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Maximilian · Alfasud Joined: 04 Apr 2003 Posts: 39 Location: London, UK

I was thinking that there are lots of Series 3 33's at breakers yards.

I think that all UK S3's came with powered steering. How hard would it be to fit this system to my carb 1.7 Sprint?

Does the PAS get power through the alternator belt? Is fitting the extra wheel a difficult job?

What parts would I need to take from the donor car, and what would the process be for me to fit it to my car? Are there different PAS systems that were fitted to the cars?

Also, will this spoil the steering feel on my car at all??

I absolutely love the feel of my car when driving along, but it's a bit of a handful at parking speed. I thought that this might be a worthwhile improvement.

And another thing, are the PAS racks any quicker than what I have?
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1988 Sprint 1.7 QV (35,000 miles)

Ken McCarthy · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2003 11:34 pm Post subject:

I fitted power steering to my Sprint but it was part of an overall upgrade to 16V from a Series 3 33. The main issues are:

Opening in the firewall is larger. the firewall is double skinned here as it becomes the support for the rear mount of the lower suspension arm. The cars with power steering from the factory have a ring shaped (not quite round) spacer between the two skins. I used tube spacers for the fixing bolts (4 or five I think) and it seems OK.

I replaced the whole steering column. You would need to check that the old column can connect at the steering box spigot or one of the universal joints. The steering column mounting in the cabin was not a simple job.

Power steering pump goes on the front of the engine and drives off the crankshaft pulley. The 16V engine has a 3 groove pulley so this is not a problem. But the pump will clash with the radiator fan. I moved the radiator forward about 50mm and fitted two flat fans behind. It all just fits.

Hope this helps.

Regards
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Ken McCarthy - 16V Sprint

Admin · Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2003 8:31 pm Post subject:

Hi

I have been told that the p/s column has a different number of splines to the non p/s column.

You should be able to nab the front pulley wheel off a series 3 p/s car.

Biggest problem is likely to be that the standard Sprint engine will not have the drilled and tappen holes for the mounts of the power steering pump

All the best

Keith