The cars are equipped with a trauma-safe steering system with a rack and pinion steering mechanism. This type of steering is compact and simple in design, more technologically advanced in manufacturing and fits well with the front-wheel drive configuration of the car and the transverse arrangement of the power unit. In order to increase passive safety, the steering wheel has a damping element.
The steering system consists of a steering gear and a steering drive.
Steering gear 18 (figure 76) assembled with rods 1 and 8 of the steering gear is attached with two brackets 9 to the front panel of the body. To dampen vibrations, rubber cushions are installed between the crankcase and the panel, as well as on both crankcase supports.
Figure 76. Steering assembly:
1 - steering rod end; 2 - ball joint of the tip; 3 - rotary lever; 4 - nut; 5 - adjusting rod; 6 - left steering rod; 7 - bolts for fastening the steering rods to the rack; 8 - right steering rod; 9 - steering gear mounting bracket; 10 - steering gear support; 11 - protective cover; 12 - connecting plate; 13 - locking plate; 14 - rubber-metal hinge; 15 - sealing ring; 16 - rack support sleeve; 17 - rack; 18 - steering gear housing; 19 - coupling tightening bolt; 20 - plastic coupling; 21 - upper part of the facing casing; 22 - damper; 23 - steering wheel; 24 - ball bearing; 25 - steering shaft; 26 - lower part of the facing casing; 27 - Steering shaft mounting bracket; 28 - protective cap; 29 - roller bearing; 30 - drive gear; 31 - ball bearing; 32 - retaining ring; 33 - protective washer; 34 - sealing ring; 35 - bearing nut; 36 - boot; 37 - stop sealing ring; 38 - retaining ring of the stop nut; 39 - rack stop; 40 - spring; 41 - stop nut; 42 - ball joint pin; 43 - protective cap; 44 - ball joint insert; A - mark on the steering gear housing; B - mark on the boot.
The steering gear housing is cast from an aluminum alloy together with the left support. The drive gear 30 is installed in the housing cavity on a ball 31 and roller 29 bearing. The ball bearing on the gear shaft is fixed with a retaining ring 32. The outer ring of the bearing is pressed against the end of the housing seat with a nut 35, in the groove of which a sealing ring 34 with a protective washer 33 is installed. The nut is locked in the housing with a washer and covered with a boot 36, which is mounted on the drive gear shaft. Marks A and B are made on the steering gear housing and on the boot for correct assembly of the steering gear.
Gear 30 is engaged with rack 17, which is pressed against the gear by spring 40 through metal-ceramic stop 39. This stop is sealed in the housing by rubber ring 37. The spring is pressed by nut 41 with locking ring 38, which prevents the nut from unscrewing. Due to spring-loaded stop 39, gap-free engagement of the gear with the rack is ensured over the entire stroke of the latter. One end of the rack rests on stop 39, and the other on split plastic bushing 16. On the outer surface of the bushing there are grooves in which rubber sealing rings 15 are installed. The rack bushing has three protrusions that enter the sockets of the steering gear housing during its installation, thereby protecting the bushing from axial displacement and from turning.
A protective cap 28 is put on the steering gear housing on the left side, and a pipe with a longitudinal groove is pressed on the right side. Bolts 7 pass through the groove of the pipe and the holes of the protective cover 11, fastening the rods 6 and 8 of the steering gear to the rack. The bolts are connected to each other by a plate 12. Both bolts pass through rubber-metal hinges 14, pressed into the heads of the rod ends. The bolts are fixed by a locking plate 13.
The rack travel is limited on one side by a ring pressed onto the rack, and on the other by the bushing of the rubber-metal hinge 14 of the rod. In this case, both the ring and the bushing rest against the steering gear housing. The cavity of the steering gear housing is protected from contamination by a corrugated cover 11, which is secured with two plastic clamps, as well as a protective cap 28.
The steering shaft 25 is connected to the drive gear 30 by an elastic coupling 20. The upper part of the shaft rests on a radial ball bearing 24 with a plastic sleeve, which is pressed into the bracket tube 27. At the upper end of the shaft, the steering wheel 23 is secured with a nut on splines through a damping element 22.
The bracket 27 for fastening the steering shaft is attached to the body bracket at four points. The connector of the steering column switch is mounted on the bracket tube 27, and the contact part of the horn is fixed to the lower end of the damping element. The steering column switch and the horn switch are covered by a protective casing consisting of an upper 21 and lower 26 parts connected to each other with screws.
The steering gear consists of two horizontal rods 6 and 8 and pivot arms 3 of the telescopic struts of the front suspension. The rods are composite. When adjusting the toe-in of the front wheels, the length of each rod is changed by a tubular rod 5, which is screwed onto the rod ends and locked with nuts 4.
The head of the outer tip contains the parts of the ball joint, consisting of the insert 44 and the ball pin 42, the spring and the protective cap 43. The plastic insert together with the pin is constantly pressed by the spiral spring to the conical surface of the bore of the tip. Due to the presence of a longitudinal cut in the insert, the gap between the insert and the pin is automatically selected. The other end of the spring rests against the plug, rolled into the tip. The cavity of the joint is sealed by the protective cap 43, which enters the bore of the tip with one end, and is tightly placed on the pin 42 with the other.
The pivot arm 3 is welded to the front suspension strut housing. A bushing with a conical hole for the ball joint pin 42 is mounted in it.
The steering gear parts are lubricated with Fiol-1 grease, which is placed in the mechanism housing and on the parts during mechanism assembly, and the ball joint parts are lubricated with SHRB-4 grease, also during assembly. During vehicle operation, the steering parts are not additionally lubricated, except in cases of damage to the protective covers and caps, when it is necessary to disassemble the steering with replacement of grease, caps, covers, and possibly other damaged parts. All these operations should be performed at a service station.