Hi guys, I've got an 85 GSL-SE with loose steering, posted in the past and you guys recommended checking all the components - I did, they are good. I'm afraid its the gear in the steering box (which they dont make anymore).


The QUESTION - I came across this site that claims to rebuild the units, has anymore had any experience with them?


https://www.carsteering.com/buynow/1...R?crid=2480898

 

I sent my manual steering box to a place called powersteering.com. It's about $300 to rebuild. Still waiting for it to come back, it takes one to two weeks. Not sure what they charge to rebuild power steering box.

 

if you click on the link it shows $525

 

Hey, once you get the manual box back I'd love to get your impressions on it. I could probably do without a rebuild but that price isn't bad.

 

I just ordered a used box with only 73K on it, hoping it's tighter than mine with 140K on it

 

Is it "loose" or does it wander?

Recirc ball steering always has a kind of springy feel as you feed load into it. If the car wanders, that isn't a steering problem, that is a suspension problem. Rear-steer vehicles like ours are painfully sensitive to any looseness in the control arm bushings (and no, you do not want poly bushings, because they have looseness by design) and the suspension geometry in general does not tolerate certain kinds of tires.

Any time I have seen a bad box, it was because somebody was screwing with it and they damaged it from overtightening the adjustments. My '81's box has less play than the rack and pinion setup in my '84, but the "feel" is a lot different. The '81 is a little springy as load builds, the '84 is more like slop ending in a concrete barrier. The trick is the '81 tracks straight and does not wander, because the alignment is good (1/2 degree positive camber, you do NOT want negative camber!) and the wheel bearings are well adjusted.

 

what is described in this video is the problem I'm having but we have adjusted all we can and still no good

 

I looked at (most of) the video, I like that guy. He is only adjusting what he is calling the preload. On the 85 you have the box with the 2 adjusters on top. The flatblade/14mm adjusts the preload on the sector shaft bearing and the plg with the 4 holes adjusts how closely the teeth mesh between the recirculating-ball nut and the sector shaft gear teeth.

This is great thread: https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...7-gsl-1114116/
And this is my short take on the steps: https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati.../#post12486422

 

For those, like me, who wondered what the "recirculating" part of recirculating ball steering meant, check out this Youtube video. Clears up a lot of what's going on inside the worm part of the steering box.

 

birksc = did you back your steering box and was it any better? thanks!

 

My steering has about 3 inches of play but the car does not wander . Never adjusted the box. My biggest improvment to the steering wws nee tie rods and a moog idler arm but thats NLA and worth an insane amount of cash for what was a 50-90$ peice.

 

Peejay, why not negative camber? I also have an 81 and curious why negative camber would make the car be twitchy. I know that toe out would do that, but camber?