kva mk1 chassis type C : Good steering ball joins HELP !)

[Laurent]

Hello Friends !
I encounter a problem when adjusting my front alignment :
. My steering ball joints are too short (or the half links are too short too if you prefer).
. This is probably due to the fact that I put shims under the steering rack in order to reduce the junction angle with the column...
. So, I bought long cortina mk II ball joins but I noticed that the cortina mk2's cone axles are smaller than the original ones i find on the car.... see pictures following to understand what a french guy try to explain to you !)
Does anyone have any information concerning the steering rack and the ball join mounted on a kva mk1 chassis type C?
I also think about the ball join's position (below and not above the axle) which creates to much bumpsteer (if I understand correctly what i read on different thread) , given by the steering link which has a much more important angle than the lower triangle...
Isn't it necessary to drill the support to position a ball joint above the axle to get steering links & lower triangles parallel ?
Has anyone already solved the problem?
Does anyone know where to buy the right hardware to solve this problem? Thanks in advance !
Laurent

 

[Chris]

Not sure what rack you have but you can buy tie rod extenders like these at various motorsport outlets

Steering Track Rod / Tie Rod Extender +50mm Extensions / M14 x 1.5mm For Peugeot | eBay

To suit Peugeot and oter steeroing tie rods with M14 x 1.5mm threads. These countries include, but aren't exclusive to, Switzerland, Norway, Malta, Canary Islands and the Greek Islands. Precision made in the UK.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Morten]

Another option for the tierods re: bumpsteer… fit rodends and mount from top of steering arm. Relocate steering rack to find the sweetspot. Its many videos on youtube.

 

[JP Verweij]

I solved the bumpsteer issue with shimms under the rack and repositioning the upper wishbone.
My upper wishbone had an incorrect angle.
KVA "B" type.

 

[Mike Pass]

A few things to consider.
Your Ford uprights/hubs. Are they 4 stud or 5 stud? If 4 stud they may be Cortina. If 5 stud they are most likely Granada MK2.
The position of the rack is critical for bumpsteer. The important thing is the placement of the rack is the elimination of bumpsteer NOT the alignment of the steering column.

Bumpsteer is caused because the ends of the wishbones and the end of the track rod all move in different arcs and the ends move in and out with respect to the chassis. There will inevitably be some differences - the trick is to minimise it to the point where it is too small to be noticed.
Normally the suspension geometry at the usual ride height is set with a short top arm at a steeper angle UP than the lower arm which is longer and at a shallower angle DOWN. ( the arm being the distance between the ball joint or pivots - not the metal tubes). This is what increases camber in bump and reduces it in droop. This counteracts the roll of the car and keeps the tyre flat to the road.

In bump the top balljoint moves towards the car centre line whilst the lower balljoint moves outward - thus increasing camber). Over the "normal" range of movement of 2" bump and 1' droop they tend to cancel each other out. The actual arc followed by the hub can be measured by tracking it against a fixed vertical bar placed next to the hub centre.

To test for (and then) remove bump steer buy a cheap laser pointer from Ebay. This is attached to the hub and aimed at a wall or card a few metres away. The easiest way to attach the laser pointer or mirror is to glue them firmly to a strong magnet.
Remove the coil/damper unit and use a jack to raise and lower the suspension in small increments through the normal range.mark each dot position on the wall or card. Bumpsteer will cause the angle of the hub to change and the line of dots will be a curve. The idea is to get the line of dots as near to a vertical line as possible especially close to the normal ride height.

The main advantage of using a laser pointer is that when the wall or card is placed say 3/4m away, the beam is effectively an "optical lever". A very small change in hub angle results in a big movement of the laser spot on the wall or card. The longer this optical lever is the more sensitive the system is to the hub movement. This effect can be magnified further by using a mirror on the hub and aiming the beam from a fixed laser pointer at the mirror. This effectively doubles the angle change in the laser beam.This setup uses light beam rather than a solid pointer as the light beam is weightless. As the optical lever is so long the movement of the laser dot is far greater from the bumpsteer than the movement of the pointer from the hub moving in and out in an arc. The distance to the wall or screen must be large for best effect.
The hub must be clamped or wedged to prevent rotation as it is raised and lowered.
The amount of bumpsteer will be shown by the laser dot not moving in a vertical line.
The rack position should be changed by raising and lowering the rack until the best position is found.

Note that the angle of the metal bars of the wishbones is irrelevant. The actual effective wishbone is the line between the centre of the inner and outer pivots.

To sort out the track rod ends you will need track rod ends of the correct length and taper size so that when fitted the both wheels are pointing straight ahead ahead or adjusted to a a very small amount of toe in. If you find that the track rod ends are not long enough with a sensible number of threads inside then track rod extenders are available. Once you have checked the number of studs on your hubs then you can look up suitable items. You will find track rod ends for Cortina (probably Mk3) and Granada (Mk2) and track rod extenders on the Burton Power website. If you contact them for a shipping quote they will send items to anywhere in the world.

Ford, Cosworth & Lotus Twin Cam Performance Engine Tuning Parts Specialist

Ford, Cosworth & Lotus Twin Cam Performance Engine Tuning Parts Specialist

www.burtonpower.com

I hope this helps
Cheers
Mike

 

[Laurent]

Mike, Jp, Morten & Chris,
All your answers allow me to see things more clearly in one day! thanks a lot,
I'm going to find the right parts and try to rectify all of this!
Cheers
Laurent