Steering Rack Bushings

[limp]

Getting ready to install my 03 rack on my 83 with new bushings and sleeves and as usual overthinking this
Can the sleeve move towards the k member after some drive time??
Does the pressure on the bushings, when the bolts are tightened up keep the sleeves locked in place?
I was pondering putting some washers with holes smaller than the sleeves on the bolts, but then the metal washers would be against the K member instead of the bushings??

 

[General karthief]

Yeah, you're over thing this.

 

[foxbodybill89]

Move toward the k-member? You are aware the sleeves go into and through the cavity of the k-member and butt up against the inside of the back side where the bolt head is, the bolt hole is smaller than the sleeve so it cannot go all the way through. In fact, when you buy the MM aluminum bushings you have to cut off the part that sticks out the front that the bushings fit on, leaving the part inside the k-member as a support.

 

[limp]

Move toward the k-member? You are aware the sleeves go into and through the cavity of the k-member and butt up against the inside of the back side where the bolt head is, the bolt hole is smaller than the sleeve so it cannot go all the way through. In fact, when you buy the MM aluminum bushings you have to cut off the part that sticks out the front that the bushings fit on, leaving the part inside the k-member as a support.

My factory manual shows the sleeves go through the bushings in the rack.. Nuthing but the bolt goes through the K member cavity.. Is my manual incorrect

 

[Mustang5L5]

Sleeve gets inserted from the front and butts up against the rear of the k-member, as seen here

Bolt comes in from behind, through the sleeve which has the bishing on it. When you put the nut and washer on and tighten it down, the bushing rack and sleeve are pulled into the k-member and held in place by the bolt head on the backside.

 

[limp]

Thanks for setting me straight on this..... I will have to look this over.... When I took out the old rack ( 1983) the rubber bushings have a metal sleeve inside them using much larger bolts too.....

 

[limp]

So the hole in the K member is too small for the sleeve.........
I guess my options are to drill it larger or go back to a pre 85 bushing affair.....

 

[General karthief]

Or you could get a k member from a later model fox, I believe the later years are a little better.

 

[WhiteCobra95]

Do you have a picture of your K-member? Does it have sleeves sticking out from the front? They are like giant roll pins from what I remember.

If the older K-members are a different setup, you might want to call MM and see what options they have or what they recommend to adapt the newer rack.

 

[WhiteCobra95]

Or you could get a k member from a later model fox, I believe the later years are a little better.

That's a good idea!

 

[Mustang5L5]

IIRC, i beleive you just need to open up the two holes in the front to accept the larger sleeves.

Obviously before drilling them out, lets beat this up a bit. Do you have some pics?

My old K-member is sitting under my deck. I can drag it out and get some measurements but I'm assuming you can just widen the front two holes and that should solve the issue.

 

[limp]

So, the holes in the 83 Kmember are appx. 5/8.
Anyone realize the sleeve is bell shaped? A little over half its length is a touch over 3/4" and the remainder is a bit under 3/4"..
The bushings are a touch sloppy slid over the smaller side of the sleeve, but would take some manhandling to get on the 'over" 3/4" area...
I purchased the 85 up urethane bushings.......
Arent the newer Kmembers a bit wider and set the wheels/tires out further?
I am guessing here that the 84 and older Kmembers do NOT use a sleeve and depend on the larger diameter bolts... I have not removed the bushings or the " sleeves " in the bushings in the " original " steering rack as they need to be pressed out....
From what I have and what I have seen, there is alot of difference in the 84 to 85 change....

 

[Mustang5L5]

Looks similar to my K-member setup. I'll get pics later tonight.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Front. 3/4”

Rear 1/2”

 

[Mustang5L5]

Rear hole measure 0.530” 1/2”

Front hole is 0.760” 3/4”

 

[Mustang5L5]

Installs like this. I believe the taper goes into the k-member so the bushings fit over the wide part.

Front

Rear

 

[Mustang5L5]

About 3.25” thick here

 

[Mustang5L5]

Insert the tapered end into the hole, tap in with hammer until it bottoms out on the rear portion of the k-member. View from the side

 

[limp]

Thanks for the help 5L5......
I want to double check the thickness of the K member and if its appx 3.25 like yours, I will probably drill out the front hole to 3/4"..... I can now see why the sleeve is not a solid piece of tubing so it can give while fitting into the K member and the accomodate bushings in a snug fashion
Again thanks for taking the time for the help

 

[limp]

Drilled the front holes out to 3/4" and while doing this I think I have it figured out why 84 older dont use the sleeve..... Its built in to the K member....