Evidently the Steering Racks are in fact different | FerrariChat
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Evidently the Steering Racks are in fact different

Discussion in '308/328' started by 328Stuts, Feb 21, 2015.

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  1. 328Stuts

    328Stuts Karting

    Aug 17, 2013
    185
    TN
    Full Name:
    Chris
    #1 328Stuts, Feb 21, 2015
    As I have been working through the steering rack mess on my 328 , we have discovered that on the 328, 1988 & 1988.5 for sure, the steering racks are different than others. Evidently they used 3 different steering racks , different lengths etc.

    I havent been able to nail down the exact reason why, but buyers be informed, as you are searching for racks , parts etc... they are slim pickins for the 88 and may affect other years as well.

    The 308 racks do NOT work, wont work, and there are 3 different lengths they used.

    So as the project wears on, new info on the horizon. It would be nice to find a parts source for this, and even more so figure out why the different lengths. To be continued.
     
  2. phrogs

    phrogs F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Apr 13, 2004
    7,338
    Kzoo Michigan
    #2 phrogs, Feb 21, 2015
    Is there no one that can rebuild it?
     
  3. miked

    miked Formula Junior

    Feb 7, 2001
    895
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    #3 miked, Feb 21, 2015
    Could they be different because of the ABS? The wheel offset is, maybe the spindle/knuckle differences for the ABS required a rack change.
     
  4. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,259
    Black Forest Germany
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    Martin N.
    #4 Martin308GTB, Feb 21, 2015
    Chris,
    This brainteaser is getting interesting for me.
    I just found out, that at least ferrparts.com distinguishs between 328 88 and 328 from car 76627. (88.5 ?)

    This is what they are listing regarding 328 steering racks. Since you are in the U.S, I limited my research to LHD:

    328 / 85: steering rack 123909
    328 / 88: 123909 / on exhaustion use 131685 ( seems to be identical to 328/85)
    328 / 88: from car 76627 : 135964

    Maybe you should call them. They list the late rack, but price only on request.

    Best Regards from Germany
    Martin
     
  5. maurice70

    maurice70 F1 Rookie

    Jan 25, 2004
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    maurice T
    #5 maurice70, Feb 21, 2015

    Chris,could you confirm if your car has ABS?
     
  6. 328Stuts

    328Stuts Karting

    Aug 17, 2013
    185
    TN
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    Chris
    #6 328Stuts, Feb 21, 2015
    Here is the kicker... my car (78511) is a 1988, with the suspension upgrade, convex wheels but NO ABS,henceforth seems to be part of the 88 1/2 run...

    After talking with Eurospares as well in this search
    PN 135964, is NOT a universal rack... otherwise it would have fit mine, after giving them the dimensions it was confirmed the one they have was not the correct one. They did not have the one i needed and had no idea if they ever would.

    I did source another 1988 328 Rack, and has same dimensions as mine... it was a fluke find... so i negotiated the deal to get it...

    I am nervous about breaking it down to do bushings etc, because of the strangeness of all this, I am worried that the parts wont be available..

    It is a TRW rack, and I know they would have used this in other cars, but I havent had any luck with contacting TRW directly, but the casting numbers on the rack have to have some correlation with their catalog of parts...
     
  7. greg328

    greg328 F1 Rookie

    Nov 17, 2003
    4,208
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    #7 greg328, Jun 6, 2016
    I'm in need of a steering rack for my 87 328 as well. I've visited the Superformance UK website and they offer 2 lengths for the 328, 113cm and 130cm.

    Anybody know for certain which rack my non-ABS 328 would need?

    Thanks,
    Greg
    Houston
     
  8. 328Stuts

    328Stuts Karting

    Aug 17, 2013
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    Chris
    #8 328Stuts, Jun 6, 2016
    The only way to know for sure is to pull it out... I went through the nightmare myself and I know there are evidently at least 3 different racks they used... Neither one from the regular suppliers had the correct overall length ... You have to pull it and measure the length from tie rod end to tie rod end
     
  9. greg328

    greg328 F1 Rookie

    Nov 17, 2003
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    Greg
    #9 greg328, Jun 6, 2016
    Well that sucks. Pretty inconvenient because my mechanic can't store the car as it awaits parts. I need to get the parts and then bring the car. I think the non-ABS car takes the shorter rack, according to an ad I read on Ebay.. thanks for the quick response...
     
  10. maurice70

    maurice70 F1 Rookie

    Jan 25, 2004
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    maurice T
    #10 maurice70, Jun 7, 2016
    Greg please let us know how you go as I too need to replace the rack on my 87'GTS..
     
  11. greg328

    greg328 F1 Rookie

    Nov 17, 2003
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    #11 greg328, Jun 7, 2016
    I've ordered the 113cm rack as specified bySuperformance UK to be the correct rack for my non ABS 87 model. We shall see... I'll post back here when I find out firsthand.
    Greg


    Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
     
  12. andyww

    andyww F1 Rookie

    Feb 7, 2011
    2,775
    London
    #12 andyww, Jun 7, 2016
    That should be correct. The difference with the 88.5 suspension was the offset was reduced by moving the hub further out into the wheel to be closer to the vertical center line of the wheel, hence the convex wheels, so the rack would be longer on the 88.5 cars.
     
  13. greg328

    greg328 F1 Rookie

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    #13 greg328, Jun 7, 2016
    OK good to know. The OP is under the impression that there are 3 different racks, and that may be, but seems to be that small length differences can be compensated for by tie rod adjustment.

    It would make more sense that only 2 different racks existed, one for ABS and one for non-ABS. This is how Superformance UK lists them anyway.

    Greg
     
  14. andyww

    andyww F1 Rookie

    Feb 7, 2011
    2,775
    London
    #14 andyww, Jun 7, 2016
    Not sure why there would be 3. Its important where the extra length is located though. The location of the inner track rod ball joints need to match the virtual pivot point of the suspension movement otherwise bump-steer will result. This cant be dialled out by adjusting the track rods.

    But there are only two different geometries so suspect two of the 3 types of rack are in fact the same length.

    Edit: Was there any difference in the gearing ratio maybe, across the different types?
     
  15. greg328

    greg328 F1 Rookie

    Nov 17, 2003
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    #15 greg328, Jun 7, 2016
    OK, just echoing the OP. Not sure why there would be 3.

    Greg
     
  16. Falcon

    Falcon Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2008
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    Falcon
    #16 Falcon, Jun 7, 2016
    Could the three racks be for the original 308 suspension, the Mondial suspension and the Mondial suspendsion with ABS?
     

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