Not much going on with the Roadster project this week, except I ended up switching out my power steering rack. As I mentioned earlier, I decided mid-project to install power steering, so I bought a replacement PS rack for a 1982-93 Mustang. Specifically, it was a new Cardone 97203F PS rack from Rock Auto. Even though the new rack was $120 more than a refurbished rack, I figured it would save me headaches going forward. (Spoiler alert: it didn't). I also bought the Breeze offset bushings and the FFR inner tie rod extenders.

As I mentioned earlier, the first problem I had was getting the Breeze offset bushings to fit, although I eventually got them in with a lot of work. Then, when I went to install the FFR inner tie-rod extenders, they didn’t fit . . . at all. After taking off one of the boots and the inner tie rod, I found that the remaining piece is female, not male, and it’s a completely different size bolt than what the FFR tie rod extender is configured for:



I contacted Dave at FFR, who informed me that some OEM replacement racks for the 82-93 are configured differently and will not accept the FFR inner tie rod extenders. Apparently, the Cardone 97203F rack falls into this category. I asked whether I could “get away” with not installing the tie rod extenders, and he said, “not really.” I recall Mark at Breeze saying the same thing. The bump steer is apparently pretty bad without these. I spent some time looking for inner tie rod extenders that would fit my Cordone PS rack, and I did find some that cost over $100.

At that point, I threw in the towel and just ordered a FFR PS rack, which is already configured with the tie rod extenders. It arrived today, and what a difference between the two racks! First, just from looking at it, you can tell it’s higher quality than the Cordone unit I purchased:



Most of the FFR rack is powder coated (unlike the Cordone unit), and the hydraulic lines are heavier and better looking than the ones on the Cordone unit. The Breeze offset bushings slid in with no problem at all, and the whole rack was easy to install. I had the whole thing done in less than an hour, including centering the rack and torqueing everything to spec:



So here’s my $230 lesson for future newbies like me: just buy the FFR power steering rack!