GS Steering Rack Swap to an RS: advice?

neutral · Post by **neutral** » May 3rd, 2005, 8:30 pm

Just rec'd a really low mileage GS steering rack to swap into my 95 RS. Price was too good to pass up and the GS rack looks to be in outstanding shape. I've always wanted to upgrade to the GS steering ratio but heard it can be a PITA swap when performed with the motor in the car. A BP swap is one possible option this summer and I could do the rack swap then with the engine out. But... I might not do a BP swap til next Spring.

Has anyone completed this upgrade with the engine in the car? Any special problem(s) or reason this swap caused you temporary insanity?

I haven't gone under the car yet for a closer look. Factory workshop manual makes it sound like such a simple process (of course! lol). Any experienced POV appreciated.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » May 3rd, 2005, 8:37 pm

Should be a piece of cake man.. just grab the yellow pages.. find a suspension shop.. take it in.. show them the part.. tell them to put it in your car.. 2 hours later you give the nice man a $150 or so and call it good

You're going to need to get it aligned anyway.. might as well get it done in one shot.

Now.. if you have the proper tools.. air tools.. pickle fork.. BAHammer.. and a lot of patience.. its a pain.. but shouldnt take that long.. maybe a day project if you havent done work like that before. I havent on a MX-3.. but I tore down and replaced the entire front suspension of my Subaru the first time I worked on that and it was a 7 hour project for me. Dirty, nasty and annoying are the best adjectives I can think of to describe the process. Hope this helps.

Tunes67

snellgrove · Post by **snellgrove** » May 4th, 2005, 4:18 pm

how many is it lock-to-lock in the RS?

have to say I *love* the fast steering in the MX-3, 2.7 turns lock-lock is amazingly sporty feeling... bet you cant wait to get that in there

neutral · Post by **neutral** » May 4th, 2005, 6:16 pm

snellgrove wrote:how many is it lock-to-lock in the RS?... 2.7 turns lock-lock is amazingly sporty feeling... bet you cant wait to get that in there

RS is (edited) 3.1 turns lock-to-lock w/ratio of 17.0:1 (RS); 15.0:1 (GS). Yah, I'm pretty pumped to get it installed. I like my 95 RS w/upgraded suspension & wheels/tires for great handling, gets good gas mileage, and it's generally quick enough for my style of driving but the RS steering just does not provide that "in-the-palm-of-your-hand" feel. I want that feeling where you don't actually turn the steering wheel but just sorta put pressure on it and the car responds.

Bought the used GS rack from PATDIESEL's "6 Crates of MX-3 parts" sale. Has a tag on it stating from a GS w/only 25K miles. Hope that's accurate. It does look to be in fantastic shape w/practically no wear and my RS steering rack is also original equip with 140K miles on it.

georgechicken · Post by **georgechicken** » May 7th, 2005, 4:59 am

As far as the length of the rods, there should be enough adjustment between the inner and outer rods and end to compensate for the track width difference between the RS and GS. What you'll need to find out before getting too deep is:

Are the mounts in the same place?
Is the input shaft the same diameter, and have the same # of splines?
Are the fluid fittings in similar locations? Are there the same # of these?
Does the GS outer tie rod end fit into the RS spindle?
Is the rack housing the same diameter?

Now's also the time to replace the bellows boots and the tie rods and the ends, if needed. The tie rods require a special magical tool for removal with the rack in the car, and it is a royal pain in the a-- to find that tool.. not to mention the $70 you drop on it just for that one use when you do find it..

Good luck, and let us know if you get it to work!

Daniel

neutral · Post by **neutral** » May 7th, 2005, 7:18 am

Hey Daniel, thanks for the input. Hoping to get under the car this weekend to scope things out for some of those specifics and also to assess whether the x-member has to be dropped to do this swap. Seem to recall reading on Vaughn Nishimura's old website that it will. If so, and if I decide to proceed soon w/the rack install instead of waiting to do it in conjunction with a "possible" BP swap til next year, there's also some other work under there I'd like to coordinate with this proj now. Was surprised to see your comment about a difference in RS vs GS track width. Thought they were the same?

Tunes, I see your POV about paying a mech but I really wanna try a DIY approach on this one if for no other reason than I haven't done it before. lol If I can do it once, might well say afterwards, "never ever again" or maybe, "I'm a loser baby, so why don't ya kill me..."

No doubt it would be a profanity laced project at certain moments. Access to a couple of tools is something I'm working re options on that front. At least my available time is not an issue. The MX-3 isn't a daily driver + my new job requires 2-3 hrs./day less than the previous job + my commute is now 15 minutes insted of 1-1.5 hrs each way. More than anything, time manages everything.

Hey Yoda, feel free to weigh in too on any of this. Have a sneaking suspicion that your "gearhead" includes some steering gear knowledge in there??...

Gro Harlem · Post by **Gro Harlem** » May 7th, 2005, 9:14 am

umm...RS ps rack is 3.1 lock-to-lock according to mazda.

the GS is 2.7 although mine seems to be 2.5 or so, can't turn it past 1.25 turns one way.

And .4 might not seem like a big diff but OMFG it is! My protege LX rack is identical to the RS and I drove that car for 3 years before getting my GS. I'm so damn spoiled on that GS rack, being able to make 90 dgree turns with a .25 whip of the wheel one way or the other is awesome

georgechicken · Post by **georgechicken** » May 7th, 2005, 9:46 am

Well, the difference in width is all in the control arms. If I'm not mistaken, the GS is about an inch (give or take a hair) wider, and it's all accounted for in the control arms. I know this to be fact between the GS and the 323 of a like year model, and could ALMOST sware to it between the RS and GS. If not, then cool, but either way, I'm sure that in overall length, there's enough adjustment provided on the tie rods to compensate for probably up to 3 or 4 inches of difference.

I can tell you that doing the rack by itself (sans motor swap) is damn near insane on the PGT/MX-6. The RS mx3 may make it a bit easier on you. You'll have to drop the transverse member for sure, but the spider senses lead me to believe you were talking more about the subframe. If you have a lift and some heavy duty tranny jacks, then I could see dropping the subframe, otherwise, just do without. If you run across any issues, then feel free to ask all the questions you need. Good luck, and keep us up to date!

Daniel