Since I have no welding skills and little patience, I decided to send a core to Eaton Motorworks and for a mere $80 I received a beautifully depowered rack in return.
The rack I sent was completely disassembled, seals were removed, holes and pinion shaft welded, greased, cleaned and painted. I of course put new inner and outer tie rods on. Out with the old:
I cut the belt and removed everything up top in one piece.
I would highly recommend turning the wheel to lock to the right and hold it in place with a bungee on the fastened seatbelt before unbolting the steering yoke. I did not, and wound up snapping the plastic disc behind the wheel when turned it too far. Also, turn the pinion shaft all the way to the right after you install the inner rods and bellows for easier installation of the rack.
This was for my fwd, so all I did for install was drop the two gusset plates, pop my downpipe hangers off, loosen sway bar brackets and disconnect drivers side link, and unbolt the drivers side compression arm from the frame. Obviously install is easier, although I did have to tap the yoke on to the shaft with a wrench to get a snug fit.
Got an alignment done the next day and what can I say? It feels beastly. Takes some getting used to for sure, just have to learn to steer with two hands in slow turns and parking lots. Otherwise she handles outstandingly. The more I drive her the more I like it.
No more clutter and no more leaky rack! Now it's time to detail this dirty bay.
I highly recommend this service to anyone who is considering the flyin miata mod and has neither the resources nor time to do it themselves. Total cost: $80 for service, plus about $20 shipping each way, plus whatever you pay for the core (a junkyard 420a, Sebring or avenger is the same, or you can have good friends that give you one for $20). My cost was less than $140, much less than getting a remanufactured PS rack of questionable quality. Contact Eaton Motorworks through Facebook.
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The rack I sent was completely disassembled, seals were removed, holes and pinion shaft welded, greased, cleaned and painted. I of course put new inner and outer tie rods on. Out with the old:
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
I cut the belt and removed everything up top in one piece.
I would highly recommend turning the wheel to lock to the right and hold it in place with a bungee on the fastened seatbelt before unbolting the steering yoke. I did not, and wound up snapping the plastic disc behind the wheel when turned it too far. Also, turn the pinion shaft all the way to the right after you install the inner rods and bellows for easier installation of the rack.
This was for my fwd, so all I did for install was drop the two gusset plates, pop my downpipe hangers off, loosen sway bar brackets and disconnect drivers side link, and unbolt the drivers side compression arm from the frame. Obviously install is easier, although I did have to tap the yoke on to the shaft with a wrench to get a snug fit.
Got an alignment done the next day and what can I say? It feels beastly. Takes some getting used to for sure, just have to learn to steer with two hands in slow turns and parking lots. Otherwise she handles outstandingly. The more I drive her the more I like it.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
No more clutter and no more leaky rack! Now it's time to detail this dirty bay.
I highly recommend this service to anyone who is considering the flyin miata mod and has neither the resources nor time to do it themselves. Total cost: $80 for service, plus about $20 shipping each way, plus whatever you pay for the core (a junkyard 420a, Sebring or avenger is the same, or you can have good friends that give you one for $20). My cost was less than $140, much less than getting a remanufactured PS rack of questionable quality. Contact Eaton Motorworks through Facebook.
