Junk yard Rack and Pinion???

[ebfabman]

Anyone tell me what rack and pinions are the best candidates for our trucks with the stock crossmember and stock control arms? I know it takes fabricating a mounting system and all. I'd like to know from those who are familiar with steering/front suspension systems, what OE rack comes CLOSE to preferred steering geometry for these GM trucks?

Thanks in advance!

[PanelDeland]

I've been hoping someone would come up with a R/P for the stock crossmember.I will be watching to see what you come up with.

[ebfabman]

Thanks PanelDeland. I don't give up very easy.......I'll keep diggin...that a promise

[Scot_Douglas]

If you look at my build thread - I think you could get away with the rack I used with not much difficulty - 1987 T-Bird R&P.

I had to do some silly stuff - but I think it was more a result of sectioning 2" out of my front crossmember.

[ebfabman]

Thanks Scot, and I have looked at your build. Isn't the T-bird r&p the same as the mustang ll ??? How is the geometry w/your set up? Have you been able to measure bumpsteer? How did install of the r&p affect ackerman?

[rob32472]

Eb, wouldn't it be more likely that any "tow out" would be caused by bumpsteer instead of in turns with this setup?

[Scot_Douglas]

The T-bird rack is the same dimensions, inner tierod pivot to the other, (IIRC) 25 or 25.5". Benefit to the 'bird rack is that is has better seals AND you can find it rebuilt for $75-$85; even with a $50 core charge - you're still cheaper than any MII rack I could find.

Added bonus, you can spend a bit more and get the turbo coupe rack and get a tighter (2.5:1) ratio. I decided to start out with the 3:1 ratio of the "regular" rack.

As mounted, I get about one degree total toe change over the full travel - that shouldn't be a problem. Ackerman isn't the greatest, but it is because of my mods and where the rack ended up placed. As it is, it isn't bad - and until I find out myself - just how bad is a poor ackerman angle on the street? I know what all the textbooks say - I own most of them, but I'm willing to say that I'll notice the reduced ackerman less than some would have you believe. Unless I'm at the track, or pushing my vehicle in the rain - but those are trade offs I made to have a rack instead of a bunch of TRE monkey motion and a loose OEM steering box.

[ebfabman]

The inner pivots on my stock 72 are 23.5 inches. Your bumpsteer sounds good. I think ackerman is important especially with todays smaller parking lots/spaces. I see a lot of tire left on the gound in the turns. I think mostly highway driving, no biggie, but for an in town driver, good ackerman is a tire saver. Thoughts???

[Scot_Douglas]

Originally Posted by ebfabman

The inner pivots on my stock 72 are 23.5 inches. Your bumpsteer sounds good. I think ackerman is important especially with todays smaller parking lots/spaces. I see a lot of tire left on the gound in the turns. I think mostly highway driving, no biggie, but for an in town driver, good ackerman is a tire saver. Thoughts???

I'll let you know after the first drive. Hopefully by this weekend, I'll be under its own power.

The center link pivots sit lower than I wanted my rack to be mounted; the higher up you go, the further out your pivots need to be. Also, the T-bird rack seemed to be the most economical rack with the smallest "pivot distance".

[ebfabman]

do you have any specs on other racks that might work?

[Scot_Douglas]

Sorry to say, no. I didn't find much info on steering racks when I was looking. I spent about a month searching in my spare time - not like I could pop down to the local FAPS and measure what they stock - because nobody seems to stock R&P.