Steering rack limiter?

[luxstang]

Does anybody know if there is a steering rack limiter available for our cars? Or if there is another remedy?

I need to prevent the front left tire from rubbing on the frame rail when turning it all the way to the left. They complained about it during inspection and it won't pass next time if the problem persists. 
I know that the problem is common to our cars but they don't care. 
 

 

[Fabrice]

Very happy to see the @bee@ is still in your hands!

Common? Tbh I've never heard of that one unless you'd have extra large tires > 255.
May be there is a way to limit the original saginaw box rotations?

One quick trick would be to pass the control with another set of thinner wheels/tires.

 

[Stanglover]

The only way I know of to limit turn travel is to change the stop shim or end plug in the PS box. Has you PS box been rebuilt? I'm wondering if it was assembled incorrectly although that is hard to believe unless incorrect parts were used. If that's not the case then my uneducated guess is something else is wrong, like alignment.

 

[tony-muscle]

When turning to the left you are probably hitting the nut that holds the gear box. I have two ideas:

-Depending on how much they are touching, you may be able to grind a little of the nut without compromising its integrity.

-From factory the stop point is when the spindle contacts the LCA. You could drill the LCA to add a bolt and locknut. You then can adjust the stop point by tightening or loosening the bolt. This is what my aftermarket LCAs have. However, the stock ones may not have enough meat there to drill a hole without weakening, which means that you will have to reinforce around it. Or perhaps just weld shims to achieve the desired stop point. All depending on how much of the stock look you want to retain.

-Edit PS: another one could be to add a thin enough wheel spacer to push the wheel a few tens of an inch outwards.

 

[luxstang]

The only way I know of to limit turn travel is to change the stop shim or end plug in the PS box. Has you PS box been rebuilt? I'm wondering if it was assembled incorrectly although that is hard to believe unless incorrect parts were used. If that's not the case then my uneducated guess is something else is wrong, like alignment.

Alignment is fine. I don't think the PS box has ever been rebuilt. It might be because of the 255 tires though but if I remember correctly it also did it with the 235 ones..... 

 

[luxstang]

When turning to the left you are probably hitting the nut that holds the gear box. I have two ideas:

-Depending on how much they are touching, you may be able to grind a little of the nut without compromising its integrity.

-From factory the stop point is when the spindle contacts the LCA. You could drill the LCA to add a bolt and locknut. You then can adjust the stop point by tightening or loosening the bolt. This is what my aftermarket LCAs have. However, the stock ones may not have enough meat there to drill a hole without weakening, which means that you will have to reinforce around it. Or perhaps just weld shims to achieve the desired stop point. All depending on how much of the stock look you want to retain.

-Edit PS: another one could be to add a thin enough wheel spacer to push the wheel a few tens of an inch outwards.

Thanks. I'll give that a try. I thought there might exist some kind of Gadget that would do the job but I'll try this method you mentioned,

thanks a lot! 
A spacer is out of the question as there is a very tiny gap between the fender and the tire because of the lowered suspension. 
 

 

[Stanglover]

Alignment is fine. I don't think the PS box has ever been rebuilt. It might be because of the 255 tires though but if I remember correctly it also did it with the 235 ones..... 

I have 235 tires on the front and no issue with lock to lock. Something just doesn't add up here.

 

[Bentworker]

When your wheels are straight what is the position of the pins on your rag joint?  Are they at 12 and 6 O'clock?

 

[luxstang]

When your wheels are straight what is the position of the pins on your rag joint?  Are they at 12 and 6 O'clock?

I need to check that. Currently my lift is engaged by a friend’s 49 Chevy truck. 

 

[tony-muscle]

I am following your results closely because your setup is my motivation to go with 255s in my lowered suspension.

 

[Bentworker]

You could probably pop the hood and spy around the brake booster with a flashlight to see the rag joint from the top side.  It is a congested part of the engine bay.

 

[Hemikiller]

Put a hose clamp on the steering stop on the strut rod. That'll stop it from traveling too far and hitting the frame rail for inspection. You could put it on the spindle if that's less conspicuous. 

 

[Bentworker]

If your rag joint pins prove out to be at 12 and 6 O’clock with the wheels straight it proves that your car was aligned with your steering box centered.  If not it means that the steering box is not centered and you will have an unequal amount of travel left to right.

If it is centered, and still rubs when turning left you could swap steering box piston caps to limit left travel.  It isn’t hard, just a big snap ring to remove.  One from a F-body GM application is taller and would reduce travel.  It is also a possibility that the one on your box wasn’t from a mustang application if the box has ever been rebuilt.

 

[tony-muscle]

If your rag joint pins prove out to be at 12 and 6 O’clock with the wheels straight it proves that your car was aligned with your steering box centered.  If not it means that the steering box is not centered and you will have an unequal amount of travel left to right.

If it is centered, and still rubs when turning left you could swap steering box piston caps to limit left travel.  It isn’t hard, just a big snap ring to remove.  One from a F-body GM application is taller and would reduce travel.  It is also a possibility that the one on your box wasn’t from a mustang application if the box has ever been rebuilt.

My thought is, and I was just looking at this issue two days ago, that on the driver's side the tires will first make contact with the nut that holds the steering box. Since this nut is not in the passenger side, there is about 1/8" to 1/4" more travel on that side before the tires rub. Since he has 255s that very well could be the issue so he has to slightly extend the steering stop when turning to the left.

 

[luxstang]

When your wheels are straight what is the position of the pins on your rag joint?  Are they at 12 and 6 O'clock?

I just checked. They are more or less 12 and 6 o'clock. Just a little off. 

 

[luxstang]

Put a hose clamp on the steering stop on the strut rod. That'll stop it from traveling too far and hitting the frame rail for inspection. You could put it on the spindle if that's less conspicuous. 

I did just that and it works like a charm.  

 

[Bentworker]

I just checked. They are more or less 12 and 6 o'clock. Just a little off. 

If you could sit in your drivers seat and engage x-ray vision to look through the dash and firewall are the coupler pins more at 1 and 7 o-clock or 11 and 5 o-clock?  If it is 1 and 7 you have more steering box travel to turn left and that may be your issue.  With the pins at 12 and 6 your steering wheel should be straight.  Sometimes along the line the steering wheel gets pulled and installed a little off, then the car gets aligned to make the steering wheel appear proper- when it is not.