My review of the Unisteer Rack & Pinion PN# 8001110-01.
09-12-2010, 08:36 PM
#1
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Indianapolis
Posts: 710
My review of the Unisteer Rack & Pinion PN# 8001110-01.
Well, I finally installed the Unisteer in my 65 Mustang.
The kit was fairly inclusive and had an overall look of quality and I have no major issue with anything trivial but I did find some things that I feel could use improvement.
Unless my car is special or unique the inner tie rods are longer that can EVER be used on a 65-66 Mustang. I had to remove about an 3/4" with a cut off wheel just to get by, if the instructions would have mentioned this it would not have been such a big deal, but they make no mention of it.
If the alignment shop needs to cut off more of the end they have some room but when the outer ends are threaded on all the way I have about 1" of threads remaining that cant be used.
I dont think an alignment shop will have any issues since I know that I can get 4 more turns out of the outer ends and get the tires pointing out with no trouble, but it was tough getting the front of the tires to even point straight ahead. This should be addressed, I read on another forum that a guy had the same issues over a year ago. Unisteer should really make those rods shorter or thread them further up to allow for trimming.
The outer tie rod ends do not use a cotter pin, it uses a "nylock nut" instead. I really dont like that, they do not leave much thread on top after they are tight to drill in any safety wire, I am not a fan of Nylock nuts holding things together on my suspension or steering gear.
The oil pan needed a dent, not much but some, the moving assembly also had a collision with the starters band/clamp that holds the top cover in place so I needed to shim the motor mount up a bit on that side with a large washer under the motor mount, it's possible that my motor mounts are just old and tired so I dont think I will worry much about it. The mounts will get replaced when the motor gets tweaked.
The car steers much better, the rack provides no play and if you move the wheel ANY the car responds. I dont think this is a negative at all but YMMV.
My wife can drive the car with no issues, the effort to turn the car while stopped is not an issue and once the car is moving it's pretty nice. The car currently has the giant 16" manual steering wheel.
The turning radius is pretty close to stock, it comes close to hitting the steering stops in both directions and is pretty close to the turning radius on our Mercury Milan. It takes 4 1/2 turns lock to lock.
The rack does have a few snug spots, at first I thought it was the u-joints in the steering rod linkage but after close inspection I cant find anything. You really cant clock the u-joints differently than the system is designed without modifications so I really could not rotate the two and experiment.
Summit had this unit for $756 + shipping. I think after looking at the price of a new manual box and roller Pittman arm this was a comparable price over all and I feel the performance is better with the rack.
The only permanent modification was to cut 3" from the bottom of the steering column and insert a nice bearing. The cars chassis was not altered in any way and someone could go back to a box in the future.
Overall I am pleased with this unit, I would like to know if Unisteer makes the rack or if it is from another source, that way in the future I can find a replacement rack and rod ends.
The kit was fairly inclusive and had an overall look of quality and I have no major issue with anything trivial but I did find some things that I feel could use improvement.
Unless my car is special or unique the inner tie rods are longer that can EVER be used on a 65-66 Mustang. I had to remove about an 3/4" with a cut off wheel just to get by, if the instructions would have mentioned this it would not have been such a big deal, but they make no mention of it.
If the alignment shop needs to cut off more of the end they have some room but when the outer ends are threaded on all the way I have about 1" of threads remaining that cant be used.
I dont think an alignment shop will have any issues since I know that I can get 4 more turns out of the outer ends and get the tires pointing out with no trouble, but it was tough getting the front of the tires to even point straight ahead. This should be addressed, I read on another forum that a guy had the same issues over a year ago. Unisteer should really make those rods shorter or thread them further up to allow for trimming.
The outer tie rod ends do not use a cotter pin, it uses a "nylock nut" instead. I really dont like that, they do not leave much thread on top after they are tight to drill in any safety wire, I am not a fan of Nylock nuts holding things together on my suspension or steering gear.
The oil pan needed a dent, not much but some, the moving assembly also had a collision with the starters band/clamp that holds the top cover in place so I needed to shim the motor mount up a bit on that side with a large washer under the motor mount, it's possible that my motor mounts are just old and tired so I dont think I will worry much about it. The mounts will get replaced when the motor gets tweaked.
