The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Hi i was wanting to know what du I need to fit hydraulic power steering to my sprint, ,
What parts of what cars will i need, i remember from way back summit about stag stuff does it,,can someone please enlighten me,,

This company may be of interest: -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EASYSTEER-TRI ... 25ab9a2718

A popular mod is the electric power steering column from a Corsa C.

Toledo Man wrote:A popular mod is the electric power steering column from a Corsa C.

Yeah but has anyone actually completed a working version ?? , there is this post but no word if it actually worked viewtopic.php?f=4&t=26387&hilit=power+s ... a&start=15, must admit the ebay one does look interesting if it fits a Dolly

Don't want to put in electronic power steering, would like to use B.L parts if possible, ,any ideas guys. ...?

I'm not so sure the Stag/2500 PAS rack would fit. They are bigger cars. That Easysteer could be an option because it is fitted to the existing steering column.

I'd hardly call the Corsa C option a 'popular mod'!!

Its pretty popular in the escort and manta world

Tony

Toledo Man wrote:I'm not so sure the Stag/2500 PAS rack would fit. They are bigger cars. That Easysteer could be an option because it is fitted to the existing steering column.

You are correct Dave, the T2000 PAS rack is unsuitable. The pinion shaft is at the wrong angle to allow this rack to fit a Dolomite.



Ian.

Been discussed in the past, from memory Maestro/Montego racks were suggested but don't know if any ever made it off the drawing board.

I'm currently working on a conversion using the electric PAS from an MGF (which is at least vaguely BL related) Sadly, if/when I do get it to work, it won't be much good to most Sprints as mine is automatic and the motor will occupy the space normally taken by the clutch pedal and related parts.
Anything is possible, but having actually got into the job, electric PAS will be very difficult on a manual Dolomite, because of the extremely narrow gap between the pedals and lack of anywhere else to fit the motor.
The story i've heard is that a hydraulic rack from a LHD Montego can be turned over and made to fit but this just opens several more cans of worms like a) where do you get a LHD Montego rack from and b) how do you mount and drive the pump (side note, could a Vauxhall Astra/Zafira electro/hydraulic pump be used with a suitably uprated alternator)

My two pennorth!

Steve

IAN,,

Would it be possible to turn the rack on to modded mounts so the 2000 rack angle is suited, ?.
Steve does a stag pump not fit the sprint as along with the tego rack i could get the fittings made up to suit, ,What about an early saab pump ,what's your views on that mate,,,?..

I'll see if i can find the photo's of the conversion completed, that used a Maestro/Montego rack, although I seem to recall it required a mod to the crossmember to fit, and was going to use a Mercedes A class electric PAS pump

DAVE944 wrote:IAN,,

Would it be possible to turn the rack on to modded mounts so the 2000 rack angle is suited, ?.
Steve does a stag pump not fit the sprint as along with the tego rack i could get the fittings made up to suit, ,What about an early saab pump ,what's your views on that mate,,,?..

Its much more than that, the rack angle on the Dolomite is different to the 2k one not only in the vertical plane but also in the longitudinal. The 2k pinion is at near enough 90 degrees to the rack whereas the Dolly one is more like 60 degrees and the mounts for the rack to the body are completely different (even the crossmember is changed on a 2k between manual and PAS)
A Stag pump may fit on a Sprint block (though I wouldn't bet money on it) but no Sprint has the double pulley needed to drive the second belt for the PAS. Early Saabs which had the Dolomite related engine generally didn't have power steering, certainly my old '75 99 Combi coupe didn't! Thats why I suggested the Vauxhall electric pump, which does the same job as the Merc one Bruce mentioned, but is probably a lot cheaper and easier to get hold of! These can be mounted anywhere in the engine bay (or the boot for that matter!) but do use prodigous amounts of electricity to run them, hence the need for a bigger and more powerful alternator.

Steve

Macleesh wrote:Been discussed in the past, from memory Maestro/Montego racks were suggested but don't know if any ever made it off the drawing board.

I fitted a Montego PAS rack to a 1500 in the 1990's and used the pump from a Montego and double crank pulley from a US spec Spitfire. It worked:

+ve
light steering and fewer turns lock to lock
-ve
the pinion isn't really in the right place which meant a contorted UJ on the end of the column
I had to trim some length off the track rod ends to suit the narrower Dolomite and this meant the bump steer was out somewhat and the tyres eventually wore out even though the castor and toe was right.

I was inspired by an article in the old Dolly Mixture mag by a disabled bloke who managed to fit an Austin Princess one in there.

For a Sprint double pulley, you may find US TR7s have one (drives an air pump) which may be easy enough to find and fit. PAS is really nice in the Dolly and worth the effort but in hindsight, I would leave the standard rack in there and make the electric Corsa fit. A quick google search and you'll see plenty of Mk1&2 Escorts fitted with them.