S13 Steering Rack Replacement...

[dizzariot]

Before ANY of you assholes say ANYTHING. The search function is messed up today. It will let me search for 'Steering Rack' but for some reason shits out when I search for 'S13 Steering Rack Replacement'.

SO...as the title says, my steering rack on my SR20DET-swapped '90 S13 is toast. I gathered some useful information here:

Ideal steering rack for a S13? - Hardtuned.net

...and now I'm asking you guys about more up-to-date replacements. Which steering rack is ideal, and what bushing should I get to go with it? I have a leak in my rear main seal AND the steering rack. This is what I want to handle first, with the rear main not far behind. Any insight is helpful. Please just post what your experiences have been, and feel free to refer me to anyone you may know who is selling an S13/14/15 steering rack.

Thanks guys,
-D.

[Edwin562]

have rack rebuilt, energy poly bushings & aftermarket inner & outer tie rods. whats so hard about that??

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by Edwin562

have rack rebuilt, energy poly bushings & aftermarket inner & outer tie rods. whats so hard about that??

So I should PAY to have the 22-year-old S13 steering rack rebuilt? I thought that the S14/15 ones where the best bet.

Your avatar pic is legit, btw.

I should probably go on to state this is my first S13, so there are some gray areas for me where I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing lol.

[Edwin562]

Personally im not a fan of interchangable parts between models, but yes you can take your rack to get rebuilt or use it as a core to get a reman from either Napa or Pepboys.

a buddy of mine has a hook up so im going to get it rebuilt. i already have my bushing installed. whats next on my list is inner/out tie rods & SS power steering lines w/ cooler.

[KiLLeR2001]

If the rack is rebuilt correctly its just like new. No need to interchange year model parts.

Also don't forget to buy new boots. Silicone boots are nice, the rubber ones as we know crack over time.

edit:

That nissansilvia.com website is based in Australia so a lot of them saying the S15 rack will fit is because they all drive RHD vehicles. As far as I know, there is no such thing as an S15 LHD steering rack.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Just get a reman'ed rack from pep boys...thats what i'm running and have not issues other than it was noisy as shit when I first put it in.

Pretty simple to swap it in, shouldnt take more than 45 mins to get it swapped in.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by Edwin562

Personally im not a fan of interchangable parts between models, but yes you can take your rack to get rebuilt or use it as a core to get a reman from either Napa or Pepboys.

a buddy of mine has a hook up so im going to get it rebuilt. i already have my bushing installed. whats next on my list is inner/out tie rods & SS power steering lines w/ cooler.

How much is a typical rebuild via your buddy? I have Monday off so I'm going to do some car related shit...

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by KiLLeR2001

If the rack is rebuilt correctly its just like new. No need to interchange year model parts.

Also don't forget to buy new boots. Silicone boots are nice, the rubber ones as we know crack over time.

edit:

That nissansilvia.com website is based in Australia so a lot of them saying the S15 rack will fit is because they all drive RHD vehicles. As far as I know, there is no such thing as an S15 LHD steering rack.

Damn you're good. Knew it was Australia but totally forgot about the whole RHD things. Thanks!

Originally Posted by fliprayzin240sx

Just get a reman'ed rack from pep boys...thats what i'm running and have not issues other than it was noisy as shit when I first put it in.

Pretty simple to swap it in, shouldnt take more than 45 mins to get it swapped in.

I'll defintely do that on Monday. The install looked tedious, but mostly just busy work I guess. My girlfriend's Dad is a retired Master Gunnery Sargent (mechanic) so I have access to his air tools...

I'll get a price from Pep Boys. A local garage was gonna charge me quite a bit so I decided to say fuck it and come to Zilvia for answers. It's a small leak, but I'm leaving in December and need/want to:

A.) Save money.
B.) Fix all these small nuisances on my S13.

Any other upgrades I should consider while doing this shit? Rear main seal is probably gonna be handled the same day.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Its not really complicated, the hardest part is making sure the rack is centered and getting your toe back to zero. Just measure the toe and get it as close to 0 as possible then go straight for an alignment.