Swapping LHD steering rack internals into RHD rack?

[PostalLeggy]

I as well as another postal carrier I know have RHD Gen 1 legacies that are in need of steering racks that just don't exist anymore. I have very little experience with steering racks in general but one thought I had was if the internals on them are the same, I can purchase LHD racks and repair RHD ones. Mine just needs a reseal as far as I know but the other carrier has a large dead spot in hers and has had the car parked for years because the rack is basically "unobtanium". Even searching auto parts retailers in Australia and New Zealand, I can't seem to find anyone selling racks for this car!

Another thought was maybe trying to adapt the rack out of a newer RHD Subaru so it fits. I am not afraid of welding and fabricating mounting hardware if it comes to that. 

If anyone has experience in this department I would love to hear about it! I'm going to try to convince the other carrier to let me tear into her RHD rack after I pick up a used LHD one from the local junkyard. 

[idosubaru]

That's a good idea for acquiring less warn parts.  Can the rack housing get scored and need finished as well? 

Here's the only two Subaru rebuilds I'm aware of that exist - the first one is your exact steering rack. I have it saved because XT6 steering racks are also NLA although we do have non-XT6 options that will work which you don't have:

https://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=45717

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nlnYUjx_TvJvtbzorMoIWHBv24T7WUMi/view

Edited April 22, 2022 by idosubaru

[PostalLeggy]

4 hours ago, idosubaru said:

That's a good idea for acquiring less warn parts.  Can the rack housing get scored and need finished as well? 

Here's the only two Subaru rebuilds I'm aware of that exist - the first one is your exact steering rack. I have it saved because XT6 steering racks are also NLA although we do have non-XT6 options that will work which you don't have:

https://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=45717

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nlnYUjx_TvJvtbzorMoIWHBv24T7WUMi/view

Looking at those writeups, I honestly feel like I might be able to swap internals like I am thinking. I can sort of picture those parts just working in either orientation. 

[idosubaru]

9 hours ago, PostalLeggy said:

Looking at those writeups, I honestly feel like I might be able to swap internals like I am thinking. I can sort of picture those parts just working in either orientation. 

Yep good thinking to try it.  Most of the parts look symmetric such that left or right doesn’t matter.

I guess the seals are available?  It’s usually not recommended to use seals once they’ve been installed.

 

[PostalLeggy]

19 hours ago, idosubaru said:

Yep good thinking to try it.  Most of the parts look symmetric such that left or right doesn’t matter.

I guess the seals are available?  It’s usually not recommended to use seals once they’ve been installed.

 

I bought a seal kit and as far as I know all the seals are the same. Guess we will find out soon, as I just picked up a LHD rack from the junkyard today. Gonna start tearing into it soon and get some experience taking one apart before I dive into the unreplaceable one that my entire job currently depends on... 

No pressure. 

[el_freddo]

Hey mate, RHD racks are not unobtainum! In self serve parts yards we still have the odd Gen1 pass through, they’re typically Granma spec too - so sad to see! 

I’m sure later model steering racks will fit too - many in the early turbo Subarus fit other racks from later models that are “quick turn” easily enough. I don’t know if there are other mods required to make them fit but it can be done. This will open up your options, the hardest part is shipping them to you after suitable low km units are found. Getting stuff into Oz is generally cheap, getting it out is typically not ;( 

I’m typically good at sourcing parts but hopeless at shipping them… and I now live even further away from the parts yards I used to frequent regularly - I’m about 2hrs away from the closest self serve yard in Melbs and about the same for the one down G’town way (Geelong). 

pick-a-part.com.au and jollysupullit.com.au are the two sets of parts yards that I would visit. I don’t see this being difficult sourcing the racks needed in RHD spec if you wanted to. You’d just have to be patient with me to find the time to get down there between family commitments etc 

Cheers 

Bennie

[PostalLeggy]

10 hours ago, el_freddo said:

Hey mate, RHD racks are not unobtainum! In self serve parts yards we still have the odd Gen1 pass through, they’re typically Granma spec too - so sad to see! 

