Unisteer Rack and Pinion

[Surfmichaels]

Has anyone with the Unisteer Rack and Pinion had any issues? I just bought my Barracuda 3 weeks ago and within 3 weeks of owning it the steering completely failed during a drive, it was terrifying have the steering wheel spin freely while driving but I luckily didn't hit or hurt anything. I managed to get it home by duct taping an allen wrench through the joint, but it was a scary ride back. I can't be sure it was ever properly installed but I did get paper work that showed it was installed at a professional shop about 5 years ago. The pin that connects the steering shaft to the 1st u joint is gone, and the joint also looks pretty mangled at one end (pic below). Question for you guys (and gals) is 1. I am just that unlucky and this is a very rare event? Should I fix it and move on ....or.....2. Has anyone gone from Unisteer back to stock and if so any recommendations towards firm feel or other items like that. I have alot to learn so any advice is appreciated. My goal is to make a this car handle so I can take it to club track events. (My last fun car was a race prepped miata). 

   Thanks

[HP2]

Wow! Glad to hear you and your car are okay. I have not heard of any failures of this type with Unisteer products. It is possible the installers put the wrong pin in and it fell out and you might be able to drill to a new size and put a new pin in. I'd be reluctant to do so myself.

FWIW, the Unisteer conversion does sacrifice turning radius over the stock box. While heavier, a Firm Feel box would probably provide greater peace of mind while retaining a very nice feel and responsiveness.

[Chryco Psycho]

When I was building tube chassis race cars we used a lot of custom steering shafts & couplers , Borgeson was the most common , we Always both pinned & welded the joints to the shaft often tacking over the pin to be sure it will not fall out . I would recommend this approach if you are happy with the steering overall .

[brads70]

Wow sorry to see that! Could have been much worse! Glad all was Ok!
I can almost guarantee you it will steer better if you go back to stock. I'm  betting  it has worse bump steer in it than the stock set up. Reason is with retaining the torsion bars  won't allow the rack to be moved up enough to be effective.
I'd suggest another k-frame , FF stage 3 steering box, FF 1.120 torsion bars , Bilstein RCD shocks and the fast ratio steering arms.

[TROUBLE987]

When I was building tube chassis race cars we used a lot of custom steering shafts & couplers , Borgeson was the most common , we Always both pinned & welded the joints to the shaft often tacking over the pin to be sure it will not fall out . I would recommend this approach if you are happy with the steering overall .

I agree!! I wouldn't set foot in a race car with out it being done..

[Surfmichaels]

Thanks for the info.
I would extend the idea the pinning and welding is a great idea to all cars not just race cars.
I never drove the car before the rack and pinion was put in but I can say that the turn radius is abysmal.
I'll most likely be fixing the existing problem and driving it like that till I have a final solution picked out for the full front end.
No road course racing till alot of work is done so the steering isn't too big of an issue yet.

[Chryco Psycho]

 
I mentioned the pinning & welding on race cars as that is what we built but I agree , it is probably more important to do that on a street car , in a race the chances of killing someone are minimal , on the street  Way more likely !

[HP2]

Plus race cars get regular inspections to catch this stuff before it falls apart. Street cars tyically do not.

[73EStroker]

If I may say so - that Unisteer system looks like it has way too many moving parts prone to failure. Firstly there looks like a column support not there and that double universal link needs another support. Steering is a vital component. Can you not take it back to the worm and gear setup it originally came with?