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240 steering rack

Joined
Oct 25, 2017
Location
Emerald Isle, NC
Hey guys. Not sure if this belongs in the performance section. So my steering rack is trashed. It is missing some splines and just not in good shape. It?s a 93 so it has the cam rack. I?m going to have to swap it out for another rack... should I change to another rack while I?m swapping it out or get another cam rack? Also would it be a good move to get a manual rack? Are they better than the power racks?
 
Whatever you do, don't get a manual rack. They are soooo slow on the steering ratio. It works out to something like 5 turns of the steering wheel lock to lock vs. 3.5 for the power racks.
 
Get a remanufactured rack. Cam are fine. If you have a junkyard nearby that actually has 240s, you're still unlikely to find a good clean rack. I found one on an '85(?) 240, pretty sure it had been rebuilt because it was dry and the boots weren't torn/cracked. Got lucky, only spent about $40 for a rack for my '92.

Manual 240 racks are very slow, about 4.5 turns lock to lock. I put one on my autocross car once, just to pass state inspection, and removed it a week later. Maybe I would get used to it, but the muscle memory of how far to turn the wheel for a given turn made the manual rack annoying and the slowness was felt constantly.

The latest power steering pump on your '93 is my favorite of the three types commonly used. My '90 had the remote reservoir pump and the steering feel was lighter than my '92 (I think). The big saginaw pump used on the pre-85 (b21/23) was SUPER light steering effort and no feel. If you don't like the assist, try removing power steering and drain the rack. Remove the banjo bolts, shove a piece of rubber hose inside each bolt and re-install to keep the dirt out of the rack. I like the feel of non-power, but it's no doubt heavy at low speed.
 
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