I’m sure later model steering racks will fit too - many in the early turbo Subarus fit other racks from later models that are “quick turn” easily enough. I don’t know if there are other mods required to make them fit but it can be done. This will open up your options, the hardest part is shipping them to you after suitable low km units are found. Getting stuff into Oz is generally cheap, getting it out is typically not ;( 

I’m typically good at sourcing parts but hopeless at shipping them… and I now live even further away from the parts yards I used to frequent regularly - I’m about 2hrs away from the closest self serve yard in Melbs and about the same for the one down G’town way (Geelong). 

pick-a-part.com.au and jollysupullit.com.au are the two sets of parts yards that I would visit. I don’t see this being difficult sourcing the racks needed in RHD spec if you wanted to. You’d just have to be patient with me to find the time to get down there between family commitments etc 

Cheers 

Bennie

Thanks for the thoughtful reply Bennie, it's awesome that I now have a contact of sorts in Australia! The key difference that I have seen between the early Legacy/Liberty racks and the later model ones is that the later ones appear to have spots where they slide onto studs, and the early ones have brackets and bolts that attach them to the crossmember. 

I can certainly understand that shipping things across the ocean can quickly get very expensive, especially something as unwieldy as a steering rack. Even with the tie rods removed they are big long bastards. 

Looking at the two links you provided, the first one doesn't appear to have any gen-1 Libertys in stock, but the second one does. They have three of them, but none of them appear to be in Geelong unfortunately. I've started slowly disassembling the LHD rack that I got from the junkyard out here, and maybe at some point this week if I am feeling brave I will remove the rack from my car and take it apart as well. 

Was the first gen of the liberty just not that popular out there? It is really a headscratcher to me that LHD steering racks are available but RHD (which is the cars default layout...) is not available new. Certainly strange. 

[forester2002s]

I am sure that you know this, but WA can mean 2 places:

WA = Washington State USA

WA = Western Australia

[PostalLeggy]

1 hour ago, forester2002s said:

I am sure that you know this, but WA can mean 2 places:

WA = Washington State USA

WA = Western Australia

True, true. Updated my profile to reflect that I live in the former. 

 

[el_freddo]

3 hours ago, forester2002s said:

I am sure that you know this, but WA can mean 2 places:

WA = Washington State USA

WA = Western Australia

And “Wait Awhile” Western Australia is a BIG place! 

@PostalLeggy - the Gen1 was quite popular here. We just don’t see them that often in the parts yards anymore, they’ve had their peak time already but aren’t yet “rare” enough for one to be stripped out the day after it lands in the parts yard. So the few examples you see will sit there for sometime until they’re turned over due to time in the yard. 

I hope the LHD parts can be used in the RHD rack to solve the issues you’re having or trying to resolve! 

Cheers 

Bennie

[PostalLeggy]

19 hours ago, el_freddo said:

And “Wait Awhile” Western Australia is a BIG place! 

@PostalLeggy - the Gen1 was quite popular here. We just don’t see them that often in the parts yards anymore, they’ve had their peak time already but aren’t yet “rare” enough for one to be stripped out the day after it lands in the parts yard. So the few examples you see will sit there for sometime until they’re turned over due to time in the yard. 

I hope the LHD parts can be used in the RHD rack to solve the issues you’re having or trying to resolve! 

Cheers 

Bennie

Unfortunately the parts are all different between the two racks... right down to the point where the reseal kit I purchased won't work on my rack. I'm now in a bit of a predicament as I have work in 4 days and a rack that is completely torn down with no way of me resealing it. 

 

Attached are some photos that show the difference between these racks. I'm not sure if I can even buy a reseal kit for it, or if it's something I would need to import.  Even the Teflon seals are a different width. 

Edited April 26, 2022 by PostalLeggy

[el_freddo]

Oh wow, I didn’t expect the seals to be completely different! 

I hope you manage to get something back together to get you going again. 

You’re still using a Gen1 on the postal route? What about shipping a RHD Liberty wagon from Oz? Crazy idea I know but it’s newer and RHD that you seem to need. Just the $$$$s are the killer in this economic climate!

