Still remember there is always a scene back into year 1985, where you can see people driving car get exhausted and frustrated by steering the wheel. I ever saw drivers get wet by their own sweat just because of parking the car, that take up more than couple minutes steering the wheel adjust the car position right.
During that time, not all the car has equipped with power steering, especially Malaysia first manufactured car ‘Proton Saga’ without power steering. The body front car to rear make with ‘steel’, from the eye can judge the car must be very heavy. Yea, It’s total weight is roughly above 1 ton.
credit to canvaource: Canva
Please imagine how a small tiny girl with skinny hand to drive the car? The steering is super duper hard to steer with the total body weight put on the wheels plus the friction force generate from both front tyres with the road? where power steering not as common as now in 2021 almost all the new car equipped with power steering.
A car without power steering now people will not consider to buy it. But it is another way in year 1985, the proton saga price spike from Rm17k to RM 32k, you can get rich by selling your PROTON SAGA. This is how it look
This is talking about the car without any power steering could make your trip miserable, how stiff it was to steer your car only that generation of people will know.
3 types of Land Rover Power Steering – Introduction to the Land Rover Spare Part
Next, we are talking the invention of power steering greatly improve the steering operation. From the words ‘Power Steering’ , power means giving extra boost to system by external energy source to steer your car around. Without power steering design is much easy done by pieces of steel, so the steering will follow where driver’s action well. To make the steering boosted, more mechanism have to be added into steering system.
credit to canva
Until 2021, the most common power steering for all car falling in this 3 types. Even if talk about Land Rover Power Steering also using the same kind of technology, just maybe the Land Rover spare part be different with other car manufacturer.
3 types of Land Rover Power Steering
1. Land Rover Power Steering – Hydraulic Power Steering
2. Land Rover Power Steering – Electro-hydraulic Power Steering
3. Land Rover Power Steering – Electric Power Steering
Easy to guess from the name of the technology, for number 1 and 2 using hydraulic medium to boost the power. The word ‘hydraulic’ can be whatever medium, air, water, oil, and etc. The most appropriate medium to steer your steering still oil. Because of the physical and chemical property of the hydraulic oil, act as lubrication in the steering chamber.
Electric power steering simply mean to assist steering by electric supply, how does it works? Please continue reading to explain more details. I will explain how a simple steering mechanism works.
Let start with the simple steering mechanism, you should at least know the steering system.
credit to DS Auto
This is how a steering system look like, without any power steering mechanism in the system.
THE SIMPLEST STEERING SYSTEM HAVE 3 COMPONENTS (LAND ROVER SPARE PART):
a. Land Rover spare part – Steering Wheel
b. Land Rover spare part – Steering Column
c. Land Rover spare part – Steering Rack
When the driver rotate the steering wheel, the rotating force will transfer to the steering column and result to the motion of the steering rack to turn the tyres.
Hydraulic Power Steering
credit to DS Auto
Hydraulic power steering has a some added part to the steering to boost the steering power. You can find the power steering has hydraulic fluid, steering fluid reservoir, hydraulic pump.
credit to canva
Land Rover spare part – hydraulic power steering reservoir will always fill with hydraulic oil. The reservoir store hydraulic oil and allow the oil keep in circulating in a loop in two way flow to hydraulic pump and steering rack. This oil will carry the pressure generate by the hydraulic pump to the steering rack. Hence, you notice there are two separate hydraulic tubing from the steering column connect one to the left steering rack and another one to the right steering rack.
credit to canva
One piece of steering rack separate into 2 compartment internally. One side to the left rack another site to the right. When the driver intend to make a right turn, the pump will allow more oil to flow to the right rack push the piston out therefore the rack extend to the right hand side. The pump will reduce the oil at the left side of rack, therefore the rack contract. The pump to achieve this action with one thing call rotary valve, to control the amount and direction of oil flow.
credit to canva
This hydraulic pump is powered up by the rotation of car engine. You can follow the engine belt to find this power steering pump located near to the alternator and air-cond compressor.
That’s mean, when you power up your car engine, this pump is continue working together with the engine rotation. Since the pump is running, then you open up the steering hydraulic cap can observe the oil continue circulating without steering the wheel. So when you ask somebody to turn the wheel, you can observe the oil stop circulating, the pump generate pressure transferring the oil to the rack. This kind of design is said to reduce the engine efficiency, because the pump continue dragging the engine speed. You will realize the power steering lost its strength immediately after the engine stop.
Electro-hydraulic Power Steering
Electro-hydraulic power steering 90% same design with hydraulic power steering. The only different is the hydraulic pump is power up by electric motor instead of the engine rotation.
Electric Power Steering
Electric power steering pretty much complicated to explain, you can watch the electrical power steering here.
After knowing so much about the Land Rover power steering. You can find the Land Rover spare part at TS Enterprise.
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