The car steers much better, the rack provides no play and if you move the wheel ANY the car responds. I dont think this is a negative at all but YMMV.
My wife can drive the car with no issues, the effort to turn the car while stopped is not an issue and once the car is moving it's pretty nice. The car currently has the giant 16" manual steering wheel.
The turning radius is pretty close to stock, it comes close to hitting the steering stops in both directions and is pretty close to the turning radius on our Mercury Milan. It takes 4 1/2 turns lock to lock.
The rack does have a few snug spots, at first I thought it was the u-joints in the steering rod linkage but after close inspection I cant find anything. You really cant clock the u-joints differently than the system is designed without modifications so I really could not rotate the two and experiment.
Summit had this unit for $756 + shipping. I think after looking at the price of a new manual box and roller Pittman arm this was a comparable price over all and I feel the performance is better with the rack.
The only permanent modification was to cut 3" from the bottom of the steering column and insert a nice bearing. The cars chassis was not altered in any way and someone could go back to a box in the future.
Overall I am pleased with this unit, I would like to know if Unisteer makes the rack or if it is from another source, that way in the future I can find a replacement rack and rod ends.
09-13-2010, 07:44 AM
#2
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 46
Unisteer Power Rack
I installed the power rack - and had the same issue with the tie rod ends. They told me that they had never heard of this issue before ... but have found 3 others on forums that had the same issue. There was about 1.5" too long on both tie rods. Unisteer sent me some custom made ones - and I cut off the original ones to make them work.
In addition - the power steering hoses on the kit were designed to run right on top of the exhaust manifolds. I talked to them and they said it wasn't an issue, and that they would make me longer ones for a fee. I had longer lines ran locally for 35.00. They now run up around the shock tower next to the a/c lines.
One final issue was that the belt they sent was too long. I had to buy a shorter one.
All 3 issues should have been avoided, and would have been evident if they had mocked it up on a car prior to final design. IMO they point to either poor quality control or poor design - which is worrisome on a steering system.
As far as performance - once installed it works great. System is not over boosted and has a good feel. It is very sensitive, and takes some getting used to after driving the stock cars for so long.
In addition - the power steering hoses on the kit were designed to run right on top of the exhaust manifolds. I talked to them and they said it wasn't an issue, and that they would make me longer ones for a fee. I had longer lines ran locally for 35.00. They now run up around the shock tower next to the a/c lines.
One final issue was that the belt they sent was too long. I had to buy a shorter one.
All 3 issues should have been avoided, and would have been evident if they had mocked it up on a car prior to final design. IMO they point to either poor quality control or poor design - which is worrisome on a steering system.
As far as performance - once installed it works great. System is not over boosted and has a good feel. It is very sensitive, and takes some getting used to after driving the stock cars for so long.
10-22-2010, 10:13 AM
#6
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: tn
Posts: 889
manual unisteer rack pinion 8001120-01 67 mustang
I installed manual unisteer august 2010.
Fits JBA headers and Z-Bar perfect.
Made a simple sheet metal bracket to firmly hold column in position.
Drilled no holes in my car.
I have no u-joint binding; angles not too steep.
New rack starting torque measured 30 to 40 in/lbs; seems a bit high?
Have 225 miles on rack now; still a bit tight.
Sometimes hear a creek when rack first starts moving.
Once rack starts moving it turns freely.
Unisteer asked me to put 500 to 700 miles on rack to let it mesh.
Hoping rack will loosen as I clock more miles?
Fits JBA headers and Z-Bar perfect.
Made a simple sheet metal bracket to firmly hold column in position.
Drilled no holes in my car.
I have no u-joint binding; angles not too steep.
New rack starting torque measured 30 to 40 in/lbs; seems a bit high?
Have 225 miles on rack now; still a bit tight.
Sometimes hear a creek when rack first starts moving.
Once rack starts moving it turns freely.
Unisteer asked me to put 500 to 700 miles on rack to let it mesh.
Hoping rack will loosen as I clock more miles?
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