Steering and Carb Questions...

[Ken86GT]

Two questions...

1. Need a new rack and pinion for my '86 GT Convt. Was quoted appx $700+, how hard is it to replace? What tools are needed? and are there any online outlines that I could do some reading up on and basically teach myself. (BTW..the quote included a 'rebuilt' for $150.00.)

2. Put on a Edelbrock 600 carb and recently had it tuned etc. Runs and excels good, but around 2k RPM I will get a popping sound. Sounds like it is comming from the pass rear tailpipe. Anything a little above or below does not happen. To my knowledge the timing is not bumped all that much, spark is ok, and wires are new.

FYI..car was converted over to carb. It had a Holley carb and it worked ok till it blew the elec fuel pump. Replaced w/ a Holey blue.

Any help appreciated...Thanks!

ken

 

[SmockDoiley]

Why did you ditch the Holley? Also, 700 is stupid expensive. You can do it yourself with basic hand tools. I swapped out my friends steering shaft and rack because he went to a flaming rivers manual setup. I had no previous experience changing that stuff but we had it done in half day even with having to drill the flaming rivers pig knuckle and converting from power to manual. So obviously since you dont have to swap the shaft, and your staying power then it should be even easier. Its some power steering hoses, two bolts in the middle that hold the rack to the K-member and then the endlinks(one on each end) for the suspension. Each end has threads for the alignment adjustment and just keep the ends at the same length and adjust them to be the exact same as the old rack so you dont mess up the alignment. This will get it close enough to drive to your nearest alignment shop. Get the parts from the local parts store, spend a couple hours on the job and pay $50 for an alignment. Shouldnt cost more than $250 altogether. Then send me $50 for saving you so much money, lol!!

 

[Ken86GT]

Swapped out the holley out upon recommendation from my restro/ mechanic who said that the power valve was blown because I was getting that popping sound when driving @ 2k rpm. He advised that it would be easier to put the new carb on that rebuild the Holley . So, swapped, tuned and still having that problem. Compression is good (don't have the #'s but will post if needed) and spark s/b correct. At a minor loss for this problem.

Carb question .. I replaced the old fuel pump (brand unknown) with a Holley blue electric. Besides the noise not bad. I was told by two other people that I do not need the fuel regulator. Still at the beginning stages ok knowledge but common sense does tell me that if the blue is rated at 12psi and a carb should only need 9psi then I may have a problem?! <right?>. So, any opinions on this...

On the rack saw brands such as Flaming River that ran about $300+. This is not a track car, what would be recommended for the easiest install and such?!

Thanks again to everyone....

 

[SmockDoiley]

I would just get yours replaced with a parts store rack or grab one from a junkyard. Plus taking one off at a yard will show you how to change yours. As for the carb, I'm not sure why 2 carbs of different brands would cause the same problem but a blown power valve costs like 10 bucks to fix. And electric fuel pumps usually need a regulator because the needle and seats are only suppose to see 8 psi at idle. I'm not sure why you wouldnt just run a mechanical since they are much cheaper, dont break, and can handle any power you can dish out. Just ask my street/strip Carter mechanical pump thats supporting my 625 horse stroker. It cost me like $50. I think if your car ran fine before the fuel pump change then you should look into that. Maybe try a regulator. Maybe since the gas isnt regulated its getting past the needle and seat and flooding the carb since 2000k is right off of idle. By the time your rpms are building you can use all that gas. Regulate the fuel I think.

 

[Stang951]

Replace the rack yourself. I have done mine twice with no problems. If the car is a little old or has high miles you might as well change the steering lines and the outer tie rods. Update the outter tie rods to the newer style that are heavier.

You definitely need the fuel pressure regulator with the blue pump. Set it at about 7psi. You do not need 9 psi through that carb, in fact if you read the instructions I believe they are only supposed to have about 6 psi.

Smock I can't agree with you about the pump. I had a mechanical and I hated it. It died after a year of use. It was an Edelbrock Performer Series so I was really disappointed.

 

[SmockDoiley]

Well thats because Edelbrock sucks. There are plenty of cars on the road right now that have mechanical pumps. Electrics are only approx. 20 years old. So what did the auto industry do before then? Besides I've heard the same thing about Holley elctric pumps. Like I said, it needs to be regulated because 8 psi is your max at idle for the needle and seat.

 

[maypo59]

$700!!! jeez, run away from that shop!! Look, after core, a rebuilt rack is about $150 from O'riellys down the street. You should flush the P/S pump while you are at it, so you need fluid. The hardest part of the whole change is getting the little teflon O rings on the lines. Easy as pie to do. Last one I did, which was the third total that I have done, took a little over an hour, and a quarter of that was those O rings.

Chock, Lift, jack stands, pull wheels, remove castle nut, whack with big hammer. Open hood, reach down pull steering lock bolt, slide shaft towards firewall, remove two bolts that hold rack to K member, drop rack, remove two lines from pump at rack end, splash/leak fluid everywhere, flush the pump since you are making a mess anyway, drag rack out from under car, count threads on inner tie rod ends, swap outer tie rod ends to new rack, matching thread count, fight with new teflon seals, reverse order install, add fluid, start up and turn wheel back and forth to bleed. top off as needed. Alighnment.

send half the $550 you saved to me, and spend the other half on your lady. That's how you get them to want to help... well it works for me.

If you can open a tool box, you should be able to do this.