[Cloud9...68]

Ha! You're talking to someone foolish enough to reseal his power steering rack, fabricate custom buckets and mounting brackets for a fixed headlight conversion, fabricate from scratch the shrouds and mounting brackets for a dual oil cooler kit, install a new stereo system in his daughter's '04 3-Series (knowing zero about car audio), etc. All of this stuff should have scared me to death, but I guess I'm too stupid to have known that, lol...

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[flash]

lol - have you seen what i've been up to the last few years? talk about stupid

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[Cloud9...68]

Well, that turned out to be a lot of angst over nothing. I got the wheels pointing straight ahead by eyeball, opened the cover screw for the site hole on the bottom of the rack, and found the alignment hole almost perfectly centered inside the opening. I lined it up till it was exactly centered, inserted the tapered screw, and checked for straightness of the wheels using the method Flash described. They are pointing perfectly straight ahead, and the two sides are as identical as I can discern. So I removed the steering wheel (not a difficult job - the two screws holding the air bag on are T27 torx heads, by the way), straightened it, torqued the nut, and I'm done. I mean, I'm really done - this is pretty much the last major thing the car needed before it's ready to roll. I do want to sell our fifth vehicle before I register and insure the 968, though, because I can't afford to pay insurance on five vehicles, and the sale of the minivan will bring in some cash to support my track habit.



One final question - is it possible to remove the air bag from the piece that it's pressed into on the steering wheel? I'd like to buy a new racing-oriented wheel, but that's another $500, if you include the wheel, the adapter, and the removable coupler, which I understand is actually needed to get the wheel the right distance from your chest, since the stock 968 wheel is so deeply dished. $500 buys a lot of practice sessions, so I was thinking of removing the air bag from the stock wheel for now just to save another pound or two (I know, I'm pretty much off the deep end when it comes to that stuff), but removing the air bag from the piece it's pressed into looks pretty dicey, not to mention dangerous! Thanks.

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[flash]

you can definitely separate the airbag from the wheel.

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[Cloud9...68]

Any suggestions as to the best approach? Just peel back the rubberized plastic from the air bag, or does it help to remove the nuts on the air bag unit?

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[flash]

i don't remember doing anything other than unplugging it and putting it on the bench.

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[Cloud9...68]

What I'm talking about doing, and I fully realize how stupid it sounds, but hey, you're looking at a guy who removed both of his bumpers to save a few pounds, so "stupid" is very familiar territory, is removing the airbag unit from the steering wheel (which of course involves unplugging it), and then extracting the actual airbag before putting the cover back on the wheel. Gutting the center section and leaving just the empty shell, in other words. Geez, it sounds even dumber as I write it. I'm wondering if it's possible to do this without blowing off any fingers.

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[flash]

ah - no - never done that. i'd just leave the bag out entirely. not sure i'd want to mess with the bag.



on a second note, i am thinking about changing my wheel to a new club sport wheel, because i can't seem to get the horn to stop honking, and i think it's the horn ring under the horn button. if that turns out to be the case, my club sport replica wheel would work well in your car, since you have probably already removed the horns, and that we could work something out that works for your budget.

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[Cloud9...68]

lol - so you're kind of like the VW van in "Little Miss Sunshine"?



I haven't actually removed my horns - haven't made any mods to the steering wheel, in fact. I was just thinking of a temporary, cheaper alternative to saving a few pounds vs. buying a new Momo wheel and all the required "accessories." I cringe at paying that much for something that really won't make the car go any faster. I'll probably leave the wheel alone for awhile, especially now that it's on straight...

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[flash]

lol - it started honking on its own just before the paso run. i thought i had it, but then it went off about halfway through the fun run. i yanked the fuse, and i'm all quiet again.



i'm going to pull it apart again, but if i can't get it, i'm just going to order a new wheel. since they don't make this one anymore, the horn won't work, and it's a few years old, i figured it would go away cheap. perfect for a track car though.

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[bombfactory]

If you think the horn issue can be sorted, I'm interested, Flash. I need the knee room. What $ are you thinking?

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[flash]

that will be for a different thread, but if i could sort the horn problem, i wouldn't be changing the wheel.

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[taporite6]

[quote name='flash' timestamp='1371608325' post='144565']

that will be for a different thread, but if i could sort the horn problem, i wouldn't be changing the wheel.

[/quote]







had my rack rebuilt and it has leaked twice got new one and it too has leaked twice running out of options

need help or new mechanic

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[banditsc]

Assuming the system was fully flushed and the reservoir was changed? Your also not using power steering fluid right? I've been experimenting with Pentosin CHF11S in my 928, it's the Porsche recommended replacement for ATFIII, there was a TSB about it. It's been about 8 months so far and it's going well, I fully flushed the system and changed the reservoir before filling it with Pentosin, I'm still on my original rack from 86 in that car.

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[Cloud9...68]

Unfortunately, rebuilt racks in these cars are very hit-or-miss. Rebuilding them is a very fussy, delicate process, and I'm not surprised that the success rate isn't great. Wish I could offer something helpful.

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[taporite6]

Ordered another rack same thing after two weeks its leaking

three different rebuilt racks three different places same result

so mechanic not doing install properly....if so start process all over

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[Cloud9...68]

Have you identified the source of the leaks? It could be something as simple as forgetting to install the o-rings where the lines connect to the rack. Each connector has an o-ring on each side, so two o-rings per connector. Put the car up on jacks, start it up, maybe have someone turn the wheel side to side, and see if you can see where the leak is coming from.

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[kwikt]

I here ya Cloud. It took me 3 times to finally get the seals right when I did mine. 2 years and 20k miles leak free.

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[Cloud9...68]

Yeah, we should start a club - but instead of ordinary jackets, we'll issue straight-jackets, because only a certifiably insane person would take this thing on. It "only" took me three tries as well to put it together without breaking any of the seals. All I can say is, if it weren't for Travis from Rennbay, I'd still be struggling with that wretched thing.

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[mbardeen]

Maybe I was just lucky, but I got mine back together first try.



We'll see how long it lasts leak free.

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