Loose MII/Pinto steering rack
 

I cheeped out when I purchased my steering rack. It's a Carquest rebuilt, 3 bolt mount, million turn to lock unit of unknown ratio. When it was new and before installed it seemed tight in relation to any slop between the rack and pinion gears. When I first drove the car it seemed to have a little play/looseness but it wasn't bad enough to pursue. Now 3000 miles later I can move the steering wheel 2" side to side without any steering change. This doesn't make for very sporty handling.

It's visually obvious the slack was in the steering gear so I finally removed the top cover to investigate. I found a nylon/plastic disk that seems to hold pressure against the rack and pinion gear. This Nylon disk has a spring on top
that wedges against the top cover. This apparently allows the pinion gear to slightly ride away and off the rack gear under steering pressure as the spring compresses against the cover.

I was inclined to remove the spring altogether and replace it with a stack of washers but I didn't do so because I figured it has to be there for a reason
so I just added a couple of washers under the spring to make it extra tight. After reassembly I took the car for a drive and wow what a difference. The car steers great and has no more play/looseness.

So now for the questions.

Are all of these racks built that way?

What is the purpose of the spring?

Do you think my modification will cause any problems?

Why couldn't I ditch the spring altogether?

I know I should probably get a Flamming River or some other high end priced rack.

Thanks

Al

The Early Pinto 71-73 used the rack with 2 mounting ears, the later ones had 3 and were carried into the Mustang II from 74-78. The nylon piece you speak of is intended to be forced against the back of the rack and force it into the pinion at a predetermined constant pressure created by the spring rate, to eliminate the play you have encountered. If the nylon piece wears (becoming shorter) it will then reduce the pressure (because of a shorter combined length of spring and nylon piece) and allow the rack to be forced away from the pinion when the wheel is turned. Rebuilt racks are typically "Cores" collected from wrecking yards, that are cleaned, may have new boots installed and lubricant installed. Generally NONE of the internal parts are replaced, because it is too labor intense. Torn boots are one of the most common problems on a rack causing it to loose lubrication and without repair will accelerate the wear rate. Some of the English made racks use a brass Foot instead of nylon. The spring cannot be discarded. Be certain the installed length you ended up with will not put the rack in a bind with the pinion.

buy yourself a Flaming River rack and throw away the stock rack, it cost about $150.00, my stock rack kept hanging up, Flaming River racks are great

That's what I did. After about 5 years my rack was getting a bit 'squirrelly'. I threw it away and got the Flaming River. It was a great move.

Roscoe

Amen on the flaming river rack.