1992 Z/34--Euro 3.4 steering rack gear ratio/steering feel

[Schurkey]

I am under the impression that a Z/34 or Euro 3.4 steering rack has a faster ratio or higher-effort than the regular 3.1 steering rack. My '92 Euro 3.4 has morning sickness, so I'll need a rebuilt rack shortly.

 

The two parts houses I contacted (NAPA and CarQuest) show two racks, the "soft ride FE1" rack at $80; and the "except soft ride" at $120. This is the same for both the 3.1L and 3.4L Luminas.

 

I thought the 3.4L dual-cam vehicles got a "special" rack different from all the others. Is that correct? Anyone know of a suitable replacement?

Edited February 5, 2013 by Schurkey

[GOT2B GM]

LQ1 cars got the 2.5 turn lock to lock rack

 

TGP's got a special 2.25 turn rack

 

All others got 2.75 turn racks

[Schurkey]

LQ1 cars got the 2.5 turn lock to lock rack

 

TGP's got a special 2.25 turn rack

 

All others got 2.75 turn racks

Do all these racks have the same amount of travel? I'd stuff in a TGP rack if the 2.25 turns will still move the wheels the same amount as the 2.5 turns rack.

 

NAPA only lists one rack for the 89 and 90 Pontiac Gran Prix, it's the same as the "not soft ride FE1" rack for my Lumina. There's no input for turbo GP vs. non-turbo GP.

[RobertISaar]

SHOULD be the same amount of travel.... and i'm fairly certain wifey's former 90GP had a 3 turn rack. that thing took forever to swing the wheel around. put in a 2.5 turn when it went and it worked normally.

 

i don't trust the major retailers for good interchange info.... they tend to mix things together too much.

[jman093]

 

This. Any aftermarket gear is going to be generic that will fit many w-bodies.

[GOT2B GM]

TGP rack has the same travel as a regular 2.5 turn FE3 rack

[White93z34]

I always thought the racks that Turbo's had had a slightly lesser turning radius to help prevent the 245s scrubbing wheel wells?

 

In my experience my old Euro 3.4 had standard Euro 3.1 springs, and rack, it didn't ride or drive like my z34s did.

 

Also it seems to be a crapshot on racks, most parts sellers I found will have the same part number listed for a base lumina, z34, gtp, se. Seems if you have a desirable rack the only real way to be guaranteed a sure fit replacement is to rebuild it yourself ( I don't even know how possible that is.)

[GOT2B GM]

But the 91-93 GTP's got the 2.5 rack, with the 245's and the same body cladding....

[White93z34]

Perhaps they figured it out by 1991 and they were being overly cautious with the first of them in 1989/90? I don't know.

[GOT2B GM]

Maybe, can't say I really noticed the TGP turned wider. Gonna have to drive some circles at the end of the street sometime. haha

[White93z34]

I could always go all Ken on it and bust out the GM parts manuals I have

[RPE1992GPSE]

For what it's worth, I have a 92 Grand Prix coupe with the LQ1 and a 92 Cutlass Supreme coupe with the LH0. Both cars have 16" alloy wheels and identical tire sizes.

 

I do not know the steering ratios of either car, and both cars have their original racks still in place. Both racks are old, but are not in states of disrepair (thank God it's a pretty rare problem with these cars).

 

The two racks feel entirely different. The Grand Prix's steering requires more effort to turn the wheel and the car has what feels like a larger turning radius. The Cutlass Supreme has a much more effortless feel, almost like you're driving a boat, and the car seems like it's able to make tighter turns. I own six cars, and if I could compare steering feel to other cars I own, I'd say the Grand Prix's steering feels a lot more like my Trans Am's, and the Cutlass Supreme's steering feels a lot more like my Riviera's.

[GOT2B GM]

The LQ1 GP would have a 2.5 rack, and the LH0 CS would have a 2.75 rack

[alec_b]

Also didn't a lot of LQ1 cars have variable effort steering? Really the only way to change the way a power-assisted rack feels is to change the pressure being delivered to it. In theory two identical cars with two identical (and properly working) power steering systems, one with the 2.25 turn rack and the other with the 2.5 turn rack should feel the same.

 

There may be a slight difference in the preload setting on the rack, I suppose that COULD make it feel different if it's too tight.

[GOT2B GM]

NV7 variable assist steering began in 1995.

[Galaxie500XL]

Yep, '95 and '96 in Cutlass and GP LQ1 cars.

 

My Cutlass has it.

 

 

NV7 variable assist steering began in 1995.

[RobertISaar]

oddly enough, i believe the N-bodies got it significantly earlier than the Ws....

 

then again, the method of controlling steering feel via a pressure restricting orifice went away pretty quickly too... i believe magnasteer launched in 97?

[jman093]

oddly enough, i believe the N-bodies got it significantly earlier than the Ws....

 

then again, the method of controlling steering feel via a pressure restricting orifice went away pretty quickly too... i believe magnasteer launched in 97?

 

It actually started for some 96 models. It became more widespread in 97 though. It's easy for me to remember 96 was the start of OBD-2, Magnasteer, and Dexcool. GM still used EVO systems for at least a few years after Magnasteer was introduced though.

[RobertISaar]

weird...

