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Rack and Pinion Help

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Old Dec 21, 2008 | 11:20 AM
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Default Rack and Pinion Help

I spun out on the freeway and hit my LF wheel on a curb. This bent my tie rod and cracked my rack and pinion in half. I got a new rack from autozone and can't get it in. The steering linkage hits the headers just enough that I can't put it back together.

Can the new rack be just a little different to cause this? I am working in a apatment parking lot so I don't have a lot of tools or space. Will I have to take off the headers to make a dent in the tube that is hitting the steering?

Any help is appeciated.
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Old Dec 21, 2008 | 03:14 PM
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Anyone?
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Old Dec 21, 2008 | 03:30 PM
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Any chance the replacement rack was mis-marked, therefore not the correct one?
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Old Dec 21, 2008 | 03:47 PM
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maybe, but it looks identical to the old one, and the new one only needs about 1/2" clearance.
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Old Dec 22, 2008 | 12:28 PM
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There are two LS1 racks. We have seen this issue before, and it only really matters when people have certain headers that will not clear one rack but clear the other, without modification. The rack input nubs are slightly different in angle, and one clears headers better than others. That is all I know. Some guys have tried to figure out PNs and whatnot, but I don't think anyone ever had definitive answers on this. As far as any posts I have read on this go, they look identical, but the rack input is changed ever so slightly. I can't confirm that, because I don't even have an LS1 car, just a V6 with an LS1 rack, and I have changed my rack about 3 times, always with LS1 racks and I never have a problem with headers for obvious reasons.

I think most part stores carry only one LS1 rack - you need to see if you can find someone that carries two. I don't know what the RPOs are for the different ones either, but that rarely matters since most part stores do not mark them for RPO anyhow. Sorry I can't be of more help. You are not the first person with this problem, but usually it's someone who put headers on and they do not clear the rack, not the other way around.

Try searching threads I posted in about racks. I know this aggravated one guy enough to figure out what I just posted, maybe.
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