Steering rack questions

[sujitroy]

I had a chat with my go-to man, Terry, about the steering rack. I was successfully able to rebuild and test an unknown rack from a Mk2 parts car. I rebuilt it about 19 years back, but after installing it, I had no power. I rebuilt my original Mk1 rack and it worked. To cut a long story short, I rebuilt the spool valve incorrectly and this time, with photos was able to get the rack to work.
The first thing I noticed was the the steering with this mk2 rack is heavier to turn than the rack on my Mk1. Terry mentioned the Mk2 torsion bar is thicker and hence requires more force to turn. This Mk2 rack feels a lot better and I'm wondering if anyone has figured out how to tell visually, to tell the difference between a Mk1 rack and a Mk2 rack. (I'm aware the control valve for the mk1 rack came in two flavors)

On a side note , the rack repair kits contain way more bits that were not used, they cover the two types of control units. In both rack rebuilds, I didn't replace the teflon seals. O rings are readily available.
Now that I've successfully rebuilt two racks. My current Mk1 is due for a rebuild after 20 years, and paying 20 quid for a rebuild kit is a bit excessive.
If I remember from memory, there are only two seals which are unique to the rack. Does anyone know the source where these kits come from?


Sujit

[trunt]

So I looked at my pictures and remember something different about them that prevented me from mixing and matching as far as the 2 control pieces go.

The picture below has the Mk1 on the left, Mk2 on the right, aside from the obvious differences (3 holes vs 2 holes) note where the roll pins are inserted at the top and bottom. One is 90 degrees different to the other.. MAYBE that could be something to identify a Mk1?? we would need others to confirm that though..

(The torque rod has the roll pin holes 90 degrees apart so would fit either)

Terry

IMG_1384.JPG

[PJB]

Be nice to think the parts manual would answer your question and show any different models/parts .... mine isn't handy to check unfortunately.