Captain Obvious

Woo Hoo!! Extra points!! I keep learning little details about these cars... What did we ever do without the internets?? If I'd had this kind of resource back when I had my first Z, I'd be an expert by now!

The most intricate part of the rack work was probably getting the lower pinion bearing out and back in. I used a "blind bearing puller" from HF. This tool uses an expanding mandrel that pushes outwards against the inner race and a slide hammer to knock the bearing up and out of the rack housing. And I used my hydraulic press to put that lower bearing back into place after cleaning and greasing. Other than that lower bearing, everything can be handled with traditional hand tools. What if you don't want to go through that much effort? You can grease the two bronze bushings at the ends of the rack housing by slathering the rack gear with grease and running it back and forth a bunch of times. You can grease the rack gear teeth (and hence the pinion gear teeth) by slathering the exposed rack teeth that poke out of the end when the steering is turned all the way to one side. The sliding faces of the tension shoe will also get grease by slathering the exposed rack gear. What you CAN'T do is get to the bearings on the pinion gear shaft without pulling the pinion out of the housing. So you can do a decent job of getting to maybe 75% of what needs grease without taking anything off the rack at all. In fact, that 75% can be done with the rack on the car without even disconnecting the tie rods. However, that last 25% requires pulling the pinion gear.

Actually, at the top of my list is heat dissipation. The strut converts kinetic into heat, and that heat needs to get completely out of the strut assy. Air is not a great conductor. Now granted, I'm not autocrossing the car and I don't expect that I'll be overheating my struts, but that's why I asked about the downside. If there's no downside, then why not just fill the void? Corrosion prevention would be important as well as I've heard reports of inserts rusting into place inside the tubes. I'm not worried about hydraulic vacuum locking the insert inside the tube. Just take off the gland nut and pour it out. That's what I did when I took the previous inserts out.

My thoughts as well. I was thinking the bevel would leave room for inconsistencies in the rubber portion of the bushing. That's how I installed that one for the pic. I guess I'll just do them like that and call it a day. So I get extra points at the concourse by virtue of actually having these washers? :laugh:

My pleasure. Let us know what you find. I got my rack back on the car and it looks great. I don't have the rest of the suspension back together yet, but at least the rack part seems to have turned out well. Much better looking bushing fitment than I used to have!!

Another suspension question. I'm putting new strut inserts all around. I went with the KYB's. Question is... Should I fill the void in the strut tube with an oil or not? I know there are lots and lots of discussion about such things, but what's the current prevailing thoughts? I know that KYB says not to, but what's the downside? Other than voiding potential warranty returns (which isn't going to happen anyway), what would such downside be?

Doing some more cross referencing, it appears it might also be the same as: Beck-Arnley P/N 103-2679: New Beck Arnley Rack Pinion Bellow Kit Gear Boot Cover 103 2679 | eBay MEVOTECH P/N MK6299: New Mevotech Steering Rack Boot Front Chevy Pontiac Fiero Chevette T1000 MK6299 | eBay ACDELCO Part # 45A7011 All the above numbers are on Rock Auto as well. They don't seem to have the EMPI number, but they've got Beck-Arnley, Mevotech, and ACDelco. Remember however, that the farther you move away from the source, and the number of times you cross reference to competitor, the confidence in accuracy decreases. For about $15, you could buy any of those off RockAuto and confirm fitment though! Probably others, but that should get you started.

Actually, I got mine from Amazon. They were $8.99 each and free shipping (because my wife has the "prime" something). However, that said... I've apparently created a run on these things because I went back to look at the page where I bought them, and they've run out of stock on the 88-1509. I didn't look local, but I would assume anyone who carries EMPI could get you any number they make. Actually, EMPI is in your neck of the woods, right? Maybe you could just stop in? :classic: On edit, here's one on ebay from JC Whitney. New Mevotech Steering Rack Boot Front Chevy Pontiac Fiero Chevette T1000 MK6299 | eBay They say the brand is movotech, but if you look at the pics, you can see the EMPI 88-1509 number molded into the rubber at the large end. They say it fits Fiero and Chevette, and the EMPI catalog agrees. Might be cheaper if you go to JCW direct instead of getting it from them off ebay.

