[DeTomaso] Ferrari 308 steering rack - which one?

[Asa Jay Laughton]

For what it's worth, after installing the same rack in my Pantera, I 
wanted to see if I could loosen it just a bit.  After about two full 
turns of adjustment I don't think I really felt any difference.  I think 
Richard is correct; it may be there to tighten things up if they get loose.

Asa  Jay

Asa Jay Laughton - W7TSC, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
&  Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA
******************************
http://www.racingagainstautism.com
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On 8/10/2015 4:32 PM, Richard Barkley wrote:
> I received my new 308 rack from BUYAUTOPARTS.com. I ordered from their 
> ebay posting and received it the next day using UPS standard shipping 
> (I live ~100 mi away) 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-MANUAL-STEERING-RACK-AND-PINION-GEAR-ASSEMBLY-FOR-FERRARI-DINO-308-GT4-/290640157982
> This weekend I removed my original (rebuilt in 2002 with bushing and 
> new lower pinion thrust bearing) to do a comparison.
>
> Like others I've seen with the 80-70007 AN part number, mine has a 
> black middle tube. There are no part numbers or markings of any kind 
> on the rack. As noted on the PI forum, "It does seem a bit tight, 
> there is certainly no slop. I'd expect it to be a little smoother." It 
> seemed a little stiff to me, but when I compared it to my original 
> rack, it was not much different. I measured the torque applied to the 
> input shaft needed to turn it with no load. Using a digital luggage 
> scale and a pair of vice grips I measured <.65 ft-lbs. My original 
> rack measured about 0.5 ft-lbs. It has about 120K miles on it and 15K 
> since its rebuild. At the steering wheel I doubt if these differences 
> would be noticed. What really matters I how much friction there is 
> under load. I have no way to measure this. My guess is there is about 
> 5% loss.
>
> I noticed a variation (somewhat notchy) effort as I turned the input 
> by hand. This was noticeable on both racks. The "vibration" it caused 
> was really noticeable when moving the rack back and forth by 
> push/pulling on the tie rods. On the new rack, it took about 15-20 lbs 
> of force on the tie rod to move it. My old rack took 10-15 lbs. These 
> forces seem consistent with the 17.45:1 ratio (seen on one spec sheet) 
> and the input torque I measured.
>
> I played with the adjustment screw to see if I could lower the 
> friction. Backing it out didn't seem to reduce the forces but if you 
> tightened it down you could lock things up. My guess is the it's 
> purpose is to compensate for wear and to keep the dead zone to a 
> minimum as things wear. I removed the two caps on the rack/pinion 
> housing. The photo below shows the screw adjustment assembly. Notice 
> that the lubricant is grease, not oil. The lower thrust bearing is 
> under the other cap.
>
> Finally, I was impressed with the quality of the rack's materials and 
> workmanship. I'm sure it will last and work as well or better than the 
> original.
>
> Richard
>
> To ski or not to ski, that is the question!
> http://home.earthlink.net/~rlbpantera/
>
>
>
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