Xsara Rack Converstion

[kyepan 291]

Hullo, converstion lovers... i love a good converstion.. that's why i spelt it wrong three times...

 

So i finally got round to fitting the rack, this is what happened, and this may help others who might attempt it at their own risk

 

parts we had

 

Xsara rack inc pas stuff, xsara track rods, and rod ends.

Two 205 track rods .. not used

square drive lower 205 column - very important

 

Firstly we got the old rack out of the car, this involved undoing the rear subframe bolts, and loosening the front ones, then levering it down with a pry bar, before the pinion would clear the lower chassis leg.

 

Next I measured my rack, 1273mm rod end to rod end, the xsara rods are longer, so i reused my 205 rods and rod ends then made the adjustment to the rod ends accordingly based on the small difference between the width of the rack bodies themselves, to get the overall track width the same.

 

Secondly I removed the ram from the Xsara rack, cleaned the rack up, milked it of left over pas fluid, pulled back the gators and removed the track rod ends by holding the rack in a vice and using some pipe grips. Then plugged the holes with some brake pipe blanks and plastic blanks so it should repel the dirt into the rack itself.

 

Then fitted my 205 rod ends to the xsara rack, and packed the gaiters with grease. Be careful when removing the gaiters, as the unribbed one is easy to split.

 

Now, onto the subject of the lower steering column, you'll notice four important differences between your old 205 one, and your new xsara one.

 

1) it may be a round pinion on the 205 rack, and square pinion on the xsara rack

2) that the pivot point on the xsara lower column is higher than the 205, the bulkhead gaiter won't fit and the angle will be wrong.

3) how far down the top splined section the flat bit goes...

 

All of these are important.

 

However there are square drive 205 lower columns available, right angle of dangle, right spline flat bit, and most importantly, square pinion acceptorage.....

 

As it turns out my rack had been replaced with a square drive after market one anyway.. so there was no need to replace the lower column.

 

To refit the rack, you need to persuade the subframe even more.. so we slackened the chassis leg mounts off as much as we dared and persuaded it into place. ah then we forgot.. you need to grind off or remove the captive stud that holds one end of the ram on.. or it will foul on your gear linkage. Alternatively remove the gear linkage. We were short on time and i'm a man, so out came the grinder.

 

Once on we adjusted the track rods to get the track width identical

The tracking itself appears spot on, but we ran out of time to sort out the wheel position, so that will have to wait.

 

To cut a long story short, i still need to undo the lower bolt, upper bolt, rotate the wheel accordingly to almost central, and refit.

 

in summary, you need to make sure you have the right kind of lower column before fitting, and be comfortable persuading the subframe down enough, it would help to have a vice, decent pipe grips, angle grinder about half a day at least and an assistant, as you may get stuck at various points

 

Hope this helps..

 

ps, its Fapping bril to drive, i really mean that, so much less fuss and drama at the wheel, much more like my beloved Mx-5, which i might add is utterly sublime to rattle down b roads in.

 

Cheers

 

J

Edited April 5, 2011 by kyepan

[Masekwm 2]

Great post as this is something I need to do on my '6.

 

The question is of course, which model had the correct lower column?

[tomcolinjones 26]

Great post as this is something I need to do on my '6.

 

The question is of course, which model had the correct lower column?

 

Are there good results with the 'hybrid' spline to vts square lower u.j?

[kyepan 291]

I forgot to mention big thanks to paul13 who supplied all the tricky bits like the lower column... thanks mate!! he also knows what he got the lower column from! hopefully he'll pop up and say so.

[marksorrento205 80]

I have just banged one on the 306 today and its a massive difference!

[S@m 156]

I have just banged one on the 306 today and its a massive difference!

 

Is it a straight fit on a 306, no lower column issues or such?

[welshpug 1,646]

yes, straight swap to the 306, same chassis.

[SurGie 54]

So how much of a difference does the Xsara rack compare to the GTI6 rack ?

[welshpug 1,646]

2.4 to 3.3+

[SurGie 54]

Well thats a big difference thats for sure, iv just had my tracking done after fitting TRE for today's MOT as well

[kyepan 291]

Well thats a big difference thats for sure, iv just had my tracking done after fitting TRE for today's MOT as well

like i said you can get track bang on if you measure accurately.

 

So it is possible to swap them over.

 

cheers

 

J

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

Hello!

It was off a SQUARE DRIVE 205 gti POWER STEERING rack. A lot of people don't think they exist but they do.

The rack was off a STDT 'L' reg, can't see it making much difference as I find thr racks fitted to Gtis are abit random.

 

If you need a hand on the car mate just ask, you've help me enough on mine.

[rallyeracing 0]

Does only the Xsara VTS have the 2.4 lock to lock rack?

@kyepan Do you use the rack with or without power assistance?

 

Thanks

[danny56712 1]

Can this be fitted to incorporate xsara power assist i need a very light steering setup...cheers

[Baz 421]

Of course, as it was in the first place!

[shalmaneser 26]

Can this be fitted to incorporate xsara power assist i need a very light steering setup...cheers

 

They're PA as standard but bear in mine a lower lock to lock ratio will make the wheel harder to turn - you're moving the wheel angle more per degree of movement at the steering wheel with a quick rack than with a standard non PAS or PAS rack.

[maxi 36 1 Cars]

SO whats the conclusion then, is this conversion really all its cracked up to be? Also, do the racks suffer from the same "dead Spot" in the center like 205 PAS racks do when converted to non PAS?

 

Maxi

[Baz 421]

IMO it's swings & roundabouts, as after the cost of the rack unless you get one cheap, faffing about and sourcing the correct lower column, you may aswel have just bought a proper quick rack for what seems just a few quid more if not about the same. Just my opinion.

[welshpug 1,646]

unless you want it PAS that is Baz

[Anthony 1,002]

And it's not like "proper" quickracks aren't sometimes a bit of a faff anyway - look at all the problems that people on here have had regarding bearings for the Quaife ones for example!

[Baz 421]

I didn't say Quick rack 'kits'. I'm pretty sure although rare, you can get in PAS version too.

 

I wouldn't touch a Quaife one for multiple reasons.

[SurGie 54]

And it's not like "proper" quickracks aren't sometimes a bit of a faff anyway - look at all the problems that people on here have had regarding bearings for the Quaife ones for example!

 

 

The way i got round getting the correct bearing for my flat drive quick-rack was buying a standard recon rack and using the bearing inside it and using all the other new bits too. Then i got Shenpar to put the rack together complete.

 

I got mine from Shenpar, so i dont know what type it is.

 

Baz, why do you say number of reasons ?

 

Which type of quick rack is the better type then ?

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

Quaife rack as said can be a nightmare to find a bearing for, second incredibly hard to park cos its soo stiff.

 

And its also munched through my track arms and rod ends at an alarming rate.

[SurGie 54]

Am i right that the quick rack is 2.7 yet the Xsara is 2.4 so, the quick rack would be the overall better one ?

 

What other makes apart from Quaife of these quick racks about ?

 

When you say munched, do you mean worn out ?

[Baz 421]

My Quikrak is 2.4t, no dead spot, no issues.