Hello guys,
I read you a lot, but don’t really post, having already enough to do with the French Mk2 forum. I am going to make the effort today as I think the PAS rack & pinion conversion is a matter of interest. Contrary to most people, I have gone the opposite way, reverting to the original design.
I bought my car (RHD) in 2009, fitted with a PAS R&P conversion coming from a well known supplier (I have to add that whatever I am saying here is about the adaptation of the PAS to the car, not the quality of the device that in itself always worked fine). In 2010, I put new tyres and 6 years later (last summer) and 20000 miles (32000 km) done, the inside of the front tyres was so worn out that they had to be changed, whereas the rest of the tyre tread could have done 30 or 40 % more. So I decided it was time for a front suspension geometry check and reset, doing in the same time a complete overhaul, just to be sure that I wouldn’t have to do it again a few months later. At that time, I hadn’t yet decided to revert to the original design.
After everything was put back in place, setting camber and castor, I wondered why the camber initially was so negative. I understood when I drove the car for the first time with the factory setting; it was a tank to drive even with the PAS. As for the castor, I set it initially at ¾° following the forum general advice that more positive castor was better with radial tyres, to discover later that it was not so good an idea after all. At this point, obviously, there was already something wrong with the conversion (apart from the tyre scratching in tight turn and the reduced turning radius).
During the first trial, I also noticed that there were hard spot in the steering column every half turn. It was due to the lower universal joint working at its maximum angle, each fork fouling with the other. During the dismantling, I wondered why they seemed to have been tampered with (like hit with a hammer). I guess it was for avoiding these hard spots during the installation. So, at this point, this was enough for me, and I decided to revert to the original design.
Having found and overhauled a complete unit, I discovered, adjusting the idler lock stop, that at the factory setting and with ¾° of castor, the left front disc fouled with the upper front wishbone arm. So back to factory setting once more and no more trouble.
To conclude, I would say this is certainly the best thing I have done to the car since I have had it. It drives like a charm. Ok, it’s not PAS, but it doesn’t bother me. It is just a matter of learning not to steer the wheels on a standstill. As soon as the car moves, the steering is a lot lighter, and certainly not worse than, for those who know, the Land Cruiser HJ45 I had for 20 years. No more tyre scratching, no more undue wear and an engine bay a lot neater without the electric pump and pipe.
Sorry for the french english.