Cheers 

Bennie

[PostalLeggy]

1 minute ago, el_freddo said:

Oh wow, I didn’t expect the seals to be completely different! 

I hope you manage to get something back together to get you going again. 

You’re still using a Gen1 on the postal route? What about shipping a RHD Liberty wagon from Oz? Crazy idea I know but it’s newer and RHD that you seem to need. Just the $$$$s are the killer in this economic climate!

Cheers 

Bennie

Importing stuff is always an option but as you said it's just the dollarydoos. Our import laws only let us bring in vehicles that are 25 years and older, so a 1997 is the newest vehicle that could be imported. A lot of mail carriers do that, in fact. I work with someone who is in a Japanese land cruiser. The gen 1 I have is sort of special because it was built for the USDM and has spent it's entire life here in the states delivering mail. I already have a lot of money sank into the legacy so it's sort of a sunk cost situation with me wanting to get it squared away. Gonna see if I can find out what the heck this rack is and get me some seals for it, if not importing a rack might be my only other option. 

[idosubaru]

Well that’s bad news. How long did it take to take it apart?

I’d probably look into getting a newer model JDM RHD EJ rack and retrofit it.  It may not be clean and easy though. The angle of the valve where it passes by the cross member is often an issue. And from what I’ve seen (which isn’t much) WRX STi dominate the supply over legacy so they may have a propensity to vary more than normal.

Can you swap the entire rod and valve assembly into the LHD rack?  I see the two rods are different but can you swap the entire rod itself?  I imagine the entire LHD housing length, ID and OD are probably incapable of accepting the RHD guts?

Bearing suppliers can take dimensions and find bearings to fit an application. I wonder if there is a similar supplier for seals?  Call them and give them some dimensions?

 

Edited April 26, 2022 by idosubaru

[idosubaru]

I wonder if you can call these JDM importers and ask if they can get 90s legacy racks? Probably take two months to ship. Lol

Heres  a 2000 legacy rack. That’s as close as you can get to 95-99 generation legacy. But it’s a turbo and that valve looks huge. Not sure how to tell if it would be adaptable.

Id also wonder if rack reseal kits are available for it?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175162166896?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338722076&customid=&toolid=10050

Im wondering - What vehicle are they being purchased for in the US? 

Edited April 26, 2022 by idosubaru

[idosubaru]

This says “Right Hand Drive” but not sure how accurate it is and it says 1994-1996 legacy  

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353792747490?fits=Make%3ASubaru&hash=item525fb0e7e2:g:zNIAAOSwVJVhqAh1
 

 

[PostalLeggy]

6 hours ago, idosubaru said:

Well that’s bad news. How long did it take to take it apart?

I’d probably look into getting a newer model JDM RHD EJ rack and retrofit it.  It may not be clean and easy though. The angle of the valve where it passes by the cross member is often an issue. And from what I’ve seen (which isn’t much) WRX STi dominate the supply over legacy so they may have a propensity to vary more than normal.

Can you swap the entire rod and valve assembly into the LHD rack?  I see the two rods are different but can you swap the entire rod itself?  I imagine the entire LHD housing length, ID and OD are probably incapable of accepting the RHD guts?

Bearing suppliers can take dimensions and find bearings to fit an application. I wonder if there is a similar supplier for seals?  Call them and give them some dimensions?

 

 

6 hours ago, idosubaru said:

I wonder if you can call these JDM importers and ask if they can get 90s legacy racks? Probably take two months to ship. Lol

Heres  a 2000 legacy rack. That’s as close as you can get to 95-99 generation legacy. But it’s a turbo and that valve looks huge. Not sure how to tell if it would be adaptable.

Id also wonder if rack reseal kits are available for it?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175162166896?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338722076&customid=&toolid=10050

Im wondering - What vehicle are they being purchased for in the US? 

