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Felicia power steering retro-fit thread


TeflonTom

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ok folks, i've been thinking about this for a while now as the ole' pickup is fairly heavy on the steering i've started to assemble some of the bits i need

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1. power steering rack

2. steering column from power steering model

3. fuid resovoir

4. power steering hydraulic hoses, 3 in total (they are model specific. ie. if you have a 1300 you need the hoses from a 1300)

5. power steering pump and mounting bracket( again model specific)

6. a new set of the 3 sheer bolts for the ignition barrel

7. mounting saddles and bushes for power steering rack

i've managed to get this lot from a breaker for £50, but i still need a hose to go from the pump to the rack, also i'm using a 16v polo engine so i couldn't use a felicia pump so i've got a pas pump from ebay for £10. the set of sheer bolts was £5 from the dealer

more on this later, any questions just ask

Edited by TeflonTom
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100_0511.jpg

power steering pump from a 16v polo, the threaded union at the top is the outlet which normally takes a banjo fitting, this high pressure pipe goes to the inlet on the rack(smaller union)

the pipe on the right here is the intake which comes along the bottom of the radiator via a pipe from the left hand union on the resovoir tank

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  • 3 weeks later...

right, i've actually finished the power steering transplant now, but because the site has been down for a while i've not updated the thread here

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ok, here's the difference in the base of the steering columns, power(left), manual(right), as you can see the splines are totally different and they wont interchange... on one you can see the through bolt that secures the column to the rack gear

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here you can see the steering racks side by side, on he power rack (bottom) there is 2 fluid unions with banjo bolts in them, they are different sizes, the smaller one(left) is the inlet which comes from the oulet on the pump via a high pressure hose, the larger union(right) is the outlet which returns fluid back to the right hand union on the resovoir via a low pressure hose

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i'm not going to go into too much detail with the actual process of fitting it all in, there's a rule of thumb that says, if you need to ask how it's done then you shouldn't be attempting it so i will keep it fairly brief, the scope of this thread is just to prove it is possible using oe parts

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first remove the foot rest and the shield from the base of the steering column to gain access to the pinch bolt (11mm spanner) which secures the column to the rack, i found that the spline was a very tight fit after all the years it's been on there so it needed some pretty hefty leverage to pull it off.

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take off the plastic trim under the steering column and disconnect the wiring harnesses from the stalks/switches and horn slip ring etc, to get better access to the ignition switch i removed the screws from the bottom edge of the lower dashboard. undo the bolts that hold the column to the body (14mm socket) and lower it down, make sure you make a note of the wiring/connections on the ignition switch before you take off the terminals, to make it easier the ignition switch terminals are numbered, and also carefully release the immobilizer reader coil from the barrel and tuck it up out of the way.... then the column should come out.

Edited by TeflonTom
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100_0515.jpg

sorry for the dodgy pic (i'll upload a better one soon).... working under the car, remove the gear linkage from the gearbox end for better access, sometimes it's easier to have an assistant hold the gearstick whilst you knock out the linkage roll pin to stop it bouncing.

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also remove the through bolt from the rear engine mounting (2x 16mm spanner)... at this stage you may need to also take off the front exhaust section to lower it down out of the way for better access.

Edited by TeflonTom
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100_0517.jpg

next remove the track rod ends from the swivel hubs, they are normally castle nuts (19mm spanner) which are retained by a split pin, so you will need 2 new split pins on reassemby, or do what i did and fit new track rod ends.... these can be fairly well siezed in depending on how long they've been in there, so a ball joint splitter may be required to lever them out, but in the absense of a joint splitter, screw the castle nut back on a few turns to protect the thread then give it a good beating with a large hammer right on the point then the red arrow is pointing to and the should pop out after a few heavy thumps

Edited by TeflonTom
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it is now necessary to lower the subframe down to gain access to the mounting bolts for the steering rack,

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you will need a decent quality trolley jack for this, place the jack somewhere near the centre of the front subframe and just raise it up so it touches the frame.

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there are 6 bolts in total holding the subframe up to the chassis (3 per side) the first one shown above can also be access through a hole in the centre of the track control arms from underneath via a long extension bar. you will need a 16mm socket

the other 2 also double as the retaining bolts for the rear of the track control arms

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the other 3 bolts are in the same place on the other side of the car (mirror image) it's worth noting that the threads/bolts for the subframe are a non-standard pitch too in case you strip/crossthread one like I did, it's an M10x1.25 if you need to re-tap them

Edited by TeflonTom
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once the subframe mounting bolts are removed you can carefully lower down the frame till you can access the steering rack mountings. there are 4 bolts in total (14mm socket)

100_0526.jpg

i found it easier to undo the rear-most bolts from the sides like this. also as seen here it is only necessary to drop the subframe about 8-10cm to get enough room, also i found the best way to remove the rack is to lift it out through the side too...

when the power rack is in place you can now raise the subframe back into position and refit the bolts, put the bolts in by hand first, you might need to re-slacken some and re-position the frame till it aligns with the holes properly.

