the arms are longer as the mk3 is wider, i would of thought they were the same bar the arms, they look the same and use same subframe so....... people use the arms wishbones etc for widetrackin their mk2 but never heard of them just using the whole rack, mayb i missed them sayin it or wasnt worth changing the lot......? hope u get a definate answer
The U/J has different splines but i'm sure this could be overcome in some way. it is possible the track is wider than the mk2 even in gti form & its something i'm looking into as the mk2 rack on mine has given me alot of toe-out!!! (mk3 subframe with mk2 wishbones) might have to measure the 2 subframes together as this is the only difference i can think of.
The Mk3 Rack Is A Straight Swop For The Mk2. Only The Vr6 Golf Has The Wider Track. The Splines On The Mk3 Rack Are Tighter For Improved Steering. The Union May Have Tighter Splines But Only On The Rack End. Use The Union Joint From The Mk3 Also Onto Your Mk2 Steering Column.
Thx Develeski, thats what I wanted to hear..I want to put power steering on my Mk2...I bought a mk3 rack but the steering arms were cut off with an angle grinder so I have no way to compare lengths. I heard you needed to put the mk2 arms on but they are a different fit. I will buy some new mk3 arms this week and report back. You are right about the splines not matching up at the end of the steering column. I am also buying a mk3 UJ.
Mmmm cant make that work. They have different fitting. It seems the small engine 1.4 mk3 golf has a ps rack with the same arms as the mk2. The rack has a threaded end which the rod end screws over. But the gti rack is different. Here the steering rod end is threaded and it screws into the rack. its the other way round. Totally stuck now. I seem to be going down an expensive road buying more and more bit I dont need, with no progress at all. I have new mk 3 arms on the mk3 rack now and they are about 5cm too long. Mk2 ones are totally different and do not fit. Thinking about cutting and welding to make them shorter but that seems like a right bodge job. Has anyone actually done this and can they post some pics. Help appreciated.
Thanks John...from another thread it seems you have given me the answer.. the Power steering rods on mk2 and power steering rods on the mk3 racks have one type of connection and the non power steering have another...so i was trying to fit non PS from mk2 to PS from Mk3. will try and get some ps mk2 rods tomoz...
yes as I say, for power steering rack you use mk2 pas arms, for non-pas you use non-pas arms. 1.4 could be manual steering as its base spec, easy to tell if its pas there will be 2 holes in the back of the pinion housing for the pipes, plus a loop pipe on the front to allow fluid to circulate. Though I just realised am assuming you are RHD, if you're LHD what you might be seeing is TRW vs ZF make racks. Good thread here about it: https://www.clubgti.com/forums/index.php?threads/285311 You only get TRW make RHD racks so thats something we dont have to worry about in the UK
Got there. The mk2 arms for power steering and non power steering are of course different. Even the guy at the car spares shop got confused and ordered the wrong ones even though I pointed at his screen and said "want that one". So Mk2 are shorter and are now fitted with mk2 ends. So Ive gone for a mk3 rack, resevoir and mk3 pipework which all match up with the mk3 pump on the 2E engine thats gone in. It is LHD but all seems to work finally...just got to attach the resevoir to the chassis rail somehow... Thanks Guys
Oh and I used a Mk3 universal joint as the splines on the racks are different. The end of the steering columns are the same on both mk2 and mk3 so the mk3 UJ mates them up nicely. Last thing I found the rubber boot on the mk3 does not fit the hole in the bulk head on the mk2 so I kept the Mk2 one. It is a bit loose where it goes onto the mk3 rack so I will prob end up putting a circlip on it or wiring it to keep water out but its not far off. At least its not too small to go over the rack cos that would spoil it big time.
