This should probably be archived then...

 

long outdated, but ITS FRIGGIN HARD TO FIND A M16 1.5 PITCH IN 15MM.

Lowes or home depot don't even have a bolt size of m12 in 15mm either... i got a 50mm, if its too long, i just plan on cutting it off.

im still on a search to find a m16 1.5pitch thats 15mm.

anybody know where they can help me find one online or something?

 

JB weld the original fitting and replace it.

 

I thought I should pitch in to say that if you look in the archives for the 2ng gen section where I tell you how to do this "properly".

My only regret was that I didn't take the PS off sooner.

 

I did this a few months ago. I cut and looped the lines on the rack. I left the rack full, but didn't add any fluid to fill the hose section I added to the middle. I used short bolts to fill the rack line holes in the valve assembly and backfilled the cooler line with JB Weld before reinstalling. I thought it was kinda stiff at first, but I have had no trouble since then and can't imagine going back. We'll see if I still feel good about it after I've AutoX'ed it with slicks, but for now I love it.

 

^^ im surprised you didnt blow your loop line apart, as i had to drain most of the fluid to get mine to work right

also you can use a pipe plug to plug the hole. im not sure on the exact size, but it was a very common brass pipe plug that you can get anywhere.

pat

 

My car is an 86 sport, if i'm correct in my facts, They came standard without powersteering, right?

 

weekend project!

 

I'm kind of surprised others are having trouble blowing out their loop lines. I wonder what's causing it? It seems to me that it should take the same amount of fluid to move the rack in either direction and that the vacuum from one side should cancel the pressure from the other. Since I cut the two lines on the rack body, I expected to use the rubber hose as a non-pressurized return. It hasn't leaked a drop in 5K miles now so I'm happy!

 

Pics would be amazing. I am thinking about doing this, but i dont really trust myself without pics.

 

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-gen-archive-72/how-de-power-your-steering-rack-right-way-440198/

See this, it's the right way to do it. It's a little more work, but it's worth it. You will be able to feel a difference, more feel and less effort vs. looped lines.

 

Agreed. Gutting and greasing the rack is the best. I'll be doing this and a bunch of other handling upgrades this Spring.
The fittings on the rack are pretty restrictive and probably act as a bit of a steering damper, slowing response at low speed and numbing feedback a bit. Feedback is definately improved over stock and the weight honestly doesn't feel bad. Maybe a tiny bit heavy under 15mph, but not at all hard to drive in a "spirited" manner around town. I just did a day trip to Mt Shasta for snowboarding and it was sheer beauty all the way, so I know I can drive it 8+ hours in a day and have fun on the board. My wife drives the car around town and has no trouble parking anywhere she likes. (She gets a good laugh at all the kiddies revving on her. )
I don't have any pics handy at the moment, but all you really need to do is cut and splice the two metal hydraulic lines that exchange fluid to each end of the long part of the rack, plug all the holes in the valve body where the steering column meets the rack and remove the belt, pump, hoses and ps ecu. (ecu is under the dash near the steering column) You can also remove the AC bracket (unless you have ac and for some reason want to keep it) and a couple of pulleys from the engine.
If you intend do any kind of work on the car, get a factory service manual. It explains almost everything very well and the illustrations are very helpful. (I like the parts with the pictures...)

 

its really easy....i can give you instructions through aim.

i don't know if i drained it or not(is there a bolt some where on the bottom of the rack?) its really hard to turn the last bit of the wheel towards the lock, i plan on doing the flying miata way once i get a daily driver. i couldn't wait to replace/fix the p/s and this is the easiest way to get it rolling at least.

 

I had a run In with another member who claimed that the bolt dimensions were Incorrect based on my specifications I provided to a previous post I had made In this thread. Has anyone plugged up the rack based on these bolt specs? What were your results?

 

how can u drift with no power steering =( dang its fun kuz i feel the gripness n toughness with no power steering but it seems harder to drift i guess how do u guys do it?

 

hey, im new to this board but have had my rx7 for about 2 years now. I have a few questions about the steering rack mod. hopefully soneone who has already done this mod can help out.

How did you get the tie rods off of the rack so the shaft could be pulled through?

there is a spot to hoock up a wrench to turn it off but i can't get mine to budge. there is also a small pin pressed into the shaft.

Do I need to drill that pin out? it can't be pushed out the other side.

How did you get the black rubber cap off the top? Its the peice that stops dirt from getting in by the steering colomn. mine just wont come off all my attempts have just been tearing little peices out of it and i don't want to damage it to much.

please let me know if you have any suggestions. right now the car is parked untill i can get this appart to finish the project.

 

I didn't drill out the pins, but it takes some considerable effort to get the tie rods off, vice grips on the shaft with a towel to protect it might be worth a shot. For the boots, they're a bitch to get off because they're held in a little slot on the tie rod, if you get the main part off the rack then pull down while pulling up on the lip with a small screwdriver from the inside you should be able to get it off eventually.

Good luck.

 

this is the entire rack im working with.

this picture and the one below are the part im trying to get off of the rack

This cap dosn't want to come off. Did they come sealed on from the factory with RTV or some sort of filler?




"who says camera phones suck

 

in the first picture, the larger round thing is the inner tie rod end. it unscrews from the rack along with the tie rod. you do not need to take out any pins to do this afaik, it should just unscrew. might be pretty tight tho...

 

ok i got the cap and lock ring off the pinion. but still havn't had luck with the tierod end.

 

project done, took me standing on it while my buddy hopped on a pipe wrench to break the rod couplers free. no marks to the rack. now im drilling and taping the filled hose lines to put in a few grease fittings for future lube ups

 

Glad to hear that you got it. Good idea with the grease fittings too.

 

I just finished the hard way conversion on my steering rack. We had to use a pipe wrench to get the tie rod loose as well. They are supposed to be tight, so some threadlocker blue was used when we put it back on. Also, the pin came right out on its own. It is an additional safety keeper that just sits behind the threads. We tapped it back in once we were done.

The hard way was time consuming but not that difficult really. I'm glad I did it!

Also, I am keeping the AC. Sure it keeps some clutter in the engine bay but there is no way I'm sitting in a black on black car in the humid Midwest summer without AC.

 

88 na gxl....... will a manual rack drop right in?

 

Yep, just make sure you snag the passenger side bracket off the manual rack car as it's different then the power steering one.