new rack and pinion

[liv2roc]

I had to replace my rack and everything went ok but now I have noticed the wheel is harder to turn than before I changed it. is this normal?

[homer302]

Nope. It actually should be easier from my experience. I have replaced 3 of them over the years and all 3 got lighter or required less effort to turn. Did you get an alignment afterwards I guess? If your tires are pointed in opposite directions (exaggerating of course but you get the idea) then they would be fighting you.

[erratic50]

Did your steering ratio change?

3 turns rack to rack is the 4 cyl LX rack. V8 cars varied a bit. The 85/86’s were 2.5 turns I know. When ford went to the 16” rim they went to the same 15:1 ratio but limited the rack to 2.25 turns.

the other thing I can think of is fluid type. If the put crap fluid in that would do it.

if the pressure regulator is acting up steering will be hard.

id add a trans cooler or use the fluid cooler in the radiator if it’s a manual then eliminate the cooling loop. Add an inline filter before the loop and run synthetic fluid too. It avoids causing a noisy pump