Which powersteering racks are compatable with a 90 L

[Shaggy]

I have a 90 L n/a awd with a bade tierod on the passengers side and the powersteering rack leaks out of the boot in a little stream when i turn my wheels all the way to the drivers side, so I've decided it's time to buy a good one instead of just buying powersteering fluid. I was wondering what racks are compatabe with my car and tierods too.

[Legacy777]

Most any of the newer racks from second gen legacies & imprezas should work.

[Shaggy]

Thanks Josh. Are the tierods compatable too? Or are the a different style?

[Legacy777]

There are different part #'s for tie rods. My impreza has different tie rods than my Legacy. I'm not exactly sure what the difference is. Depending on what you find with the rack, I'd suggest doing some checking and see if the part #'s are different.

[sqc151]

90-99 legacy steering racks are direct fit.

[bry]

'90-'91 units have outer tie-rods with a crook, so there is a left and right. '92 up are ambidextrous, LH works on RH. Although I've not tried, it would appear that you can use later tie-rods with the earlier steering knuckles.

I recently installed a '95 (Gen 2) steering rack into a '94 (Gen 1). I used all of the '95 including outer tie-rods, although I did install some new OE rack boots. There were no fitment issues including hydraulic lines and steering shaft.

[Shaggy]

Thanks a bunch guys. I don't know what I would do sometimes if it wasn't for u guys on this site. U all save me a lot of money time and stress. And my car loves u guys too.

[bry]

yeah, you can save a ton of money and get better parts than aftermarket by knowing which original equipment stuff interchanges. a used 100k mile subie rack is way cheaper and will likely last way longer than a rebuilt unit. most all rebuilders take a worn-out rack and simply install new seals. because the actual sliding rack tends to wear out of round at high mileage or high contamination, you end up with a piece of junk that might last a year or two. additionally, autozone and o'reilly racks have inferior rubber boots which crack in as little as two years. i only use oe rubber as it is a "near virgin" real rubber. aftermarket is pretty much plastic with a little rubber mixed in.....

[Shaggy]

Bry, u said that u haven tried the newer gen tierods on a first gen, but u said that u put a second gen with the tierods on a first gen? Wouldn't that be wut u said u haven't done? .. I was just wondering if the ambidextrous tie rods will work with the first gen steering knuckles?

Also does it matter if it comes off of a legacy outback will it make a difference with compatability or not?

[bry]

shag,

no, i have not tried gen 2 tie rods on 90-91 legacy. i have installed a gen 2 legacy rack and tie-rods into a '94. i currently have a need for a rack install into a '90. i plan to try whatever is available and low mileage at the local LKQ, but will probably wait until 50% weekend which coincides with any holiday weekend, i.e. T-day.... there is currently a '97 imprezza there, but no guarantee it will still be there on holiday. btw, i kept the '94 tie-rods and will compare to '90 at that time.

[Shaggy]

Ok.. I don't have to replace it right now and I also am pretty broke right now so I will probably wait for a little while. I have been doin some price checking for now but that will probably be all I will do tell I get ahead in my bills. If u do ur swap before I get to mine I would like to know how it went. Thanks again for the info. There is a 96 legacy outback rack with tierods at my local junkyard that I'm thinkin about pickin up when I get the money, if I do I'll let u know how that goes.

[Legacy777]

Thanks for the info bry. Keep us posted on the tie rods, I'd be curioius if you can use the ambidextrous tie rods on the 90-91 spindles and rack.


Now I'm trying to think why Subaru would have used the different tie rods. What I've found the 90-91's tended to have better designed parts, and the 92 and later legacies and Impreza had parts that were redesigned to save money. So I'm curious what the 90-91 tie rods give you....does it improve/change turning radius or ratio.....or just maybe change the alignment of the steering rack rods.

