October 15, 200322 yr Can anyone tell me if Legacy and impreza steering racks are the same or interchangeable? My 89 RS legacy has quite a bit of play in the steering which seems to be in the rack rather than a worn ball joint etc. Seeing as my chances of getting the proper Legacy one for it are somewhere between slim & none, I wondered if one from a wrx impreza or suchlike will go straight on in it's place, as I can probably get one of those easily and relatively cheaply. Cheers!
October 15, 200322 yr I think they are pretty much interchangable. You'd want to make sure you get one from a pre-WRX era car. There's a possibility the lines won't hook up in the exact same spot....but that's about as far as I know. Someone on another board put a 97 GT legacy rack in his BF legacy. I could use a new one too.....and supposedly the newer racks have a quicker turning ratio.
October 15, 200322 yr Author That sounds hopeful then - cheers Josh. I want to get my car as spick & span as I can right now. There's a chip going in tonight, brakes from a 22B going on in a week or so, a new 3" straight through exhaust, and then I'll maybe get the dent in the front wing sorted out and give it a clean! An Impreza guy I know thinks he might be able to find me an impreza rack as a possible freebie so that'd solve the main remaining problem with the car then. Yay!
October 15, 200322 yr Did you look closely at the steering column universal joints (2 of them in serie on my Legacy) just outside the fire wall? I had play in the steering and found out these joints were slack (Have someone move the steering wheel slightly while you watch the joints). I retorqued them and everything is tight again. Just a possibility but less costly than a new rack.
October 15, 200322 yr Author Excellent plan Frag, cheers! I'm sure it's the rack or something above it as the play in the wheel seems to have no resistance at all connected to it (i.e. the slack bit is before its really moving anything), so I guess a UJ could be the culprit! Do these just tighten up then or willit be something like a rubber bush in the joint that might need changing? BTW - just driven the car with the new chip in it and all I can say is WOW!! The difference is amazing - feels like a different car completely! The best thing is that the chip cost me just NZ$179 (about US$110 or so) so power for money it's incredible. In case anyone else has an older Legacy like mine (that uses the 8bit ecu) and wants a chip I would highly recommend these guys, they've been very helpful and I'm delighted with the chip even though I've only had about 30 minutes of driving on it so far. http://www.dynamicrace.com/
October 15, 200322 yr I saw those universal joints when I was under the car last weekend. I was wondering about them too. Do they just tighten up....anything special that you need to do?
October 16, 200322 yr If I remember well, you have splines at both ends and on my car not only had the connection loosened but the part had moved and one end was on the verge of parting completely. So I would recommend that you look closely to see if the male parts are well engaged in the female parts and if so thigthen everything to specs. I found the torque settings in Haynes and I could give them to you if need be. Edit... And no there are no special bushings.
October 16, 200322 yr To be more precise, the slack was not IN the joint but at both ends where the shaft from the steering colum enters the joint and where the shaft from the rack enters the other end. Just two bolts to tighten to the proprer torque if everything is in place.
October 16, 200322 yr Author Frag - I owe you a pint! I'd noticed the joint before down by the turbo chimney, but it didn't seem to have play in it. What I hadn't realised however until yu mentioned it, is that there are two joints there. Bingo! The lower one which I hadn't spotted had the slack in it so it's been tightened up tonight in a couple of minutes and has made the steering go from horrible to perfect in a few turns of a ratchet! Top marks to that man!
October 19, 200322 yr I checked the u-joints and they were all tight. I could move the shaft below the joints and see the steering wheel move with the slightest change by my hand, and same thing if I moved the shaft above the joints, I could see the wheels move ever so slightly. I do think the poly steering rack bushings will help. Under centrifugal and normal driving forces there will definitely be more resistance to change then when it's sitting.
October 20, 200322 yr Josh, I cannot believe ANYTHING in your car is worn that badly! I am going to check mine even though the Baja has only turned over 20k miles!
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now