Hi guys. I need to replace my rack and pinion on my 92. Is there much of a difference between the different rebuilt units?

 

when I did mine all the remans (all parts stores and gm re-man)I had seen looked like junk w/bent top lines paint flaking off erc. I ended up taking my original to a steering re-build shop and had them re-do my original ...cost 165.

 

Any update, still happy? Where did you do this, I guess I can ask around for such a shop here in NorCal. Thanks.

 

165 is a good price. I sent mine off to Turn One in Saginaw, MI for a rebuild. They had to re-sleeve it. I don't have it back yet. The price was 360. Nowhere here to do it. I have an 84, but it's similar I am sure.

Dave

 

How did that get up to $360? They advertise $200.

 

They had to send it out to be sleeved which added 160 to the base price. I was sort of committed by that point, so I agreed. I'll post the results when I get it back.

 

The one thing I did notice when I had contacted them is that they don't know how to match up a replacement rack for your year. As I had mentioned mine had a sport steering. I thought it was supposed to be pretty simple. But they had talked that GM changed these things every couple of years. And the only way to know you've got the right rack is to send in yours to be rebuilt vs. doing an exchange.

 

Thats pretty silly...
They don;t use parts numbers or option codes?

The various rack turn rates are well known and documented different parts. Its pretty simple. Same body with a different rack gear. I'd be leary of a shop that claimed to not be able to "figure it out" until you sent it in, gaurenteeing them of the work....

Rebuild/exchanges are available everywhere in the Usual Corvette catalogs online or at the local Vette shop. Most come from Corvette America with warranty. Mine works great and its tighter than the original.

ALl you need to tell them is the turn rate from lock to center. A good Z-51 wheel only turns a little less than 3/4 of a turn to the left or right. The base steering rack is almost twice that. There are a couple versions somewhere in between.

GM offered the different rack rates as options, not because they changed them every couple years.

 

Lee your numbers are off. My Z51 is 2.0 turns lock to lock. Standard is 2.5 turns.

 

Nope...mines slightly less than 1.5 lock to lock. I'd guess it to be about 20 degrees less....around 250 degrees each way. Maybe because I ordered this one...don;t know. I've had other Z51 racks that were right at 3/4 each way, but this one is a little less. Seems to have the full steering range as well.

I can't remember for sure but it seems like the old way of id'ing a Z51 was if it was less than 1 turn from center to hit the lock.....that was a little vague and after Z52 and other suspensions debuted in later yrs it got harder to tell the difference. The differences were more noticable to folks that had opportunity to drive the different cars. Lots of dirt track guys built their cars with these Z racks because of how fast they were which made them ideal for power sliding around a dirt track.

I still get a laugh out of a buddys rustang GT (Gettin Towed I tell him) that has twice the wheel turns as mine...its like having to work to turn a corner...lol when mine does it almost by thinking about it..on the other hand his car does'nt change lanes when he sneezes...

Additional:

I know what that might be BD...
There were a couple yrs where the true Z51 was not actually offered, the Z52 was the "performance" rack for those yrs. I ordered an original 84 Z51 to be certain that I got the tightest fastest rack out of the pile...My original RPO was Z52 but all those componants were swapped out for the heavier duty and stiffer Z51 pieces from earlier yr C4s. Thats probably the difference.

 

I have a "true" 1989 Z51 with the original rack and 3.54 gears. I am perfectly sure about my car as it is all original with 55K miles. Don't know where you got your rack but I am positive about the 2.0 turns lock to lock in my stock 1989. !988 and up standard rack was 2.5 according to the catalogs I have. I don't know about the 1984 it was "oddball" in many ways.

 

Is there only one kind of rack if you have the sport steering (quick ratio)? Mine is an 89 with Z51. According to Ecklers the code is "NS". Turn One made it seem like there were several different types as I was wanting to do an exchange vs. sending mine in for a two week wait.

Here's the article on Turn One rebuilding the rack:

http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/vemp_11...ild/index.html

 

I went out today and 'tried' mine to double check....yep, it turns 3/4 (a hair less) each way then then pressures out. I can force another 1/4 with the relief valve screeching...but my tires are rubbing something at that point anyway...

I've had others that were Z52 that were more around 1+ each way...I cannot recall what the original rack in this car did. This one is an 87. One of the yrs when Z51 was not an opt...just listed as Z52, almost the same thing.

 

When I did mine, I saw that the degree of difficulty in changing ANY of the steering parts was exceptionally high, and decided to go ahead and change all the hoses, new pump and ended up with a new pulley as well. That way I know the hoses are good since you cannot get to them to do a roadside repair should one pop. You can barely get to a couple of the fittings to tighten them...in fact, I tightened mine, THEN secured the pump. That was trial & error to get the hose turned the right way but I know that hose is tight and not rubbing. You have to trim the return hose to fit because it runs about 2 mm's from the pulley edge. Get new tie rod ends too. They're cheap and a new rack won;t feel new if the old tie rod ends are used. Can't remember if I bought this one from O'Riellys or Lonestar.

 

My rack started leaking because I replaced the pressure line. I think the crows foot dug a little too deep in the bellow on the driver side as that is where it started leaking when I bled the system. It's been leaking like that for a while. I was barely able to get that hose tighten back down as it is off at an angle. So you have to use a crows foot and a knuckle in a cramped area.

If I replace the rack, I'd reuse the tie rods. As new tie rods cost almost as much as the rack.

I'll have to check with Turn One to see if they have a rebuilt rack on hand vs. having to send one in and wait two weeks. As I like to replace the part right after removing the old one.

 

HUH ?

I paid $20 each

 

This is exactly what I found.

 

They're around $70 a piece from the parts store. You must have gotten the ultra cheapo tie rods.

Turn One said 88-92 had 4 different racks. Something about the shaft lengths being different. I thought it was either sport or standard. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere.