MII kit on it's way.. Getting motivated!

No, they are not apples. They are rack n pinions. The info is good. I was not aware that there are different lengths of shafts. If I run into a problem I now know that I might have a solution..

 

Are the same racks? With the same mounts? Made by the same company? If they are, jut cut the shaft. And stop worrying about who has the longer shaft...so far Frank has the short end of the stick....

 

The ends are splined..

 

That's what machine shops do.

 

I didn't know that.. And I am thinking mine is longer than yours..

 

The importance about the length of the shaft is that the racks are not kit-specific. I did not buy mine with my R&C kit, but it was purchased through some other aftermarket supplier.

When/if your rack fails, or if you decide to get a chrome one to replace a painted one, or if you want a tighter turn ratio, you will need to get one with the same length shaft or end up having to redo all the intermediate shafts, and possibly having issues with your next shaft hitting a header or something.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the tie rods come in at least two different lengths, so you need to know if you need long or short tie rod ends.

The racks are not that expensive...I think mine was $125. But your price goes up if you have to rebuild the intermediate shaft linkages and buy new tie rod ends to make your rack fit.

Not to mention the frustration of thinking "my rack should be delivered today, I can drive my car tomorrow" and find that it is not a direct fit and you will need to wait another week or two for more parts to be ordered and delivered, and extra time to re-fab all the other parts.

You would have to throw in a new alignment, as well, if the tie rods are the wrong length.

Wow! That almost snowballed!

 

Ah the joys of using non stock parts, if you just ordered all the parts form one place, wouldn't it just make it easier? Why try to piece something together, when you can just buy a complete kit? I think you've showed enough proof, of what can happen.

 

I had no choice in the matter. I bought half of the kit from someone who gave up on the project, and who had bought a bunch of part from other suppliers. So I ended up using some, junking some because they did not fit, and ended up spending more in the long run than if I had just bought the entire kit from R&C.

That is why I keep preaching "BUY it ALL as a kit!!!"

 

this is where mine came from...said on the box...short pinion...
...this came with my...RC-107 kit...

 

I assumed that when it said short shaft/pinion, it was referring to the tie rod length, and that is why they offer short and long tie rod ends

 

79-93 Mustang...so it shouldn't be too hard to get an easy replacement...

what does the...long steering shaft...fit?

 

Comets..