Has anyone installed or tried to install a MWC manual steering kit? I am having a huge clearance issue with the shaft hitting my headers (1 7/8 kooks, stepped to a 2in but the step is after where the shaft is hitting). The shaft hitting the headers is making the rack adaptor a full hole off. Anyone have this issue?

 

I have emailed MWC, but since it’s the weekend I don’t think I will get an answer till Monday morning, but I’m with the car only for this weekend and hoping to get this last piece taking care of so I can bring it back home.

 

Kooks don't clear their manual rack. I had some 2" and they wouldn't clear

Bought ARH they clear fine as they are a diff design

You have 3 options

Dent the header in and run it

Buy new headers

Add a 3rd elbow for the steering shaft and rig something up to make what you have work

I vote put a small dent in the header as it will have no performance loss at all

 

These headers came off a car with a burkhart front end and he had no clearance issues what so ever. I was hoping since I had MWC that their product would work better together. I still don’t understand how the stock stuff worked fine but this with a smaller diameter shaft is so far off. I called before I bought them and said my exact header setup and they said that if the stock had enough clearance that I should be good to go because their (mwc) shaft was smaller in diameter (which it is) but the routing is like the shaft has to go straight through the primary at the 1 7/8s part.

 

Yeah it's the design of the kooks primaries, I had the same problem. I was running the same setup. I had ARH 1 7/8 on my car and they fit perfect with room to spare

Mocked up the kooks 2" and they aren't going to work, the primary flares out too much for me

I researched you could add a 3rd knuckle connector that will redirect the angle, I wanted a simple solution so I stuck with ARH and sold the kooks

 

I think that steering joint can go up higher on the rack input shaft. Doing so would let the rack shift to the right. Now the header tube, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

That slot is only for install purposes, the bottom is bolted to the rack and is fixed. No adjustment on it

 

Best pic I could get. It’s actually flush with the bottom of the joint. This is not their bolt on kit but you get the idea.

 

Had the same issue with my Kooks headers with mwc k member manual rack and shaft, switched to arh and is fine. Except the new headers hit my oil filter with aftermarket oil pan.

 

You are using our straight rack bracket adapter which is not the same as using a stock steering shaft onto a stock rack K-member. This version has the shortest steering shaft we offer but allows the best chance of no wheel to tie rod interference when using a factory width wheel. Our bent version rack bracket adapter may give a little more room as it moves the rack almost two inches further forward when using K-member designed for a power rack but swapping to a manual rack.

However we have sold racks and steering shaft combos with Kook headers we can only assume their tubes sit in the exact same location every time as our steering components can not be relocated. Unfortunately this is not the case for any header manufacturer.

A third joint may be the only option and not very uncommon. Here is our stand off with a second joint and extra 3/4 shaft.

 

i emailed your guys and actually purchased a new joint and some double D rod thinking I am going to have to remake the shaft, but from that suggestion I ordered the wrong thing. I included a picture of the kit that I received as well.

 

I should add that this car has 4.5 wide front wheels and will not have any wider wheel. Could I exchange brackets?

 

You could but it is still not a guarantee it will work with your combo. It also requires a different steering shaft.

 

We have 2" Kooks long tube headers with wrap on them and it still clears by 3/16ths to a 1/4". We have the Spohn K member and their rack though. The only way to fix that would be to make the shaft longer at the top going into the column to kick it over more. Shortening it would kick it over into the header more. Make your own at the correct length to clear. Probably only need to lengthen it a 1/2 of an inch more to clear, but you will have to shorten the shaft between the joints to maintain the correct distance for alignment purposes. Should not be that big of deal because you have 2 fixed mounting points. Just make sure there is no binding under load. One hell of a lot cheaper than discarding a bad *** set of $1400.00 headers. You add a third knuckle to that and you will have to mount a pillar block bearing on one of the 2 shafts, then attach that to the chassis. Now there are more problems. With all the people on here that have had the same problem. Sure doesn't look like its the header. No other K-member seem to have this problem. You guys at MWC need to come up with a fix to this problem and take care of the customers that bought from you. With so many having this problem you could at least tell them up front that some headers won't work , and name them. You guys have good parts and we have several on our car. Do the right thing. I am shocked at the lack of knowledge of your own parts to have given the answers you gave to this problem. Don't mean to be harsh in any way, but come on.

 

We can not keep track of every header and exhaust combination on the market, especially since there can be variations with their product. We are limited to a point A to point B mounting locations when it comes to suspension items and steering. With that said our K-members are built to factory specs to the point a stock K-member bolts onto our fixture. We do not alter drive line in any way shape or form like other manufacturers do with their K-Members or motor mounts. The location of the pinion on a manual rack is a lot closer to the center than a factory rack which yields an increase angle of the steering shaft therefore limiting header clearance.

The fix is common especially forward facing headers is to add a third steering joint as I mentioned above. Doing a third joint is typical in chassis vehicles and no issue at all. Another fix is to put an aftermarket steering column in the vehicle with our bent style rack bracket adapter that uses a longer steering shaft.

It would be great to purchase headers every few years to check fitment issues especially since all manufactures make adjustments through out the years but it is not plausible nor are header manufacturers interested in sending all their variations to check fitment. It would be easier to just offer steering shafts as a kit form and not premade shafts like we do or not offer them at all.

Thank you for your feedback we appreciate it.

 

I got my DD shaft and a new joint from MWC yesterday and got to work today on it. Got it to work. I added length to the DD bar coming out of the column and shortened the bar coming up from the rack. Basically cut the top u-joint off the shaft that comes in the cut and trimmed down enough to get the new u joint to clear and then used the new DD and trimmed it till everything lined up. I have clearance on the header now and clearance on stock fuel feed line as I am not too worried about that due to running new lines here soon. If Eric and the guys at MWC are interested in measurements I could provide it for them. My only suggestion for them as I’m not upset it didn’t work is to send a steering shaft “kit” instead of one already put together for a customer with Kooks headers. With the kit I could of made one from scratch for the same price instead of adding an extra $74 on top of the kits price. Again I’m not upset and understand once modifying a car things do not always match up and the front of my car has basically nothing stock about it.

 

Good job man. I knew it would be an easy fix for you. No need to get rid of the best headers on the market. You are so right, that is all they have to do. Very simple.

 

Just so everyone knows that I forgot to mention. When you build your own steering shaft or modify one. It is imperative that you make sure the yokes are perfectly in phase or it will bind when it is turned. Just like a driveshaft.

 

I'm currently in the process of modifying my steering shaft too. My 2" Kooks are in the way of the manual steering shaft also. Total pain....but that's part of putting together a modified car

 

Glad you found a solution for your application. I sent you a PM.