 

6 hours ago, idosubaru said:

This says “Right Hand Drive” but not sure how accurate it is and it says 1994-1996 legacy  

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353792747490?fits=Make%3ASubaru&hash=item525fb0e7e2:g:zNIAAOSwVJVhqAh1
 

 

Total time to get it out of the car and get it torn apart was probably an hour, not long at all. Once you know how they come apart it goes pretty easily. I did spend a good three or four hours last night looking at various RHD racks out of later models and i'll be darned if they don't look like they have the same mounting setup as the earlier ones, and I have seen some chatter about people being able to swap 2000's racks into their mid 90's cars, so there is hope there. I am not entirely convinced that the rack that I am currently dealing with isn't one out of a later model car or something like that. It's entirely possible that in this car's 200k miles of mail delivery this isn't the first time it has needed a steering rack! 

I believe that the rod diameters are all just a little bit different between the two, just enough for the seals to not fit quite right between them. I was planning on going out today and seeing if I can find any auto parts stores that sell seals that might work for me. What a headache! I've seen a few RHD racks up in Canada that look like they will fit and I am honestly tempted to drive up there (around 5-6 hours) just so I can compare them to mine and see if they would work. I'm a little desperate at this point! 

Is there a difference between the 89-93 and the 94-96 steering racks? The car I pulled the junkyard rack out of was a 94 and that does sort of make me wonder if the early 90's racks are just different? But if that was the case you'd expect that I should be able to find a reseal kit for them, yeah? 

[idosubaru]

3 hours ago, PostalLeggy said:

 

 

Total time to get it out of the car and get it torn apart was probably an hour, not long at all. Once you know how they come apart it goes pretty easily. I did spend a good three or four hours last night looking at various RHD racks out of later models and i'll be darned if they don't look like they have the same mounting setup as the earlier ones, and I have seen some chatter about people being able to swap 2000's racks into their mid 90's cars, so there is hope there. I am not entirely convinced that the rack that I am currently dealing with isn't one out of a later model car or something like that. It's entirely possible that in this car's 200k miles of mail delivery this isn't the first time it has needed a steering rack! 

I believe that the rod diameters are all just a little bit different between the two, just enough for the seals to not fit quite right between them. I was planning on going out today and seeing if I can find any auto parts stores that sell seals that might work for me. What a headache! I've seen a few RHD racks up in Canada that look like they will fit and I am honestly tempted to drive up there (around 5-6 hours) just so I can compare them to mine and see if they would work. I'm a little desperate at this point! 

Is there a difference between the 89-93 and the 94-96 steering racks? The car I pulled the junkyard rack out of was a 94 and that does sort of make me wonder if the early 90's racks are just different? But if that was the case you'd expect that I should be able to find a reseal kit for them, yeah? 

 

Wow I thought tearing one down would take longer.   Good to hear in case I ever tear into one of these XT6 racks I've always meant to try. 

I don't know - but RHD being largely JDM - keep in mind their years/generations/models don't line up with ours if you end up comparing years here to years on JDM equipment.

 

[el_freddo]

This might help: 

http://www.rslibertyclub.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-102810.html 

Hopefully you might find a DIY write up on these sorts of swaps to make sure there are no changes between the models of Liberty/Impreza/WRX for fitment. 

I can dig up some AUDM VINs to run through partsouq for part numbers or general comparisons between different generations of the Liberty/Legacy platforms if that helps you find a suitable replacement. 

The drive to Canada could be a goer for gathering several racks if you can afford the extras - but that’s a lot of effort and fuel with driving! Could be the quickest way out of this situation too - grab two or three racks, shove one in to keep you going, build up a good one to swap in later, have spares to do the same with the one put in as replacement no1… 

Let me know about the VINs as I’ll have to do some digging around for them on the web cross referencing regos to get the VINs  

Cheers 

Bennie

[PostalLeggy]

16 hours ago, el_freddo said:

This might help: 

http://www.rslibertyclub.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-102810.html 

Hopefully you might find a DIY write up on these sorts of swaps to make sure there are no changes between the models of Liberty/Impreza/WRX for fitment. 

I can dig up some AUDM VINs to run through partsouq for part numbers or general comparisons between different generations of the Liberty/Legacy platforms if that helps you find a suitable replacement. 