 

researched it and N-bodies had EVO by 1992, possibly earlier. J/L cars may also have had it in roughly the same time...

 

apparently magnasteer's first applications started in 95 too:

 

http://www.cardone.com/tech-help/steering/how-it-works-best-practices/understanding-variable-effort-steering-systems

 

and i've even seen 95 models with dexcool specified...

 

GM was really jumbling stuff in the mid 90s.

[Schurkey]

I could always go all Ken on it and bust out the GM parts manuals I have

PLEASE! I'd just love to have a GM part number for the TGP rack with the fastest ratio.

 

I'm going to assume that a power rack-and-pinion system uses a torsion bar just like the recirculating-ball style steering gears, a stiffer torsion bar produces less power assist, but better road feel (firmer steering). I wonder if the torsion bars are different between the FE1 and Non-FE1 racks. Do the steering gears show different internal valving in the parts manual? Different part numbers and tooth count for the rack gear and/or the pinion gear?

 

What are the chances that--just like the recirculating ball steering gears--there's a way to mix and match parts from various FWD rack and pinions to achieve better-than-stock ratios and steering stiffnesses? Maybe the rack and pinion from another model drops into a W body with beneficial results?

 

 

 

As a side note, AC-Delco reman racks as sold and described on Amazon show that the "soft-ride FE1" suspension gets a rack with 3 1/8 turns lock-to-lock, while the "Non-FE1" rack has 2.75 turns. That's about a quarter-turn more than what's been described on this thread.

 

ACDelco 36-16347 (FE1)

http://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-36-16347-Steering-Assembly-Remanufactured/dp/B000EQVVH6/ref=au_pf_ss_10?ie=UTF8&Make=Chevrolet|47&Model=Lumina|465&Year=1992|1992&carId=010&n=15684181&s=automotive

Remanufactured Complete Rack Assembly, w/STD RATIO STG - 3-1/8 TURNS LOCK TO LOCK AT STG WHL - w/PRESSURE SWITCH - OHV

 

ACDelco 36-16348 (Non-FE1)

http://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-36-16348-Professional-Steering-Remanufactured/dp/B000EQR2QU/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=31ORN63IXRW6M&coliid=I25XQUI65NFZE0

Remanufactured Complete Rack Assembly, w/LOW RATIO STG - 2-3/4 TURNS LOCK TO LOCK AT STG WHL - w/PRESSURE SWITCH - OHV

 

Those are the only two AC Delco racks that Amazon shows for my vehicle, and it compares with NAPA and Carquest--both of them specify "FE1" and "Non-FE1" as the only choices.

Edited February 6, 2013 by Schurkey

[pshojo]

This is wierd because i have LQ1 2 door and 4 door. At low speeds the 2 door Vert seems to have more resistance than the 4 door. Makes since?

[Schurkey]

Spun the steering wheel of the '92 Euro 3.4, the silly thing goes 2 1/4 turns lock-to-lock. So much for TGPs (only) having the 2 1/4 rack.

 

I'm going to fire up the '93 tomorrow, and see if it's the same.

[alec_b]

It actually started for some 96 models. It became more widespread in 97 though. It's easy for me to remember 96 was the start of OBD-2, Magnasteer, and Dexcool. GM still used EVO systems for at least a few years after Magnasteer was introduced though.

 

 

It was actually a little longer than that. Not on the cars maybe, but EVO steering was used on the majority of the GMT Tahoe's and Suburbans well into the 2000's. Probably because they couldn't figure out a way to utilize magnasteer with recirculating ball steering.

[jman093]

Spun the steering wheel of the '92 Euro 3.4, the silly thing goes 2 1/4 turns lock-to-lock. So much for TGPs (only) having the 2 1/4 rack.

 

I'm going to fire up the '93 tomorrow, and see if it's the same.

 

Yeah, I'm almost positive my 96 GTP was 2.25 and NV7. I remember going to check it one evening after reading one of the multiple threads that there have been on this topic.

[Crazy K]

REAL INFO, forget all the hokey stuff said that is really just crap....

 

Having played with a small pile of racks and having more than enough cars to have measured this I state the following:

 

You can see what your car has by turning the wheel lock to lock to see how many turns it has. This can be accomplished on the car or off the car. I marked each rack I have had loose to know which is was for further identification. I further state that ALL racks are the same rack, they all use the same housing with the pinion gear being the difference. I beleive that the rack's "linear gear" is the same between all racks, thus any rebuilder or even you may just have one or two gears made new to install, making any rack whatever they want.

 

as observed:

TGP racks 2.25=2 1/4

NV7 option racks, as tested are 2.25=2 1/4 (all tested are from 3.4 dohc donors, but 3100 NV7 cars exist and have not been tested, 95 CS LQ1 sedan, 95 GP GT LQ1 sedan)

typical high end FE3 car 2.5 = 2 1/2 (my 96 GP, originally stock 3100)

2.625 = 2 5/8 (loose rack of unknown origin, 93 FE3 3.1 vert)

2.75 = 2 3/4 (95 CS 3100 FE1 sedan)

2.875 = 2 7/8 (93 Zach's CS sedan)

total base model FE1 3.00 = 3 (92 lumina euro, 94 Cs sedan)