If you go with a 15:1 rack, get the pump to match.
It has a pump off a Later model Super Coupe, will that work?
Oh yeah, The orig power steering pump started leaking, so I got a junkyard SC pump and rebuilt it myself to reduce downtime. I had a known good pump in my hand before the old one was removed from the car. I still have the original pump somewhere in my garage.
Thanks guys for all the helpful info. I actually might try the 5.0 mustang rack ! Since it already has 11" TC brakes and spindles-struts up front that I added a few years ago.
I've been putting NEW replacement parts on the car since I bought it new when Reagan was president. I am on my 3rd water pump now, which have always been new Motorcraft and the second pump actually got more miles than the factory one, and I have no regrets paying the extra money for a new part. My experiences with rebuilt is that they dont last as long, at least when it comes to alternators, power steering pumps, starters, etc. So I suppose I was afraid to try rebuild for fear that turning in my core would be a mistake.
Since I have had such $hitty luck with rebuilt alternators, I started rebuilding my own. My latest is a 3G out of a 94 mustang that I got from the local Pick-N-pull. I took it apart, put new brushes, bearings, and a Motorcraft regulator in it and it has been working flawlessly for 9-years. My starter drive started slipping when the car hit 286,000 mi. So I took the starter apart and lubed the bushings, checked the brushes and slapped it back together with a new drive gear, and the original starter still starts the car every morning after 290,000 mi. So you might say I'm fed-up with sub-standard Piss-Poor-quality rebuilds.
The car is still working well with the original engine and trans and rear axle. I did put a new timing chain and sprocket set in the engine about one oil change ago replacing the plastic toothed aluminum cam gear with a Ford HO double-roller that the Ford parts counter guy recommended.
The original Bosch fuel pump failed at 230,000 mi. and all i could find was a Denso replacement, which I am not happy with. I hate dropping the gas tank, but am faced with doing it again when I am confident i have a better alternative solution.
I blew 2 AC clutches over the years and replaced them with new Motorcraft units. The AC system has had a few O-rings replaced at some of the joints where there was oil seepage. The AC system still sports the original compressor and still blows air out of the closest evap duct @ 37* deg. with ambient air temp @95*.
If it wasnt for 3 different occasions the car broke down for minor things, this car would have never seen a tow truck in it's entire life. All 3 breakdowns happened in 2011.
1) The AC clutch, 2) The fuel pump, 3) The smog pump siezed-up and broke the serpantine.
Needless to say it's been a good reliable daily driver, so I'm picky about the parts I put on it, maybe even a little obsessive.
Can anyone tell me where to go for a new replacement steering gear? also who makes the best tie-rod ends? (Longest lasting beefy etc.)
My 87 LX bird has 290,000 mi as of this morning and the front end is rattling and loose. i would like to replace the orig steering gear with something as good as a new factory unit. Someone told me to go to Flaming river for a brand new TRW unit for around $200.00. All i found there was a $900.00 unit. Any ideas?
