Steering / Rack close to the frame

[Morrisett]

Hey gents,
Anyone else run into a issue with the steering rack right up against the frame? Is the breeze offset mounts the solution? It says they move the rack a 1/4” out towards the front of the car. Also what is the procedure to center the rack in the frame? Thanks for the help.

[Ernie67]

That is obviously not going to work! Can that box possibly be mounted to the front of those tabs? Another possibility is you may have received the wrong rack- I had received the wrong length steering shaft, and spent 2 days trying to make it fit!

[Morrisett]

Not sure moving the rack to the front of the tabs is a option with steering geometry on top of the steering shaft being significantly short. It actually turns left to right fine with the exception of some binding on the rubber boot that clearly wouldn’t survive very long. The rack is from my 97 donor.

[Norm B]

This product from Breeze will help. https://www.breezeautomotive.com/shop/offset-rack-mounting-kit-for-ffr-roadster-and-coupe/.
Moves the rack 3/8 inch or more forward along with all the other benefits.

HTH

Norm

[CraigS]

Yes the Breeze mounts will move the rack forward 1/4". Based on your pics though I wonder if that will be enough. I could see bending the forward mount ear forward and adding another 1/8 to 1/4" of washers behind the Breeze bushings. The rack position between the ears and the vertical frame tubes was done years ago to help steering geometry. It used to be mounted forward of those ears. I would not be concerned at all however about moving it a total of 3/8 to 1/2 inch forward of where it is now. I actually smeared the vertical tube w/ a bit of clear silicone paste grease so the boot would slide more easily on my old MkII when I moved the rack to the new position.

[Bob Cowan]

Stop! There are literally hundreds of cars out there. And you're the only one with this issue? Something's wrong. Before you start modifying anything or buying parts, go back over everything carefully. Contact FFR. Find out what the real issue is before proceeding.

[phileas_fogg]

To center the rack, follow Karlos' instructions: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?19175-Steering-Rack-Install-Setup-Procedure

Another method is described in post #4: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?34098-Centering-the-steering-rack


John

[Norm B]

Sorry Bob, I should have added more info in my first post. I had this issue 9 years ago. Contacted FFR and posted on the forums. FFR had me make sure the front mounting plate hadn't bent rearward during welding and the forum experts suggested the Breeze bushings. The mounting tab needed to be persuaded 1/4 forward and the Breeze bushings did the rest. Here are a couple of pictures. As you can see, the bushing with a couple of washers behind it, just allows the rack boot to clear the vertical frame. You can also see that we have been driving, not cleaning.

HTH

Norm

[johnnybgoode]

Hey gents,
Anyone else run into a issue with the steering rack right up against the frame? Is the breeze offset mounts the solution? It says they move the rack a 1/4” out towards the front of the car. Also what is the procedure to center the rack in the frame? Thanks for the help.

I'm wondering if you changed the bushing to the older style and installed it with the flange on the backside of the rack would it get you the additional clearance you need?

I found the attached link from Moog which shows the different styles of Mustang rack bushings by year. https://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/category/ford_mustang/steering-rack-bushings

My 37 uses the double flange style while the replacement rack I ordered for the Cobra came with the single-sided flange which I thought you might be able to try. Good Luck. Scott