RA28 stering rack conversion (need advice)

**WDE_BDY** · 22-04-2006, 09:51 AM

You would have to use a front mount rack from another car or modify it alot, otherwise wheels will turn the wrong way. And them you would need to get steering arms from a front mount racked car as well or the geometry will be pretty screwed.

Callum

**BigWorm** · 25-04-2006, 01:23 PM

I tell you what, this R & P conversion is getting to be a bit of a prick.
At the moment I have the AE71 crossmember in place with a 4A block bolted up to it & my gearbox (W58 + piece of shit/Dellows bellhousing) bolted up to that. At first I figured I'd leave the g'box crossmember bolted up & locate the AE71 crossmember according to the g'box position, but the engine seems to be sitting a bit higher than with the TA23 crossmember & custom engine mounts.
So I've now unbolted the g'box crossmember & the box & crossmember is now on a filthy angle (gearstick pointing towards passenger) and also the AE71 LCA mounts are a good inch or so aft of where the TA23 mounts were.

I don't know what I can do to get around this.
I will for one say, Dellow is teh suck.

Joel, if you read this before I've tracked down your number, give us a call or SMS.

**TurboRA28** · 25-04-2006, 04:56 PM

Hey mate, cant help too much on the engine mounting problems..

But in terms of the LCA positioning, I redilled the holes to mount the ae71 xmember in such a position that the LCAs would be back in there original position. From memory this meant moving the xmember forward quite a bit.

Cheers
Joel

**TurboRA28** · 25-04-2006, 05:05 PM

This pic kinda shows how far back the holes were drilled.

**BigWorm** · 25-04-2006, 07:51 PM

Doh, looks like I'll be chopping the mounts off the crossmember, lowering them & moving them back a bit.... as usual, not as simple as I first thought!
That answers what I was going to ask you though, how you determined the crossmember positioning. I guess I'll piss the engine off out of the bay, bolt up the LCAs & sort out the crossmember position & go from there. Hopefully the sump doesn't give me too much greif, however if it does, I may just have to chop it up & come up with a bigger capacity design, which I've been wanting to do anyway.
Thanks for the pic mate!

Or maybe I should just get one of those 1UZs & start measuring that up..... (what ever happened to that evil smiley???)

**Major Clod** · 29-07-2008, 12:08 PM

Bumping an old thread, but this is good discussion.

I have a question about reducing the increased track on the KE70 Crossmember conversion.

Some have said redrill the LCA mounting holes, some have said shorter LCA's.

I'd imagine redrilling the LCA mounting holes (bringing the LCA pivots closer to the centre) wouldn't be too good for steering geometry? LCA pivot and ends of the rack should match correct?

So, if you found some slightly shorter LCA's, and shortened the tie rods to match, would there be any significant problems with this setup? Engineering wise you're not cutting/making anything custom, but how would it affect steering geometry?

And the last question, this conversion uses the RA23 LCA's not the KE70, correct??

**SillyCarS** · 20-08-2014, 10:50 AM

Bumping an old thread...

What is the tried and true best option for R&P in 23/28's these days?

What options are the most compatible for aftermarket gear, steering columns etc etc etc, enough people have done them now and a lot of the info is sprawled across the forums

Cheers!

**Major Clod** · 20-08-2014, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by SillyCarS

Bumping an old thread...

What is the tried and true best option for R&P in 23/28's these days?

What options are the most compatible for aftermarket gear, steering columns etc etc etc, enough people have done them now and a lot of the info is sprawled across the forums

Cheers!

This is what is in my '23 - relatively bolt together - and pretty much the same as most. Engineer approved in QLD.

KE70 Crossmember with KE70 Rack - edges chopped off to make slightly narrower, 3mm angle welded on edges, holes redrilled to match chassis, mounted so LCA's are in the same fore/aft position. Make sure you take your timing measuring this up and ensuring your geometry is nice and square.

20mm Alloy spacer between crossmember and chassis (lowers LCA pivot to factory - this could be optional and depends on your fit - if you leave out the spacers and have a really lowered car this could be an advantage for reducing bump steer. I mainly did this for sump clearance and I don't run too low at the front. You'll also need a front sump for this approach.

To connect the rack to your steering column, you could use the KE70 intermediate steering shaft, but I found this too short. They can be extended slightly with a few hits from a hammer (they are two piece), but I felt mine would be extended too far. Instead I took the lower half from the KE70, and added in the much longer top half from an GA70/MA70. Think GZ20 would work too - this makes the intermediate shaft longer so it can reach the bottom of the steering column.

For steering column, I used RA6x. It's non adjustable, but same length as 23, almost bolts up underneath the dash (just needed to cut, shorten and re-weld one of the mounting tabs to match the '23 spacing. Mounting to the firewall was more or less straight forward with a couple of re-drilled holes and maybe a hammer whack or two - you could also get fancy and fabricate here if you want perfection - eg '23 shroud to '6x column lower.

RA23 stalk bolts to the new column, pretty sure I used the new columns key barrel as the bolt patterns were slightly different. Electrical plug from the barrel is a tad different but crimps are the same so I just popped out the connectors and inserted into the original '23 plug.

You will get slightly wider track at the front as reported in this thread. 15x7 +20 fits under no worries. No rolled guards up front.

Finish up with some KE70/AE86 LCA's or grind off the bump stops on your '23 (same length, bush and ball joint)

Steering knuckles I used normal RA23 - you can also look at AE86 Power Steering knuckles to get a bit more lock (they are short but with same ball joint and tie rod end holes) - however they reduce track by about 10mm and in my case made the brake rotor foul on the edge of the LCA (hilux/pug/corona). Could be good if you have wide front wheels and are already on the limit of track.

Tie-rod ends should all be KE70/AE86 though you may want to check the length as there are a few different combos. Plenty of info on longer tie-roads on AE86DC if needed.

All in all not too much trouble provided you can find the parts. I use my '23 mainly at the track, sprints and hill climbs and its by far one of the best mods I've done other than the Beams. Very direct and raw steering feel.