Your existing power steering hoses will connect directly to any SN95 (94-04) Mustang rack. Just make sure to replace both Teflon washers so you don't have fluid leaks.

 

fwiw, i got my LOW milage o4 gt rack from car-part.com (actually, LKQ corp) for 65 bux delivered.

i used the MM hybrid shaft. not driving it yet, so no impressions... ohh, and anew pressure hose from car quest auto parts. napa had the teflon o rings in stock for a buck each.

 

I installed an '04 GT rack with the MM hybrid shaft in my car. HUGE improvement over stock. Granted, the stock stuff was completely trashed, but FWIW the steering feels better than I thought possible in a Mustang.

I don't know what differences, if any, there are between steering racks from different year SN95 Mustangs. I just went eith the '04 because it was easiest to get ahold of at the time.

 

The ratios and steering angles i think are different. The quick ratio fox rack I think is the 15:1. I think Fox4's have few steering wheel turns and the wheels turn further cause the cars are a bit wider. I could be wrong.

 

Fox (quick ratio power) amd SN95 racks have the same steering ratio, 15:1. Most of the Fox racks have steering racking limiting clips installed from Ford to limit the steering lock and keep the "wide" 225 tires from rubbing. When you remove the clips, both racks require the same number of turns lock to lock.

The biggest difference in the racks is that the SN95 racks have a stiffer torsion valve in them. This gives much more weight when the car is going straight and reduces the assist level when the car is turning.

 

Jack,
Whilst replacing the inner tie rods ends on my 03 Cobra rack recently, I noticed there were large round bushing/ stopper looking things inboards of where the inner tie rod ends thread onto the rack internals. With the inner tie rod ends removed, I could have easily removed these. Are those the steering rack limiters? If so, they are also present on the 03-04 Cobra racks as well.

Also-regarding the teflon washers. Luke87GT gave me the tip of removing those entirely and using teflon tape on the hose fitting threads. I have done this on both of my cars after doing the SN95 rack swap with very favorable results (no leaks) after several thousand miles. My 2 cents.

 

Yes, those are the steering rack limiting clips. You don't need to remove the inner tie rods to remove them. Just pull the bellows off of the rack housing, turn the steering full lock to one side. Remove the washer on that side, turn the steering full lock to the other side, remove that washer.

Using Teflon tape on these fittings scares me. When you remove the fittings from the rack, the tape can fall into the hole in the rack and then get into the hydraulic system.

 

Jack,
Duly noted on the teflon tape entering the hydraulic system. If the rack needs to be removed for any reason, I usually just pull it out from the k-member with the lines still attached.

 

Thanks for the replys fellas.

On another note; what PS pulley are you guys using with your SN95 racks?

 

I'm using the stock pulley, no issues at all. I plan on changing out the pulley shortly for the larger one out of a t-bird, per MM's recommendation and from what I've seen at the track.

 

Why a larger pully over a smaller one?

 

As for the teflon seals, my plan was to buy the fittings that MM offers and run AN fittings along with a cooler. Shouldn't have to mess with the teflon seals for as long as the rack lives.

 

good idea.
I dont know why, but the lines really kicked my ass. in fact, im still worried it might not be right. i have a little up and down movement in the pressure line...... i know they are freemoving laterally, but up and down?

anyone care to venture a guess on possible leak?
i do not have the eingine in yet, so now is the time to fix it if it is a problem, but maybe that's how it always was?

 

whew!

i thought the up/down or rather, in/out movement of the line might be dissaster....

my lines are brand new, and the rack had only 14k, all is pretty much shoroom clean... wish the rest was!


thanks

 

"The biggest difference in the racks is that the SN95 racks have a stiffer torsion valve in them. This gives much more weight when the car is going straight and reduces the assist level when the car is turning."

I thought the pump was responsible for the fade away steering at higher speeds. The newer (90s)t-bird pump made a big difference in my car and rack life. I was blowing pumps and racks about every year,maybe they were defective but I don't think so. I've since went to a manual rack to drag race but don't find it any better or worse than the stock rack. I think I'll try the newer power rack with matching pump and see what happens.

 

The stiffness of the torsion bar in a power rack determines how much steering wheel torque it takes before you start to get power assist. Once you have started to get power assist, the output pressure/volume of the PS pump determines how much power assist there is.

When you drive the car in a straight line, and give it a very small amount of steering wheel torque, there is no power assist until you apply enough torque to open the flow control valve in the rack, then you get power assist. Vehicle speed has nothing to do with power steering behavior in a Fox or SN95 Mustang.

If you were blowing up racks and/or pumps, then you were probably turning the pump too fast which generates too much fluid flow and therefore pressure.

 

i broke my new teflon seals when i installed a reman 93 cobra rack. my buddy installed his, he says don't tighten it down like it is a head bolt. next move is for an aluminum krc power steering pump, large resevoir can, an fittings and a large cooler. i keep thinking i don't want anything that generates heat on my cyl heads. the krc stuff is nice, their oval/dirt track stuff is nice. www.krcpower.com i think.

 

You can save yourself the fabrication mess and just go get this

http://www.maximummotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_10&products_id=445

 

thanks jacky boy, the krc stuff is expensive as hell. You know what they told me $3000 for a serpentine kit stand rot wat pump and custom pullies for a cleaner look. I did not know mm sells that. It looks just like a krc set up branded mm. Next big purchase when I get to the front of the car. Thank you sir!

 

Yes, the pump and pulley in the kit is from KRC. Everything else in the kit is custom made or pulled from different sources to make the kit easy to install.

 

Jack?

Will y'all be coming out with a kit that can work with a car that has ac?
or is there any way to make your kit work, jack with AC?

Please check this out..

http://forums.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?p=8751166#post8751166

thanks

 

Yes, I'm working on a version of the MM PS kit for use with A/C. I don't know when it will be done yet.

If you had to choose to change to the SN95 rack or do the MM PS kit, I would convert to the SN95 rack first. It is going to improve the on center feel more than the PS kit.

 

FYI I finished this about a month ago, I installed the MM hybrid shaft, '00 GT rack, new Fox inner/outer rods, PS cooler, new pump with the cut spring; the center feel is nice with the SN95 rack. I found that I have a little more driving confidence in the wet too.

 

Glad to see that this works for you! My '89 needs help in this department in a bad way, and I was going to do the same setup you did. I was thinking about the aluminum steering rack bushings as well.

For those with a larger pulley on their P/S pump, where can you source these? I read that the V-6 Mustangs had a larger pulley.

 

Liquid, which new pump did you end up going with ?

 

I just got a stock replacement at Autozone; I did the 1-7/16 pressure spring cut before I installed the pump.

 

Thanks!

 

loc-tite makes a paste thread sealant that I used on mine.

 

I have both a metal pulley from a fox 3.8 T-bird and a composite pulley from a MN12 V6 'bird... I'm still running the stock pulley on the car. Strangely I have yet to compare the larger pulleys side by side, but from my memory they seem to have the same dimensions.

I'll have the pull them out and compare.