Steering & Brakes

[elder]

I have been reading the threads about the front end of the trike - which I understand is shared with other models and I have a couple of points of confusion/ uncertainty. There are many many search results about this but I still do not have definitive answers.

1. Making up the quick ratio steering rack seems to be a source of many a problem. Has anybody purchased a ready made high ratio rack & if so where from?

2. Brakes. I am confused. My idea is to make a simple Tribusa/ TR1ke get the testing sorted out & then decide where to spend the money. Do I have to buy the fancy brake parts listed as extras or can I use standard Focus (or other) parts? Guidance please. At some stage I will probably want to go with lightweight hubs/uprights etc but not initially. As I regard being able to stop as critically important I am looking at simple bolt together solutions rather than something that might possible be made to fit & work by someone who is a much more capable engineer than I am.

[slugshot]

The kit comes with a std re con sierra rack with the option of a quaife quick rack, I'm sure rtr would convert the rack for a fee if you don't feel up to doing it.

The kit either comes with a pair of focus rear hubs and carriers or an aftermarket upright and hub kit from Rally Design.

Both settups use Hispec or Wilwood 4 pot lightweight calipers.
The focus settup has an rtr made bracket to mount the calipers to so maybe rtr could make one to use the caliper of your choice for a fee if you don't feel up to doing it.
The front wheel wing stays use the rear brake caliper mount on the focus hub carrier settup.

[elder]

I think that you have helped me with my confusion.

There are numerous threads here detailing problems taking apart the steering rack to fit a new pinion gear. Are you saying that the £99 2.4 turn option is for a nice shiny converted high ratio rack rather than the bit for me to convert a low ratio rack? That would be great.

The calipers question appears to be what I suspected. The only easy answer is to buy the £334 HiSpec callipers.

I am going to make an appointment to go & have a look at the factory next week & then visit owners at Donnington where I hope to make my decision.

Thanks for the help.

[slugshot]

Aug 20, 2014 13:16:28 GMT elder said:

I think that you have helped me with my confusion.
Thanks for the help.

NO NO NO, I'll try one more time so pay attention

The tR1ke kit comes with a re con rack ie the alloy housing fitted with a new std ratio gear set.
If you want quicker steering rtr sell a quaife high ratio gear set.
Either fit the high ratio set yourself or ask rtr to fit it.

[elder]

Ok Sitting up, taken a deep breath & listening. Put it down to age.

Got it - I think - the £99 2.4 turn lock to lock quick rack isn't actually a rack but it is a bit to convert the standard rack into a quick rack. This is the job that many others have found so difficult.

Hopefully I am there now.

[mattyboy]

Hi after struggling to do my rack conversion I read somewhere that Rally Designs sell already converted racks. I have looked on their website and I only see Escort ones though, but it might be worth calling them to check if they do Sierra ones because I am sure In read somewhere that they do them.

Also the quick rack kits that RTR supply are not all Quaife. Mine was the standard Rally Designs one and it had a minor difference which was that the channel for the circlip on the pinion was not wide enough for the clip. I got around this by finding a slightly thinner clip. But it was a pain.Also I am just glad I noticed this, if my eyesight wasn't too good it could have been overlooked possibly not safe. I think it depends on what is in stock to be honest.

The challenge of the conversion was undoing 2 nuts, my slipper nut just broke by rounding,RTR sometimes have spares which they get machined up though. Also on mine the pinion cover nut was on so hard with thread lock that I had to blow torch it to get it off. Don't do this though, as it will likely melt and they are irreplaceable.

Most people just use standard multi use grease I think. I have also since noticed that some people have also used Landrover valve springs at the end of the racks to help with self centring etc, I think. I only realised this after it was done though so I didn't do this.

[Deleted]

I don't think they sell them already done. When I asked they said you have to buy the bolt on quick rack and pay them a couple of hours labour to do it. Don't quote me on that but that's what I was told

Cheers

[airforceone]

It must be worth paying them a few hours labour to have it done,I'vi read on various threads
that it's a nightmare job taking days to get the correct tools to finally get it done.

[edwinwl]

Changing the standard steering rack by a quicker version is no rocket science.

I used a new bearing because the old one was stuck to the old piston.

[mattyboy]

I agree the Job is very easy once the two nuts are loosened, however this was not easy in my case as the rack that was supplied was brand new & the nuts were heavily bonded to the housing. The slipper nut is not an issue if you have sourced a replacement from RTR, as you can destroy it to get it out of the housing.

On mine I was hitting the bearing cover nut so hard that it completely miss shaped around the column seal & it still would not come undone. At this point I realised it was ruined so I used a blow torch to melt the thread lock. If you do this you would have to buy a scrap rack from ebay to source a new bearing cover, as these are not available to buy as individual spares new from Ford. You also need to be very careful as the mechanism contains nylon parts under the slipper nut that could melt if you are not.

I certainly don't want to tackle this job again if I can help it. There is a special Ford tool for these nuts, but I think these are obsolete also, as I couldn't find one for sale anywhere online. If Rally Designs or RTR are willing to do the job for a reasonable amount of money I would jump at it.

I think it is pot luck which uprights you get. I got the rally designs with mine. Some on the locost forum have reported assembly problems with fitting the bearings on these but Mine seemed to go together ok. I did heat the hubs in the oven & freeze the bearing shells though and the bearings dropped in. I also froze the stub axles heated the bearing inners, the inners just about pushed onto the stab axles. I just kept a track on which hubs & axles belong to each other just incase the Bearing inners and shells are matched.

[slugshot]

I must have been lucky with the rack that came with my tR1ke, I used a blunt chisel to loosen the pinion housing and a length of flat bar across the flats to undo the nylon slipper lock nut.

As for the rally design uprights, it just shows how cheap they are when some kits come with them without having to pay any extra. They're normally sold as an upgrade for the tR1ke unless they're now classed as part of the std kit.
If I was placing an order for my kit I would ask for the rtr made uprights and focus hubs, they fit together easily and I think the wing stays look quite good unlike the the ones that come with the rally design that look like an after thought.