Felicia power steering retro-fit thread

[felicia16v]

ok the felicia subframe is really different, the points where the wishbones bolt to the floor are different as on the fav both rear mounting bolts go thru the subframe, the whole thing is stronger tho,

best option is to make the rack fit the fav subframe, the mounts are in the right place but the power rack uses 10mmbolts to mount it instead of 8mm ones

[WeekendMechanic]

ok the felicia subframe is really different, the points where the wishbones bolt to the floor are different as on the fav both rear mounting bolts go thru the subframe, the whole thing is stronger tho,

best option is to make the rack fit the fav subframe, the mounts are in the right place but the power rack uses 10mmbolts to mount it instead of 8mm ones

Just replace bolts does not sound that difficult,thanks felicia16v,anything else that would need modifying?

Edited 28 January, 2010 by WeekendMechanic

[felicia16v]

i am sure that as you have the mechanical ability to fit a different engine to your fav , that fitting the power steering will be no probs,

can you easily fit a pump to your engine?

mine on the rally car uses an electric pump to supply the rack (from a peugeot/cireon) and is switched via a heavy duty relay..

i would replace the captive nuts on the subframe with 10mm ones and maybe weld a bit of reinforcing around the mounts too while you are there, you may need to adjust the hole in the floor/bulkhead so that the steering knuckle clears it ok as mine rubbed slightly but fixed with a big hammer and a punch..

we still need some pics tho

[Ben Cordy]

TeflonTom really good work, I just realised why my dad's felicia is so much easier to drive, he's is a few months newer than mine and so has the power steering rack in place. How much do you reckon it's cost over all? I'm interested in giving it a go myself.

[TeflonTom]

i reckon all in it cost me less than £100 including all the fluids etc, but that does depend on how cheap you can get the bits from a breaker..

also i'm not familiar with the belt/pump/bracket arrangment on the skoda 1300 engines, but djay or felicia16v will be able to shed some light on that

[VWD]

So ,from Haynes it looks like certain models didn't have power steering - like the 1.3's .

Any opinions of how the non power versions feel ?

[TeflonTom]

yes quite right, power-steering wasn't fitted to some spec levels, my last 1.6 hatchback didn't have it, and my pickup obvisouly didn't otherwise this thread wouldn't exist..

i suppose it all comes down to what you are used to, personally i hate cars without pas, the felicia is a lot more chuckable with power steering, you can drive it right on the edge of it's grip abilities without straining your arms all the time...

[cat54]

Wow this all looks really complicated - good luck with it all hope it works well for you.

[TeflonTom]

^^? well it's been fitted and running for near on a year now without any poblems, the second hand pump i fitted at the time is starting to get a bit noisy though, might be just the cold weather tbh

[sheldonep91]

i need the plastic part where the stalks fit into for the power steering one as the non power steering part doesn't fit! any chance you got an extra one for sale mate?

this,

also, did you use your original steering wheel? as there seems to be a bush on the power steering column that wont allow the old steering to be fitted unless its removed!

[sheldonep91]

Tom, how did you manage to use the old steering wheel? or did you use the steering wheel that was on the power steering column?

I cant use the old steering wheel with the PAS column.. unless i remove the part where the stalks fit. nowim looking for a steering wheel off a PAS one...

something to point out for someone changing to PAS:)

[feliciaman]

When I bought my Felly I commented to the 'dealer' that the steering felt a bit heavy, only being used to PAS-equipped vehicles and he said he would check the tyre pressures before I collected it. When I returned to drive it home, the steering felt as light as a feather - too light, really.

So the next day I checked the tyre pressures and the &%$*# had only jacked them up to 90psi! No wonder the steering felt as light as if it had PAS!

The result was one tyre was losing air out of a perished spilt in the sidewall - they could have exploded and if the roads had been wet on the way home I would probably have had almost nil grip and spudded into a tree or an oncoming vehicle!

The thermostat was also missing - mountings broken off. Fixed that ok and bought four new budget tyres. I did not bother going back to the toerag who sold me the car, which is otherwise fine - apart from the temp gauge oscillating around the centre mark.