Edited by TeflonTom
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ok, now in the interest of keeping my original ignition key it is necessary to use my existing lock barrel from the original steering column. the lock barrel and steering lock are held to the column by sheer bolts, basically you wind them in till they snap off!!. i decided to mark a centre point in them and drill them with a 2mm drill to make a pilot hole, then progressed to a larger 6mm drill, you dont need to go all the way through, just enough for the head to break off the bolt, once the head is broken off the 2 halves split and the remainder of the bolt thread can be wound out with mole grips

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it is not necessary to remove the switch block/barrel from the steering lock assembly for this... but it is a good idea to renew the switch block at this stage if yours is getting dodgy. the steering lock from the manual column is a direct interchange onto the power steering column.

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at this stage i've only fitted the steering lock sheer bolts loosely till i was sure that the alignment with the hole in the dash for the key was correct, also referring to the earlier notes on the ignition switch connections

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connect it all back up and fit in the new power steering column making sure all the spacers and washers go back to thier correct positions too, after this is done it's time to wind in the sheer bolts properly turn each 1/2 a turn at a time progressively till that snap off, now re-fit the trims etc, then refit the pedal foot rest..

Edited by TeflonTom
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now the tricky bits are done it's time to do the easy bits... no brackets are required for the resovoir tank, the mounting holes are pre-drilled in the front lock panel on all felicia's

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it is held on by 3 self tapping screws (8mm socket), it would also be possible to use a resovoir from a 6n polo as an alternative, they have the same mounting holes too.

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ok, the engine that's in my pickup came from a car that originally had power steering and aircon, this would have caused me a head-ache in finding a belt that is the correct length so i opted to completely ditch the whole aircon/pas bracket off my existing engine and find someting more suitable, obviously this does not apply to those who want to fit power steering to a skoda 1300 engine, but is aimed vw engined cars

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i had a scout round the breakers yard and found a seat arosa 1.0 with power steering which i whipped the bracket and belt off for £5, this model has the alternator at the top and the steering pump at the bottom and also has a automatic spring loaded belt tensioner, it also means a 'standard' relplacement belt can be found easily from a motor factor... it is also worth noting that the pumps from a 6n polo will fit too and are interchangable but some dont have a banjo fitting and have a flare nut fitting instead. also on the aircon models the steering pump sits higher up with the aircon compressor at the bottom and the steering pump is rotated round 90 degrees on it's axis so that the outlet union faces front instead of up

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right i seem to have mis-laid a few photo's but i dont need to show you how to fit the hoses on, the only general advice i would give is make sure you fit new sealing washers to all of the unions..

once the hoses are on, it's a simple job of filling up the system with the correct mineral based steering fluid, you only need about 1 litre to fill the whole system, the mineral based fluid can be bought from german & swedish for about £7..... DO NOT use ATF fluid..

once fluid is in you need to bleed the system. with the engine running at idle speed and the front wheels off the floor, remove the steering resovoir cap and keep turning the steering from lock to lock to purge the air out... dont hold the steering on full lock for a prolonged period otherwise the fluid will boil over plus it puts the pump under a lot of strain..

word out...

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You make it look so easy Tom!

When you gonna do this to my car?! hehe

I can live without power steering but it would obviously be nice to have it.

Nice write up too.

Phil

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tbh phil it is easy, it's only a machine at the end of the day!!! fwiw i dont think it's worth doing it to a car, you'd be better off going out and buying one with power steering to start with. it's fine if you can do all the work yourself like me because it doesn't cost you anything, the cost of all the parts for mine came to less than £100 from breakers but it's the labour charges that would make this prohibitive for people

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hehe... yeh I think that is the key skill here!

It is perfectly withing my DIY skills actually it would just take a while with all the faffy little bits and getting seized bolts off etc probably.

The one thing that I have always wanted my felly to have is aircon but that's even more complicated and out of the question! lol

Good work though... a 1400 16v 100hp pickup now with power steering.

Btw... you need to clean the inside of it! Bit dusty! :)

Phil

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The one thing that I have always wanted my felly to have is aircon but that's even more complicated and out of the question! lol

it's funny you mention that, watch this space!!!!!

Btw... you need to clean the inside of it! Bit dusty! :)

nah, it gives it more charm

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it's funny you mention that, watch this space!!!!!

nah, it gives it more charm

Shall I fetch mine down then and you can do them both in tandem! heheYeh... charm is that what is is!? Kim and Aggie wouldn't agree I'm sure... think of all that bacteria. :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

ok, i've been having a good look round the engine bay today for any leaks and/or faults and the only thing i can think of to add to this is that you should make sure the power steering hoses are routed well away from the clutch cable where they go into the rack, there's not much space in there to play with now, also the cable for the lambda probe is quite close and may be a problem as the steering hoses can potentially get quite hot, but most lambda probes have a kind metalic over-sheath somewhere on the cable that can often be moved by snipping off the cables ties and moving it

Edited by TeflonTom
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  • 1 month later...

Does anyone know if this would be an Easy fit to a Favorit?

possibly but you would have to fit the rack to your existing x-member, the felicia column should fit so i dont see why not really

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