs fitted to the 5GT we used sensors in the hubs to control the assistance. Fitting the electric power steering would be so easy if you are happy to cut the dash but we had to fit, remove, fit, remove etc to get the mounting brackets just right!
 
I don't have many photos of the conversion, just the final product before it was fitted. It uses the original upper steering column and the original mounting points. Retains the lower safety section of the steering column which compresses in the event of a head on collision, this is handy as it allows you to adjust the length of the column to accommodate for the electric motor and still retains about 60mm of travel in the event of an accident.
We then fitted 182 tie rods to the original R5 rack to make use of the Clio Sport bump steer kit.

SAM_0504.webp SAM_0506.webp 10072587593_35283d3afa.webp
 
@DaveL485 - once again, you are the saver of all things that are car related! Great idea for the rivnuts - have just ordered the kit. I have some 2mm steel plate on order too and will use that to construct the necessary brackets with some judicious cutting, bending and welding. Progress photos to follow over the bank holiday weekend (I hope)!
Assuming you bought the manual tool, look at how it actuates the rod that the rivnut goes on to. When you use the tool it will be ok at first, bbut eventually it will spread the top of the tool apart and the nubs that actuate the rod will slip over it. When you use the tool, clamp some moleys across the top of the tool to stop it spreading apart, my first one lasted about 10 rivnuts before it slipped, the second one has done about 50 as I always squeeze the top in with moleys to stop it spreading, while i'm using it.

Are 172 and 182 racks the same? I have 2 172 racks complete in my shed.
I can't imagine they would be different mate.
 
Yes! Sorry for the lack of updates recently.
I fitted the rack, with the washers for the lower mounting. Seems very secure and just fine. The Nissan inner track rod ends fitted perfectly and are exactly the right length so I can now use the 172 outer track rod ends.

Then I hit upon a problem: the steering shaft was too long! Quite a bit too long. After a healthy debate with @DaveL485 I decided to shorten it by cutting a bit out of the outer part of the shaft and bashing the inner in enough to fit:
IMAG1016.webp IMAG1017.webp IMAG1020.webp IMAG1021.webp IMAG1022.webp

I noticed there's a funny nylon bush in the inner shaft. Not sure what it does!!

Once I had cut the outer then the inner bashed in just fine and feels like it has just the right amount of collapsibility in it for crashability. I am certain I have not weakened the shaft and I only hope it has enough collapsability in it.

Next problem was that the larger rubber grommet was too long to fit exactly between the bulkhead and the rack. It is kind of squashed against the rack which means it's almost impossible to do up the cable tie on it, so I have not bothered doing so. I think that the 182 grommet might actually fit but it took me a couple of hours just to get the GT Turbo grommet in place so I just left it. I am sure it will be fine.
I then moved on to modifying the mounting bracket for the pump thus:
IMAG1023.webp


Screenshot_2015-05-11-13-12-49.webp
Screenshot_2015-05-11-13-13-19.webp Screenshot_2015-05-11-13-13-51.webp

Now I am a bit out of practice with my welding so it's not very pretty but I know it is strong enough!

Comments welcome!
 
Any pictures of the rack fitted? It would be handy to know how much spaces it gives over a mk1 PAS rack.

Have you had to renew the hard pipes that run from the rack body to the pinion to allow the engine mount to fit without contact?
 
Sure - I will post photos a little later. I only had to renew one of the hard lines - the other was fine, whereas it wasn't with the Mk 1 rack. The banjo fitting of the central line does touch the rear engine mount, but only the rubber bit. In fact, it just about fits in the hole in the rubber mount! I am going to see if it causes problems in service before changing the mount. With the Mk 1 rack and the flexible lines it was impossible to remove the rack without removing my new flexible lines. With this rack it is possible to fit everything up beforehand and slide the rack in place (albeit with a bit of jiggling)!
 
I'm still not convinced on the column thing...but if you are confident, just make sure you test it properly!

Defo more work than I would have expected to fit a PS rack in...what a ballache!
 
I am absolutely confident that it will not let go. I am reasonably confident that it will collapse if I crash.
I cut the outer slightly less than the equivalent amount that I bashed the inner in, if you see what I mean, so if anything, there is slightly more steering shaft overlap.
It is hard and a lot of work, but strangely enough, it is the sort of challenge I really enjoy!
 
I am absolutely confident that it will not let go. I am reasonably confident that it will collapse if I crash.
I cut the outer slightly less than the equivalent amount that I bashed the inner in, if you see what I mean, so if anything, there is slightly more steering shaft overlap.
It is hard and a lot of work, but strangely enough, it is the sort of challenge I really enjoy!
I think my worry comes from the fact it's hard to visualise what you are doing. I'd need to hold it and look at it to be confident. As a rule, though, I find that if I do that and i'm 100% confident it's fine, it will be. If there is any element of "Ah...it'll be OK" then it wont be. So go with your feeling on it :)
 
Have fitted the big rubber boot to the bulkhead:
7071
Which big rubber boot is this @r5gordini?
 
It's the rubber grommet that connects the bulkhead to the rack. It's a big, floppy thing. You can see it on the hole in the bulkhead in the photo but it's squashed together.

It was an absolute pain to fit once the steering shaft was in position. And it was too long. I wonder if the Clio one would fit better. Not sure if it's the right size or shape for the bulkhead!

I still need to post my update with photos. Will get to it soon!
 
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