The drive to Canada could be a goer for gathering several racks if you can afford the extras - but that’s a lot of effort and fuel with driving! Could be the quickest way out of this situation too - grab two or three racks, shove one in to keep you going, build up a good one to swap in later, have spares to do the same with the one put in as replacement no1… 

Let me know about the VINs as I’ll have to do some digging around for them on the web cross referencing regos to get the VINs  

Cheers 

Bennie

Thanks for diggin' around for me Bennie! I ended up having to slap the rack back together (with copious amounts of grease) without resealing it as I need the car for work the next couple days. I think right now I am going to continue driving it without power steering until I work out a better solution. I have a buddy with a machine shop and I am considering having him make me a new custom retaining gland that fits the larger seals so I don't need to do this wild goose chase for the correct seal every time I need to reseal the rack. I can just have him copy the two piece design that the LHD racks use but in the slightly smaller dimensions that the RHD rack calls for. 

In any case I am glad that some sort of important research has been done here. It's really sad that Subaru doesn't make these parts anymore, as these cars are still extremely valuable assets to rural mail carriers all around the nation. Even the people I know driving brand new Jeeps and such tell me how much they miss their subarus... 

[el_freddo]

I can send you the part numbers of the seals. Plenty of RHD vehicles around that the seals would be needed for. I should be able to pull them from the VIN I have stored on my account with the OS parts site. 

But making stuff for locally available seals to fit is a good way to go about it if you can pull it off. 

The dudes in the Jeeps, are the LHD or custom RHD orders (probably taken off the line for our market!)? 

In Australia our rural posties drive RHD vehicles, they just scoot over to the opposite side of the road to put the mail in the mailbox. It’s common practice here. The only LHD type vehicles we have here are dual control rubbish collection trucks. I’d say they’re driven from the LHD position 90% of the time… 

Cheers 

Bennie

 

[PostalLeggy]

7 hours ago, el_freddo said:

I can send you the part numbers of the seals. Plenty of RHD vehicles around that the seals would be needed for. I should be able to pull them from the VIN I have stored on my account with the OS parts site. 

But making stuff for locally available seals to fit is a good way to go about it if you can pull it off. 

The dudes in the Jeeps, are the LHD or custom RHD orders (probably taken off the line for our market!)? 

In Australia our rural posties drive RHD vehicles, they just scoot over to the opposite side of the road to put the mail in the mailbox. It’s common practice here. The only LHD type vehicles we have here are dual control rubbish collection trucks. I’d say they’re driven from the LHD position 90% of the time… 

Cheers 

Bennie

 

That would be awesome if you could get me some part numbers! I don't mind ordering parts from Aus if it comes down to it. 

The jeeps people out here use tend to either be RHD or LHD with a conversion kit on them that takes the steering and pedals over to the right. I personally own a 1995 Jeep Cherokee that was imported (repatriated!) Back to the US from Japan. I've had multiple "jeep guys" offer to buy it off me or ask me where I got it just because they like the novelty of a RHD jeep. 

The newer jeeps are very likely just pulled right off the line for your market or possibly the UK or Japan. Mine is pretty broken at the moment, once the Subaru is all squared away I need to start digging into all of the jeeps problems so I can have it as a backup rig. The Subaru gets about twice the mileage that the jeep does, and we get paid pretty generously for our mileage (around 81 cents per mile last I checked) so the better the economy the more money we can pocket. Surprising to hear that you guys don't have LHD vehicles for your posties! I guess you guys have some pretty strict emissions laws and stuff out there, I imagine that importing a USDM vehicle is probably a nightmare. We certainly have carriers out here who deliver out of a left hand vehicle. I know a couple who sit in the middle, operate the pedals with their left foot and the steering with their left arm while delivering out the right.  Scary stuff! 

[el_freddo]

Yeah wow, I wanted to give a like, laugh and the sad emoji to that one @PostalLeggy! Sitting on the console doesn’t seem like a bright idea! 

Cheers 

Bennie

[heartless]

lol yeah, the ones that do that do not typically use a vehicle with a center console.. they use ones with a bench seat... my carrier does this, drives an older pontiac or buick 4 dr sedan, smaller body size..