Could someone with a Mk1 Rabbit/Golf or Scirocco take a measurement of their steering rack for me? I need to know the width of the rack between the inner tie rod pivot points. I'm looking for a narrow, rear-steer rack and this one came up. Trying to research all the possible OEM options I could repurpose before just calling up Flaming River or Unisteer and ordering a custom narrowed Omni rack for my project (I need about 20" pivot-to-pivot).
The CarDone reman on RockAuto lists "Rack Length (in)" as 20.63, which seems close, but I'm not sure I trust it, since their measurements for other racks are either way too wide (must include tie rod ends) or way too narrow (not sure what they're measuring). Thanks!
I have a rack but it's a PS version out of a Scirocco 16V. Let me know if that works for you?
In reply to jimbbski :
Interchange says the dimensions should be the same. Thanks!
If you're needing a 20" width then the rack I have (VW Mk I PS rack.) won't work.
I figure about 22" between inner ball joints.
Only way to get a more accurate number would be to remove the boots.
I may have another rack with the boots off, etc. but if I still have it, it's stored away from my house.
Out of the box idea here, I'd look into circle track parts. Specifically Sprint, Dwarf, Modifite Lite and Legend class cars all have relatively narrow front ends and don't use gear box steering like some of the other stock car classes. Speedway is a good source for measurements and new part pricing but if you have roundy-round racers near you used parts are normally dirt cheap.
In reply to jimbbski :
Okay, thanks! The 20.63" measurement for just the rack must be correct then; makes sense that the inner tie rods would add a little width and place the ball and socket joints about 22" apart.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
Thanks! I've looked at those, but they all seem to be for front-steer (steering arms on the front of the spindles). I need a rear-steer rack, unfortunately.