It's a cheap POS, but it worked for me:

Actually, the ID of the rubber washer is a bit larger than the spindle pin. It's just about the OD of the metal cylinder running through the middle of the bushings. As a matter of fact, in the pic I've fitted it over the little stub of cylinder sticking out of the bushing with the beveled side towards the bushing. I agree in that it probably doesn't matter a whole bunch. Especially since I've never even seen one of these things before. They've always been removed from any Z I've had contact with, and the universe hasn't imploded. They can't be that important. I was just figuring that since I plan for these things to never again ever see the light of day, I might as well get them on right.

Speaking or rear wheel bearings... I've got my bearings in, but I haven't finalized the retaining nut. What's the consensus at this point? Use the peened over style like original stock, or use the self locking ZX style? Thanks to Blue's writeup at AtlanticZ, I got pics. From http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips//rearwheelbearings/index.html Here's the peened style that was originally on the car: And here's the self locking ZX style they went to in later years: Is there anyone who thinks the original style are still better, or is everyone using the newer self locking style from the ZX?

Ouch! I'm glad I got mine when I did... I bought all the rear stuff in August 2012 and I paid about $100 for 2 inner, 2 outer, and 2 grease seals. I'm thinking they must have been trying to get rid of old stock? They went from their shelf to mine... Been sitting on my shelf until I put them in about two days ago.

I've been doing a bunch of suspension work to my 77 this off-season and part of that work has been on my rear corners. While I was poking around at MSA putting together an order, I saw these things they called "Spindle Pin Rubber Washers". Description from their website MSA Spindle Pin Rubber Washer: The spindle pin rubber washer attaches to each end of the spindle pin between the metal washer and the control arm to seal out dust and debris. These washers are only used with factory rubber bushings. Four required and they’re sold individually. There was no such washer on my car when I took it apart, but since I was placing an order anyway, I bought four. Question is, since they are asymmetric, how are they supposed to be installed? Here's a pic showing the two sides. One side is beveled, and the other side is flat: And there's no metal backer inside. All rubber: And here's how I think it should go on. With the beveled side towards the bushing: Anyone dealt with these before? I don't think I've ever seen them before.

Now that's funny stuff there! I'm fully vested as well!!

One more thing... So why is it that nobody lists these EMPI boots as the correct replacement for the Z series? Probably because of the small end dimensions. I'm thinking that they just don't care about such a small market enough to look into it.

Yeah, it's not just you. The applications for where the boots get used is a little muddy. Remember... This is an aftermarket company that is trying to fit their boots anywhere they can. It might not be a perfect fit on the car, but someone in their application group told sales it would work. That's what got us into trouble at RockAuto in the first place with the boots where the big end is way too big. Someone said the generic fit would work, but they were wrong. Here's a snippet from the EMPI catalog with the three that I think would work: The first is 88-1509 and I have verified through personal experience that it works great. Second is 88-1527 and the dimensions look like it would work perfect as well. Slightly smaller large end and slightly longer natural length. Both of those should be OK though. Third is the 88-1536, and the big end is slightly larger and so is the small end. Small end might require a clamp. I just wish other mfgrs included mechanical shots like that. They all used to, but very few do anymore. Now they all want you to go their website and enter the vehicle and (since they're all so much smarter than I am) they'll tell you what fits. :sick: So a big shout out to EMPI for still including info in their catalog that allows some independent thought.