[uma1998]

i converted mine to pas and all i changed was collom used my old stuff on it only thing i had to change over was air bag ring on my leather golf sterring wheel as golf one never turned indicators off

[gurmin]

Hi teflontom just bought my first skoda pickup 1.3 1998 i love it gonna be used to transport my mountain bikes but i forgot how hard it is with out p a s and my missus will drive it from time to time so i was thinking of giving this ago basicly all i require is the p a s from another 1.3 feli and job done or am i missing something here thanks

[TeflonTom]

Yes try and find a donor car in a breakers yard, you will need the rack and column, all the power steering pipes and reservoir, plus the pump and brackets off the engine. Might even be worth buying the whole car as an mot failure or whatever if it's cheap enough.

[Bete Noir]

I realise this is an old thread, but I have just fitted power steering to my 1.3 pick-up, and I discovered a couple of things which are not on this thread.

The steering rack bolts can be removed and replaced without dropping the subframe, using various combinations of socket lengths and wobbly extensions to get to the rear bolts. It is not easy, but it is possible.

My pick-up had a 4 rib aux belt, and the power steering uses a 6 rib belt. I robbed the PAS pump and bracket (plus the alternator) off a Felicia Magic I was breaking, but I only realised I also needed the water pump and crankshaft pulley after I had scrapped the car :(. Without them, the pulleys do not align properly, and the belt has a tendency to work its way off the water pump pulley. If anyone has a 6 rib crankshaft pulley please get in touch .

[automobilova]

Hello Chaps!

I want to bring this tread back to like (It doesn t mean it was dead)

Interesting conversion to power steering. I guess for todays drivers it is a must have, unless your car will be a collectible in pristine condition.  I drive since brand new, a 1.3 Felicia Carburator from 1996.  It runs fine and I m thinking about the power steering.

Normal steering is indeed pretty heavy and car could be more enjoyable with this improvement.

 

Once you get the rack and the column, what abour an electro power steering adaption?  Is it possible?  

How much will the parts could cost?

 

I m in Colombia (South America) and it will be possible to collect the parts here. A lot of Felicias arrived during the late 90s, but maybe a few 1.6 with power steering.  Just in case i could not get the parts here, is there any breaker/ Junkyard that can suppy and send from UK or Europe?

 

At last.. one little important detail:  Car is LHD  (Wrong side for britain )

 

 

[automobilova]

Hello folks.

I ve just read that last post was mine almost a 9 months ago.

 

Well, let s begin by the end.  I did the retrofit of power steering to my 1996 1.3 Felicia (carburetor).   Thanks to TeflonTom for all this deatailed infp posted.

My car goes around 225K km and I don´t think it was a waste of money.  Driving a car in a  traffic conditions and streets such Bogota is very difficult and this gives you confort in a very discrete (reliable and lovely)  car!!

 

 

Ok. Few months ago i came across with a 1.6 Felicia that was parting out.  I got all the power steering :  Rack, Column, Steering wheel, Reservoir, Pump, hoses, tubes and  etc.

The 1.3 lier engine never came to Colombia with power steering , but according to some people some 1.3 with injection came with power steering. (not verifyied) .

 

Work took about 1 week.  

1. Dismounting the manual/mechanic steering system.

2. Installing the rack and column, reservoir and hoses.

3. The difficult part: IKeep the original pulleys  of alternator, water pump and chrankshaft .  Crankshaft  pulley is not easy to change and difficult to get.  So we decided not to use the original  steering pump from the 1.6. Take into account that there is nt to much room to fit wider pulleys for the 1.3 engine. And changing pulleys are costly.  The solution was to mount the pump from an Audi A4 (B5)   or VW Passat.  Part code is 7849701 or 8DO145155 made by ZF.  This pump fitted perfectly bellow the alternator.  Some modifications were made such a brcket to hold the pump and other minor components. As well a tensor for the belt.

4. Belt is V Shaped and runs smoothly.

5. To compensate the engine revs it is set close to 900rpm.

 

Of couse the  original old steering wheel does not fit.  The one from the donor was mounted and requires plastic covers on the column from the 1.6 also.