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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: sectors R&N, SE Pa
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Steering Rack question.
This is probably a weird question, but I cleaned and lubed the steering rack (bearings were ok) and with the puck in, the action seems a tad snug. (on the bench - not in car)
I don't feel grinding, but it just takes a little more force to get her to budge than I think I recalled needing. Sound normal? I used mobil 1 synth. I haven't re-assembled everything yet, still waiting on some parts. (new lock washer & lock nut)
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Dan '87 Targa Carrera 3.2 - Fabspeed Cat Bypass, M&K Muffler, SW Chip Venetian Blue |
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Schleprock
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Frankfort IL USA
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There's actually a "breakaway" torque that can be used to measure how much you should shim the puck- 5 to 7 INCH pounds is the recommended drag. I posted a few pages from a 914 Clymer manual that detailed the rack assembly pretty good.
Steering Rack "Rebuild" Procedure
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Kevin L '86 Carrera "Larry" |
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Thanks Kevin for bringing that last paragraph to my attention. I'll setup and measure it, although I wonder if I'd need to change the shim arrangement as I didn't change any of the existing hardware and assumed the depth would be unaffected. The spring seems to dominate here as well. I am wondering if the mobil 1 bearing grease made a difference. It seems thicker, and I may have used more than the recommended .8 oz.
Believe it or not, I had saved your post, and a few others, earlier to work from. I appreciate the feedback.
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Dan '87 Targa Carrera 3.2 - Fabspeed Cat Bypass, M&K Muffler, SW Chip Venetian Blue |
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Kevin supplies great feedback
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Ronin LB '77 911s 2.7 PMO E 8.5 SSI Monty MSD JPI w x6 |
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Yes he does (and so do you).
Once I get done family time, and I think there might be some kind of game on tonight, I will be applying it. I do the research here and believe it or not, take a slew of notes, but I neglected to get a literal feel for this one before I stripped & cleaned it - bugs me so I will measure it.
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Dan '87 Targa Carrera 3.2 - Fabspeed Cat Bypass, M&K Muffler, SW Chip Venetian Blue |
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Schleprock
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Frankfort IL USA
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Dan,
Glad you found that Clymer info helpful. What did your puck look like? Agreed gthere's no reason to re-shim if you're putting it back together with same old parts. Just wondering if wear on the puck would warrant checking preload/breakaway torque? My puck had a significant wear area cut into it
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Kevin L '86 Carrera "Larry" |
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The type of grease used is interesting and I wonder if changing the viscosity of the grease makes much difference to the initial breakout torque?
The Mobil 1 grease has a quoted viscosity of 220 cSt (40 degC), which doesn't seem too bad compared to some Moly greases. The early 911 manual specified either LiquiMoly KFZ3 which was a general purpose Moly grease or LM-47 which is still available. LM-47 has a specified viscocity of 105 cSt (40 degC) which is lower and I guess would feel different off the car. How much change there would be at the steering wheel is interesting, but I suspect very little, although we do use LM-47 We have been replacing the 'Thrust Piece' with new parts machined from Phosphor Bronze for a few years now as virtually all the racks we check show wear of this part. |
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Kevin / Chris,
My regrets and belated thanks for the input - I had little time this past week to do anything or respond, and you gave me pause. My puck shows wear. I didn't use any gauges to measure it but I'm confident it is ok to go back in. I read up on cSt ratings and stripped most of the synthetic off. Searched here more and decided to take the advice given by (the late) Warren Hall - like Chris, he recommended a moly base lube, specifically Swepco 101 which I have ordered. It supposedly has a softer texture, but I do not know the cSt rating. I borrowed an in-lb torque wrench and with the rack semi dry, I was glad/relieved to see that it read at the top end of the rated 5-7 in-lb (for running torque). Initial breaking(?) torque was ~8 or 9. The Clymer does not differentiate between the 2 IIRC. I did not have a chance to measure when I had more grease in there unfortunately. When I get the Swepco, I will thoroughly clean, re-lube, post my measurements, and live with the results. Thanks again for the information. *UPDATE* With Swepco 101 I measured 5 in-lbs - nice - hope it feels this good installed.
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Dan '87 Targa Carrera 3.2 - Fabspeed Cat Bypass, M&K Muffler, SW Chip Venetian Blue Last edited by steely; 02-16-2011 at 04:42 PM.. |
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