Tie rods/Steering rack

[eamici]

Installed the Steering system. When i go to see if the steering wheel and system is done correctly I ran into an issue. After turning the steering wheel 1 ½ turns to the left, the tire and wheel move so far to the left that the tire rubs against the driver side F aluminum panel. Is this a tie rod issue or something else?

[Dagwoods]

Hi eamici. Could you tell us if you have a manual or power steering setup and the size of front tires? Several setup issues could lead to this including the rack not being centered, types of mounts (breeze solid offset vs ffr supplied, etc.) and even an extreme caster/camber could cause parts of tires to rub.

I think lots of us have used the following guide from karlos to setup the rack with good success.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?19175-Steering-Rack-Install-Setup-Procedure

Give it a read and see if it gives you any ideas. I think a last resort is to use rack limiters since a properly setup rack and tire combo should not rub (ffr does have some variences though that could also contribute).

[Big Blocker]

What Dagwoods said . . . we need to know what rack, how many turns lock-to-lock, what tire size used in front, is the rack centered, car on the ground or suspension hanging free . . . Does it do this turning to the right?

These things all contribute to tire rubbing issues.

IF all things are set correctly, sounds like you need rack limiters to restrict travel to prevent tire interference.

Doc

[eamici]

Thanks to you both. I will have to check and revert tomorrow. All parts are FF5 supplied. The rack is for power steering. I will have to get the tire sizes tomorrow. I haven't done anything in centering the set up. The car is off the ground. It only took 1 ½ turns to get it maxed out. I only tried the driver side. Tomorrow I'll try the other side.

[egchewy79]

is your car on jack stands still? i had this issue that was resolved when it was dropped off the stands. i also agree w/ reading the link dagwoods provided above from karlos. very insightful description of centering the steering rack. i found that the stock bushings (mine's manual steer) left the rack positioned 1/2" towards one side. I ended up getting the offset breeze bushings to move the rack over 1/4" in order to fully center the rack on the frame. 1.5 turns is what I have as well. and if you haven't considered it, don't tighten down your flex brake lines going to the calipers until you check clearance with the wheels on, turned lock to lock on each side. the copper crush washers under the banjo bolts are one time use. i found that i needed to rotate the direction of the banjo bolt on one of the sides to prevent the flex line from rubbing on the tire at full lock.

[edwardb]

Everything already said: Center the rack, get it down on the ground at ride height, etc. But also don't do anything until the alignment is set. The approximate dimensions in the manual get it in the ballpark. But I wouldn't take any action until it's actually aligned. Then, if needed, add limiters as several mentioned. They're easy to add. Unless you're getting crazy with the tire size or have an unusual wheel offset, you'll still have a decent turning radius even with the limiters.

[eamici]

Tires are MichelinPilot Sport 245/35Z18

[edwardb]

Tires are MichelinPilot Sport 245/35Z18

Those, on Factory Five wheels, will fit easily. When everything is all set, you may still need limiters. But maybe not. Honestly, I wouldn't get too worried about this specific aspect at this point. Get the rack installed properly, and later when the ride height and alignment are set, install the limiters if needed. They snap on under the boots and are super easy to install. You'll never be close to the inner fenders with or without the limiters in normal driving. It's only when turning full over while parking, doing a U-turn maybe, etc.

[CraigS]

A couple of things to keep in mind. If the tire rubs it will only happen in a parking lot at very low speed. It will not damage the tire as the rub is on the corner of the tread onto a flat surface so no worry about long term harm. So, as others have said, don't worry about it until the car is on the road.

[BradCraig]

There is a great post on rack centering but I cannot seem to find it. The assembly manual is light in this area. As others have said, once i get it on the ground i'll check and use limiters if needed.

[Paul2STL]

Here is what edwardb is talking about rack limiters. I had the same problem even after alignment and used one of these on each side of the rack.

https://www.cjponyparts.com/ford-steering-rack-limiter-pair-1987-2004/p/HW2324/

[Avalanche325]

Check everything as stated. After that, it is very common to have rub on the driver side if you don't have rack limiters. It won't hurt anything more than leaving a mark on the F-panel.

[eamici]

How/where are the limiters installed?

[edwardb]

How/where are the limiters installed?

Under the boots as mentioned. Shown in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG3bH1l_36Y.

[eamici]

Thank You