1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
As some of you know, I have recently become very familiar with Abbott steering rack braces. I have a 95SET, with the original cast aluminum steering rack housing. The 95&1/2 and onward vehicles have steel steering rack housings, and the rack body is much smaller in diameter.
So I was looking under the hood of a Viggen, which I did not know was a Viggen at the time because it was a convertable.
And I am eye balling the steering rack, GM Delphi sticker, well that makes sense. Big rubber mouning bushings! The steel clamps never changed, and the firewall mount points did not change either. So the new (small) rack is stuck into a rubber bushing that has lots more rubber. The steering rack being smaller, applies loads to a smaller area of rubber, which increases the pressures on the rubber, and the rubber is thick, which makes the mount softer. So there are two compounding influences which will increase defection of the steering rack.
So, no wonder there are problems. Never send a drafter to do an engineer's job. You just can't fill the hole with rubber! (Well I have seen engineers make dumb design descisions too.)
Now go back to the Classic 900's. The steering rack was bolted to the suspension sub frame. God, what an idea! The rack does not need to float in rubber to isolate the firewall from vibrations, and the sheet metal body does not have to be a weak link in the suspension. All forces are resolved within the subframe.
Anyways... It is my opinion that the steering rack deflections in the 9-3's and 96+ model years is probably very excessive, and rack braces alone would probably have profound effects. Replacing the rubber bushings with wood blocks would be a vast improvement. Or silly puddy filled do-nuts, that would be good design feature.
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