I have been looking hard at my steering box in the Corolla and was wondering if they share a common problem with most small Jap cars especially Datsun 1600's , which is chassis rail flex under the steering box when turning.

 

This causes the whole steering box to actually move on the chassis rail and give a vagueness to the steering which also felt like bad steering box adjustment/freeplay.

 

My old 1600 was renowned for it until I made up a basic brace that bolted to the top of the steering box and the inner guard.

 

Mine was pretty simple as it consisted of 4mm alloy plate with a right angle and another 4mm plate that bolted to the inner guard. This reduced the flex to almost zero and ended up making the front end feel much more direct in turns.

 

Anyone had any experience with this at all in their Corolla at all ??

 

The reason I ask as I am considering bracing up my steering box and thought I might see if anyone else has noticed this in their car and are looking for a way to fix it.

 

When I first noticed it in the Datto I was going to rush out and pay roughly $100 for a premade one from Datsport or Maddat and when i saw how simple they were I decided to do it myself.

 

A bit of work with a drill and a file and I had a brace that may not have looked like it was CNC'ed from billet alloy but is sure did the job

 

Your thoughts and opinions much appreciated

 

Regards Keith

I have noticed my rail flexes if i dry steer with my semi slicks on. I havn't braced it yet, but i do plan to brace the steering box and incorperate a brace to the master cylinder as my fire wall flexes under heavy braking.

 

Definately worth wile spending the time.

i've had my car over a pit and checked the steering... and yes you can see the rail flex.. not heaps but it does..

i'm interested to see the brace you made. as i have been mulling over it myself.

Hmm good idea, I've never bothered looking at bracing mine because the steering box is sloppier than a 4 buck hooker, but I'm about to swap over to a KE20 box so I might have a think how to do it.

Steering box wear is actually accelerated by the flexing of the steering box on the rail. Plus it creates a weak point on the chassis as well. I will end up doing the brace when I get my suspension sorted out and then I will be looking for a strut brace after that to really tighten up the front end.

Can you throw up some pictures of these braces even the datto ones?

 

Thanks,

Adam