[93Leg-c]

All gen 2 tie rods and gen 1 tie rods may not be interchangeable. A few months ago I found that out when working with my '98 and '94 Legacies. The tie rod would not fit into the steering knuckle due to a difference in the taper or the thickness (or it may have been both). I don't remember if I was trying to fit the '98 tie rod into the '94 steering knuckle or the '94 tie rod into the '98 knuckle but in my case they didn't fit. (Funny thing, though, the '93-'94 tie rods fit right into the '02 wrx steering knuckle.)

[bry]

just a couple more days and i'll be spending some quality time with the pick-a-part

[bry]

I've got good news and bad news. Bad news is the '97 imprezza was gone and there was only an SVX and an '89 legacy available. The legacy had 278K miles on it, but the steering rack boots were original and crack free. I assume the rubber lasted as the car appeared to be from up north (seriously rusty around the body lowers). Anyway, I pulled the '89 rack and because the PS reservoir was low, I tore the rack down for inspection and output seal replacement. Since the boots were in fair shape, the rack internals look pretty good. Just a little wear on the rack adjustment slide.

More bad news: couldn't find the '94 tie-rods to compare to the '90. I'm getting in the habit of throwing out parts I may not need as I've been dangerously close to having more parts than garage on several occasions. Ironically, I do have a picture of the '94 tie rod on the car and also a '90 tie rod. I see no reason for the curved tie-rod. It is NOT for clearance to the sway-bar as you can see in the pic at full-lock. Note that RockAuto indicates ''90-'92 Legacy are same as '93-'96 Imprezza, while '93-'97 Legacy are same as '93-'97 Imprezza.

1993-1994 Tie-Rod, Straight

1990-1992 Tie-Rod, Curved


The '89-'92 steering rack appears to be identical to later racks except that the center of the cylinder tube is necked down (see pic), while later racks are not. This is obviously to save money as swedging a tube for no reason is expensive.



The good news is I will probably do a writeup on steering rack rebuild using plain english and pics. If you have read through the FSM instructions, then you are probably too terrified to try the rebuild as the FSM makes it seem way more difficult than it is. I ordered the output seal kit from Subaru today ($45), and it will take a couple of weeks to receive. I am not replacing the input seals (the area that the steering shaft connects to) as I see no evidence of leakage. Typcially, input seals last a long time since these experience little contamination, heat and only minimal rotational motion. Besides, input seals can be changed later without having to disassemble the entire rack.

[93Leg-c]

I, for one, am looking forward to your write up!

[bry]

After the seal kit arrives, I'll start a new "How to Repair Leaking Steering Rack" thread. Until then, here's a pic of what the internals look like.


Rod will have to be refinished in increasing wet grit 600 to 1200 as shown:

This miraculous tool replaces the "special tools" specified in the FSM. Yes, it is masking tape....

[Legacy777]

Nice pictures. Looking forward to the write-up.

[bry]

Link to write-up: http://www.bbs.legacycentral.org/viewto ... =6&t=45717

[Shaggy]

So i checked out my tierods and my powersteering rack today because its getting close to tax time and i plqn on putting some money in my car and i grabbed my drivers side tierod and tried moving it and twisting it and it was solid, then i went to the passengers side (the side that leaks) and i could twist the whole shaft that goes up into the powersteering rack and the tierod felt pretty squishy/soft when i was twisting it. I know that its bad but im wondering if i should just get a new powersteering rack or if i could get away with rebuilding this one. Also how soft are the tierods suposed to be. I was already thinking about getting a powersteering rack from the junkyard or trying to pick one up from someone on the site.

[Legacy777]

I think a lot depends on how bad the leak is, if there's dirt and gunk that got in there that could have scored the piston shaft.

Honestly, it'll be A LOT less work on your part just to get another rack than it would be to rebuild it. You may save a little money, but how much is your time worth too?

[Shaggy]

Ya i think im just gonna get one frome the junkyard. The leak is pretty bad but the boot isnt torn, i think theres just a hole in it or something. Theres 300k on my rack tho so im gonna get another on and then ill bust mine apart and rebuild it possibly, getting ready for if i ever need it. Thanks for ur opinion josh.