84 SVO rag joint replacement (done but loose?)

[Lanes84s]

Hey guys, just yesterday I replaced the rag joint in my SVO because the other one was DESTROYED! :O...it had about 25 degrees of play ;) and after replacing the it with a new one the steering is still off by about 4 or 5 degrees....I know this isn't much, but I was doing research and these are supposed to have immaculate handling from what I hear. Am I supposed to have a 0-3 Degree lag in the steering or is it fine the way it is? Also is 20:1 correct for an 84 because that seems very odd that they would do 20:1 instead of 15-13:1?...Info would be awesome! :D

[Gyrhead]

Hey Lane, 20:1 leads me to believe someone replaced the Hi-Po SVO rack with a standard Ford one for Fairmont/Towncar/who knows what. The Hi-Po rack should be like 2.5 or 2.25 turns lock to lock. There were some variations in 84. I believe those had the TRW rack, BDQM. I still thought it was a performance
rack.

Pretty sure if the wheel isn't pointing straight ahead, that's an alignment issue. If the steering has slop it's either the rack or the rag joint (which you just replaced)

[MikeFleming]

All 84 SVOs originally came with a variable ratio 20:1 TRW rack & pinion (TRW is cast into the housing). It has 3.0 turns lock-to-lock - easy enough to check.

The 85 and later SVOs (and all Mustangs with the handling package) came with a Ford rack (cast into the housing) with a 15:1 ratio, aka 2.5 turns lock-to-lock. Some of the GT models had rack travel limiters so the wheels wouldn't hit the a-arms and the effective l-t-l was slightly lower than 2.5.

The Ford HP rack is also a very popular and common replacement for the TRW rack. So you should get under the car and look to see what you have.

If the steering wheel center alignment is incorrect, you can either get an alignment correct or you can add/subtract the same number of turns on the tie-rod adjusters until it's centered again.

[TheSVOTrust]

Did you remove an SVO specific polyurethane rag joint and replace it with a rubber one?

Mark

P.S. We all should know that NPD sells a polyurethane rag joint for a 1969 Boss 302 that works for the SVO (other than reaming out the SAE holes to metric)

[dznj]

Really, an SVO-specific rag joint? Learn something new every day. I changed out the rag in my SVO with the standard off-the-shelf unit, and I have no play.

D

[brsvo]

Wish I had known about this in spring when I put the Help part in!

[TheSVOTrust]

What air pressure is currently in the front tires?

Mark

[Gyrhead]

Mr. Flaming River fixed this for me:D

[rickibrat2]

yes Mr flamming river has parts onthe way here too
i know it will take a few points away from stock but i think it will handle better and i hate rag joints

[beeker]

you'll love the flaming river joint, it's like driving a go-kart !!!!

[Chalky]

I put the MM piece in my car and love it!!!!

[Lanes84s]

Haha I leave for three days and find a TON of reply's, new to the site and that's an awesome thing to find! :P...umm let's see here...I'm 18 years old and don't know much about everything but my dad is very good at all of this. from what we know EVERYTHING is stock. literally EVERYTHING, so I have no reason to believe anything else got changed out. I believe the rag joint was a stock Ford piece and I replaced it with an off the shelf one. The amount of play in the wheels is similar to any other car I've driven (exactly like my 84 GT too) but I figured these would have much more responsive handling (like a go-kart if you will) but if you guys are telling me that a different joint will make it handle like that then I'm sorry to say I'm not planning on doing that :P. I'm staying as original as possible so the $10 rubber replacement seemed like a good idea. Everything else in the system seems working except I have not yet balanced the wheels and they have been sitting for ten years. THANK YOU EVERYONE!

[TheSVOTrust]

Haha I leave for three days and find a TON of reply's, new to the site and that's an awesome thing to find! :P...umm let's see here...I'm 18 years old and don't know much about everything but my dad is very good at all of this.

HaHa indeed !! At least you are going to learn from him and it will serve you the rest of your life, fixing things and saving you money !!

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit
Wisdom is knowing not to put it in fruit salad

Mark
P.S. He probably knows that the tires are flat spotted but thought to try a rebalance. He probably know that isn't going to stop the pain !
(money of safety wise)

[Lanes84s]

Mark
P.S. He probably knows that the tires are flat spotted but thought to try a rebalance. He probably know that isn't going to stop the pain !
(money of safety wise)

We actually haven't balanced the tires and are aware of an issue with a flat spot in a few tires after 10 years of sitting. We actually have a nasty shake in the front end at around 40+mph and we are hoping a rebalance and new tires and the rag joint help out a lot! but we won't know until we purchase the new tires and/or wheels.

[Meotchh]

Did you remove an SVO specific polyurethane rag joint and replace it with a rubber one?

Mark

P.S. We all should know that NPD sells a polyurethane rag joint for a 1969 Boss 302 that works for the SVO (other than reaming out the SAE holes to metric)

Mark,
This is the only Polyurethane rag joint I could find -->http://npdlink.com/store/products/insulator_steering_joint_coupler_polyurethane-148817-0.html. Is that the one you are talking about?