I got one word for you... Miata. Well, that and a big thanks to manufacturers who still put mechanical drawings in their catalogs! I took a couple measurements off the steering rack and off my old cracked boots and came up with the following: - Big end needs to be about 1.42 inches (36mm). - Small end needs to be about 0.47 inches (12mm). - Natural boot length (neither compressed or extended) needs to be about 6 inches long. Then I did some digging and turned up an Empi catalog in pdf that still has drawings in it and discovered that they had two product offerings that looked like they would fit. I cross referenced their part numbers and found they are used on the Miata. They had two numbers that looked like they would work OK. 88-1509 (used on non P/S Miatas), and 88-1527 (used on Miatas with P/S). From what I could tell, pretty much, the main difference between the two is that the one for P/S is a half inch longer. I bought the non P/S boots 88-1509. Here's the old with the new: Here's the big end: Here's the small end. The Empi boot small end is a little smaller than the original: I was a little worried about the small end being smaller than stock. Put a little tape on the tie rod end threads to smooth out the application. Put a little silicone grease on the tape: Push the boot into place. Small end first. Big end last. Take off the tape. Worked great!! Smaller end didn't cause a problem at all. In fact, it just means you don't need any clamp on the small end. it's tight enough without. Here it is fully collapsed: And here it is fully extended. Note that the big end clamp isn't even tight and it's not pulling off the big end, It snaps into the retaining groove just like the originals: WOOT!!

Nope. It's from a car. A very popular import. From recent times as well! I'm having a hard time containing myself, so unless I get requests for additional pics of the rack disassembled, then I'll spill it later tonight.

Mike, Here's a snipped out of the FSM that talks about the adjustment of the rack tension nut. They changed the wording a couple times over the years, but this is the simplest, easiest to understand version that I could find. This is from 73: In later years (starting in 74) they started suggesting that you could shim the adjustment spring if necessary to get the correct pressure, but I don't think anyone is going to go to that level of detail. So tighten it all the way. Loosen it up 20-25 degrees. Lock it down. Have a beer.

Mike, That's great info for me about those grease holes left open. I checked the threads, and they're 1/4-28, so if I happen to be passing by a hardware store before the rack is done, I may stop in for a pair. But if not, it seems like leaving them open is a completely acceptable scheme as well. Excellent. Also confirms my belief that those hard rubber coated washers are indeed bump stops to limit steering travel. My turning radius, and marred bronze bushings thank you! About those bronze bushings... I bet they're not as uncommon as you might think, even including the lube slot. I've purchased similar stuff in the past for other unrelated applications. For research sake, I'll poke around a little and let you know what I find. The spec on the tension adjust nut is to drive it all the way in until the spring is completely bound and then back the adjustment screw off by 20-25 degrees. In other words... Pretty tight is perfect.

Mike, Awesome. Those are great shots. Couple of questions... You mentioned that you found the inner tie rod grease ports completely unplugged, right? Do you think it came from the factory that way, or is there a chance that a shop or previous owner lost something that was originally in those holes? Also, that article you mentioned talked about replacing and honing the bronze bushings at the ends of the rack housing. Did you replace yours as part of your rebuild, or did you just leave them alone?

I'll post more info in a day or two. I want to make sure they fit as well as they I think they will. I want to give it another day apart in case anyone wants any pics of stuff that I haven't taken already. I will tease you a little bit and tell you that I got a pair of them for $8.99 each, and they look perfect! :tapemouth So... Anyone want to see any other angles of the rack or it's parts before I put this thing back together?

Here's some pics of the pinion gear bearings. There are two of them, and on the later racks like mine, they are identical. I've done a little digging and I believe the earlier racks used just one roller bearing at the top, and a sleeve bearing down inside the rack housing. But I've got two roller bearings. Here's the top bearing which is pressed onto the pinion gear shaft: The bearings they used are intended to be side loaded, and because of the design, you can take them apart. Carefully pry off the grease seal, pop off the retaining ring, and the bearing falls apart. You don't HAVE to take it apart to clean it out, but you can do a more thorough job if you do. Here's the retaining ring popped out of it's groove: Take the bearing apart, clean the old grease out, put it back together, and add new grease: Here's the lower pinion bearing popped out of the housing. Note that this was not the easiest part of the job: But after seeing the grease in there, I'm glad I went through the effort:

Mike, Thanks much for adding to the info. So it seems there might be a source for inner tie rods after all? I'm planning to reuse mine, but maybe I should squirrel away a pair for the future. That's great detective work. I couldn't see your pic attachments though... Not sure what the problem is, but it's probably at my end. I'm going to post the last of my pics in a sec, and I sure hope you didn't just post the same shots!

Oh, and BTW... I think I've turned up a cheap viable alternative to the original steering rack bellows.