Long time since an update but the project is not dead. Between family and work I'm a bit short on time but I'm sill inching forward. Been limited to gathering parts so far.
Change of plans on the rack though. The more I thought about the mustang rack the more I didn't like it. For a crossmember designed for it, it's fine. For a retrofit, it has its problems. Lack of travel for one, but the bigger headache is the mounting. Not sure who engineered it but the offset mounting bolts suck. With them offset to one side and one being higher than the other, I can see nothing but problems trying to get it mounted where I want.
Then there's the part of hooking it up to the spindles. The mustang rack is 9/16 fine thread. From there the Ford outer tie rod won't fit the gm knuckle and I never found an outer that fits the GM spindle with 9/16 threads. 97 camaro outer tie rods fit the GM knuckle but they are 14mm thread. I've seen where guys have ran a 9/16 tap through the 14mm threads and that honestly scares the crap out of me.
Originally my plan was to ream the spindles to 7 degrees and use the mustang outer tie rods. Down side there is if I switch to drop spindles or ever have to replace one then I need to ream it again.
The other day at work I had a 99 2WD ranger in for an alignment. I had completely forgotten that they ran rack and pinion for a couple years on the really narrow chassis. Inner tie rod width is approximately 25 inches, very similar to the mustang rack. 14mm threads match up to the camaro outer tie rods, no drilling or reaming. At 3 1/2 turns lock to lock it has 6 inches of travel which is more than the mustang. The best part though, the two mounting bolts are in front of the rack, centered and go straight up and down. I can fine tune the bump steer with washers under the rack. Couldn't do that with the mustang unit.
Made a trip to the you pull it over the weekend. $25 for the rack, hoses, cooler and steering shaft wasn't bad.
Side by side they are very similar, except for the mounting bolts.
Temporarily mounted to see how things line up. So far it looks pretty good under there, after I get the crossmember notched it should tuck in nicely.
So "officially" I was going to the you pull it to get parts for my kids cars, which was true. Needed a driveshaft for his camaro and some seat parts for her pickup. Found both of those so it was a good trip. Aside from the steering gear, I also found a formula trans am in the back of the yard. 15 min and$10 later I had a huge 36mm front sway bar. Note- F-Body sway bars won't fit stock S10 frames. G-body and S10 frames with 4 inches added however do fit.
Second yard I went to had an extreme s10 up on stands with the rear end already out. Rear sway bar and factory lowering springs just sitting there. $65 well spent. Pretty good score for a day in the yard. Now I just need to get some time in on the truck.
