fastzcars Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 FYI. JUst wanted to say that after a couple of inquirees on the subaru powersteering rack install, I've down loaded some current pictures on to my photo album.Enjoy.http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=8137. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Fastzcars, Looking good. I have a couple of questionscomments. Where did you get the fittings to replace the hard lines? I could not find a fitting of that type that was that small? 12mm if I remember correctly. I ended up using the hard lines and rebending them. A real PIA but it works now. (I've got the STI rack in my 72 240) Secondly, did you do anything to prevent left right movement of the rack? If all you've done is clamp it down with the stock Z parts, I think as you turn the wheel, the rack will slip side to side as the rubber bushings deform. Check it out and see if you agree. And finally, what did you use for a U joint and steering shaft? I ordered a joint from borgeson and welded it to the stock Z steering shaft. Splines matched sti splines. Are you going to use the Chevy pump? Just curious as how other people handeled this. Maybe with several people doing this now, each will contribute some info and make it easier for the next guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Looks good, but are my eyes playing tricks on me or is the rack longer on side than the other, or is the rack centered? If the former, will that cause any issues with steering as the suspension goes up and down? Just curious. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastzcars Posted April 13, 2006 Author Share Posted April 13, 2006 davyz, I think it's the angel of the camera. It's centered on the crossmember. I replaced the miata rack I had in there before because the rack was longer on the passenger side than the driver. The Subaru rack is even on both sides. Mark, I haven't checked to see if the bushings deform. If it does, What did you do to correct it? I was thinking of using a muffler clamp and drilling some holes in the crossmember to mount it. As far as the pump is conserned, I'm using a chevy pump, with a ZOOPS bracket. It works great, and it's totally adjustable. I can adjust the pump front to back to get the belt alingment perfect. The u-joint is the stock subu welded to the dastun upper have. I think I cut 3 inchs off the Z's shaft. Although the U-joint is pretty long at about 6 inches total length, Thats why I had to "Clearence" the frame rail. Now I have all kinds of header clearence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 davyz, I think it's the angel of the camera. It's centered on the crossmember. I replaced the miata rack I had in there before because the rack was longer on the passenger side than the driver. The Subaru rack is even on both sides. Golly, I'll have to dump my 3rd gen RX7 rack I pulled from the JY a few years ago. It can bolt up nicely, but it is about and inch or two longer on one side. Glad you found a power rack that's centered. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 How does the rack compare to the stock one as far as length and alignment on the crossmember? I'm concerned about bumpsteer if I do this swap. I know the stock rack suffers from some but I wouldn't want to make it worse. Have you driven the car with the suby rack installed? How is the steering feel? Did you use a proportioning valve to adjust the pressure from the Chevy pump to be compatible with the suby rack? I thought about using a Mustang rack but then making sure it's aligned top to bottom is a factor as well as side to side. What did you use for tie rods and tie rod ends? Even the stock rack deforms the rubber mounting bushings. I replaced them with the poly-urethane ones from Energy Suspension but had to shim them to make them tight enough to stop all movement of the rack. Makes the steering response much quicker, seems twitchy until you get used to it. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 davyz, I think it's the angel of the camera. It's centered on the crossmember. I replaced the miata rack I had in there before because the rack was longer on the passenger side than the driver. The Subaru rack is even on both sides. Mark, I haven't checked to see if the bushings deform. If it does, What did you do to correct it? I was thinking of using a muffler clamp and drilling some holes in the crossmember to mount it. As far as the pump is conserned, I'm using a chevy pump, with a ZOOPS bracket. It works great, and it's totally adjustable. I can adjust the pump front to back to get the belt alingment perfect. The u-joint is the stock subu welded to the dastun upper have. I think I cut 3 inchs off the Z's shaft. Although the U-joint is pretty long at about 6 inches total length, Thats why I had to "Clearence" the frame rail. Now I have all kinds of header clearence. To more solidly mount the rack, I welded a piece of angle to the bottom of the drivers side mounting point and the top clamp that bolts to the mount. Angle was wide enough to prevent side to side movement of the rack. The angle cradels the drivers side mount on the subi rack from the top and bottom. It did require some cutting. I used the borgeson U joint because it is a good bit shorter than teh subi joint and did not require any dimpling of the frame rail. It cost about $80. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 What is the exact "issue" with the Miata rack? After talking with you at MSA last year or two years ago, I picked up the Miata rack and it's been sitting ever since. Is it not usable in some way, or is the Suby rack just easier to install? Thanks, Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastzcars Posted April 15, 2006 Author Share Posted April 15, 2006 Owen What is the exact "issue" with the Miata rack? The only reason I decided to change out the rack was 1. The rack was damaged from the accident. 2. The miata rack was 1.5 inch longer on the driver side than the passenger side, thus the passanger tierod was very short. BUT I didn't feel ANY bumpsteer or any weard steering from the car on the street or even at the MSA autocross . Now mind you I did intend to take my car to some track day events and I didn't want to worry about the bumpsteer Issue so I decided to change the subi rack after I measured it and found that it was the same size as the stock Z rack. Now as far as the comparison of the two rack installs, I feel that the maita rack was a liitle easier to install simply for the fact that the high pressure hose fittings on the maiata are on the top of the rack and don't interfere with the crossmember. I had to really cut out a big section of the crossmember for the subi rack. I should be able to finally drive my car in 2 weeks so I'll be able to tell if all this work was worth it. I hope that answers some of you questions Owen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Thanks dude:-) Hope to see your car at MSA! Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christurismohk Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 Thank You Fastzcars for all the infos! If possible, can you attach some pix of the subaru rack? also, what year is the subaru and which model? I hope you won't mind telling us. Thank You! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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