z51 Steering rack rebult/replacement/upgrade options

[militant_x]

The steering rack in my 86 is dead. Wondering if you guys could recomend someone who can rebuild it, or a place to buy a rebuilt or new one. It has to be atleast z51 though. I would consider an aftermarket upgrade also. To be an upgrade it has to maintain the same or better close steering ratio.

thanks,

-chris

ps, I havent posted in a while. The l98 finally died. A very badly spun bearing. Turned out the engine had been rebuilt before and the guy just didnt do it correctly. I pulled everything out and for the past few months have been gearing up for a $$$ ls1 swap. Its almost ready to go in. 2003 lq9, ls6 intake, hot cam, electic water pump. Working on hacking in a tko 600. With everything out of the car, seems like a great time to replace the rack.

 

[Edmond]

I'm interested in the replies you get for this thread as I'm thinking about having my steering rack rebuilt as well over the winter, though for a Z52.

Isn't the LQ9 a 6 liter motor?

 

[militant_x]

yeah I got the lq9 from a wrecked escalade EXT with 7000 miles on it. Not as light weight as an ls1 (about 80 lbs more I think) but not heavier than the l98. So im not worried. I trust Iron =)

-chris

 

[militant_x]

oops. To answer your question: The lq9 is a 6.0 L. So is the lq4.

 

[RedRagTop]

Listen. I gotta tell you what happend with mine. Same story, bad morning sickness, the works. Including dark fluid...
I dumped in a can of Lucas power steering conditioner and man...
I hate these "mechanic-in-the-drum" fixes but this one worked for now...

 

[militant_x]

yeah I went through literraly gallons of that stuff back when the car was running (pump was leaking also), I dont want to go through that again. Im also going to be running a c5 vette pump if that matters.

 

[c4cruiser]

Just about any reputable auto repair facility can install a remanufactured rack as both the Z51 and Z52 reman racks are available from parts jobbers. An AC Delco unit is available but at about 3 times the price. There are seal repair kits available, but if there are problems with the internal metal parts, the seal kits may not be of any use.

I was looking to upgrade my 87 Z52 rack to a Z51, but then I remembered the Z51 rack also includes a fluid cooler that is not otherwise installed on the Z52 or base rack. The pressure and return hoses are different for the Z51-specific rack compared to the other racks. GM no longer sells the ps fluid cooler for pre-89 Z51 cars. So you would probably have to use an aftermarket unit (available from Summit or Jeg's) and fabricate some lines.

I had swapped out old fluid in my 87 and replaced it with Red Line synthetic but shortly afterwards, I got a big leak on the passenger side seal at the internal tie rod end. The Lucas conditioner stopped the leak in no time. I had no issues with "morning sickness" or anything else so I was really happy that the stuff worked.

 

[militant_x]

as I understand it, the early 86 z51 cars did not have the cooler.

 

[militant_x]

well ok. Parts jobbers... I take that as meaning discount auto parts should be able to get me one. Easiest solution works I guess.

so now, what about performance upgrades? any recomendations?

 

[jsinga]

Make sure both inner tierods are replaced on your rebuild. Some of the cheap jobs all they do is put in new seals.

JS