'33 Steering Rack Problem?

[esff32]

Hey fellas, those of you who are in the know about these 33's, would you mind taking a look at the youtube link below and tell me if this is a problem. I was preparing to align the front end using Dr. Ruths method and noticed that the steering rack moves quite a bit and there is some sort of noise while doing so. The squeaky noise you hear in the video is just foam protecting my steering column. The camera angle in the beginning and the end of the video shows the movement the best. Any info would greatly be appreciated. Evan

http://youtu.be/rT33FQ_1DSk

[michael everson]

Haven't seen that before. is there a chance one of the universals is binding? The rack is pretty solidly mounted on that car. turn the power steering off and see if its binding somewhere.
Mike

[wallace18]

I would bet you have an issue with the u-joints and rods. It seems like something is hitting and making the shaft lengthen as you turn. Double check everything close.

[esff32]

Another question....should the rod coming out of the steering rack be straight in line with the steering arm attachment point on the spindle? On mine, they are angled toward the front of the car. There isn't any adjustment for this so I figure it is normal. Something is definitely binding somewhere, not sure where.

[michael everson]

Your right. There is no easy way to fix that, and it doesn't really matter. Look closely at all your joints and you turn the wheel. Make sure none of the shafts are protruding beyond the body of the universal joint.

Mike

[esff32]

Thanks Mike, I will some time tomorrow investigating. Hopefully it's an easy fix!

[esff32]

At first glance it appears that the poly bushing that goes around the rack where it is attached on the passenger side has some decent play. None of the DD bars are protruding through but some of the U-joints are at pretty extreme angles. The rack is rocking back and forth. The bolts are tight however might need to be tightened more due to some flex in the Delrin spacer? This is definitely a head scratcher. Nothing like taking a step backward.

[esff32]

With a little more investigation, it appears the rack is moving around inside the bushing behind the bracket on the passenger side mount. The rack moves about 1/8" - 3/16" when you turn the wheel. After talking to my man Tony Z. @FFR, he determined that I have the wrong bracket (older style rack with a newer bracket?). Hopefully the new bracket will solve the problem so I can move forward with the build, not backward. Thanks Tony!

[Olli]

There is a "new" style rack?

Olli

[esff32]

Not sure What the whole story is Ollie. Tony just told me they changed the rack at some point, different year? He said the bracket that I have is the wrong one.

[frankeeski]

Sounds like a fix is on the way. Good luck getting it sorted out and please come back and update us with the success or failure of the fix.

[esff32]

Will do Frank, it was nice talking to you yesterday. Keep me in the loop when you get together at Cable. Thanks for the help.