Need steering rack adjustment tool

[jackjare9455]

Serious question… does anyone have anything fabbed up that they would be willing to loan with a deposit? I pay shipping of course!

Or… capable of fabbing up something I can purchase?!

Need to see if my rack slack can be adjusted before I go out and buy a new rack, tie rod ends and fluid that go along with this job… I don’t have fab stuff here at the house anymore.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

Serious question… does anyone have anything fabbed up that they would be willing to loan with a deposit? I pay shipping of course!

Or… capable of fabbing up something I can purchase?!

Need to see if my rack slack can be adjusted before I go out and buy a new rack, tie rod ends and fluid that go along with this job… I don’t have fab stuff here at the house anymore.

i made one with a cheap socket and a grinding wheel. took me about 20min to make. also look for companies that can rebuild your rack. i found companies here in the denver area for $150 or less. but from what i hear, its 3 seals and very minimal work. was going to attempt it once i found a spare

 

[BenBB]

You ever in Arkansas? Got one in Perryville, about an hour north of Little Rock...

Saw your post in "What did you do to your Raptor today" thread and was going to reply, with try adjusting your rack first. If you got a welder or welding friend, the big head (bolt head cut off) uses a 1-11/16" wrench, on mine the small hex (nut welded on the inside to the bolt head) uses an 11/16" (but could be whatever). Can't remember the actual bolt sizes but there's a thread on here somewhere...

 

[jackjare9455]

You ever in Arkansas? Got one in Perryville, about an hour north of Little Rock...
View attachment 394613
Saw your post in "What did you do to your Raptor today" thread and was going to reply, with try adjusting your rack first. If you got a welder or welding friend, the big head (bolt head cut off) uses a 1-11/16" wrench, on mine the small hex (nut welded on the inside to the bolt head) uses an 11/16" (but could be whatever). Can't remember the actual bolt sizes but there's a thread on here somewhere...

Not in Arkansas as much as I would like, unfortunately. Used to head out to Hot Springs quite a bit to hit up the lakes! I had a welder, but when we moved, my garage started to get a little packed and I sold it. Just didn't use it much. BUT, an exhaust shop down in town would probably tack me up something quickly. I figured I would make the drive head something easy that fits with an swiveling ratchet wrench. I assume you meant a 1-1/16 bolt head?! LOL

 

[jackjare9455]

i made one with a cheap socket and a grinding wheel. took me about 20min to make. also look for companies that can rebuild your rack. i found companies here in the denver area for $150 or less. but from what i hear, its 3 seals and very minimal work. was going to attempt it once i found a spare

so you ground a 27mm hex head on a round socket?

 

[BenBB]

Haha nice! Yep one too many 1's there, it's a 1-1/16" socket that the bolt head fits. Not sure where I found it but this link says it's a 5/8" heavy head bolt (WTF?); it might have been a metric. Thinking about this, if you can find a head that fits a 1-1/16" socket, you could cut the bolt shank about 1/2" from the bottom of the head and grind flats on it, still got a bench grinder?

 

[BenBB]

Ok it was metric like you said, found where I wrote it down; 27mm head (this was some random unmarked relatively thin-headed bolt I found laying around the shop), looks like the bolt itself is an 18mm diameter:

Bolt Depot - Metric Bolt Head, Wrench Size, and Diameter Table

www.boltdepot.com

I still think your best bet is finding an 18mm bolt with a shank, cutting it off and grinding four flats for a crescent. But yes welding shop could tack it together easy and you could use a ratchet wrench on the nut! Keep in mind it won't need much in terms of rotation and you don't want to torque the **** out of it. And if all else fails you can come up here and use mine, it'll take all of 5 minutes and if you time it right the Crappie might be spawning to make the trip more worthwhile (I live on Harris Brake lake heh).

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

so you ground a 27mm hex head on a round socket?

yep. and you can use a serpentine belt tool to tighten it. its the shallowest 1/2 drive that you can get. cant get a ratchet on it because of the spacing

 

[jackjare9455]

yep. and you can use a serpentine belt tool to tighten it. its the shallowest 1/2 drive that you can get. cant get a ratchet on it because of the spacing

You made me realize I forgot I have a gear wrench serpentine belt kit… im
Fixing to go look at what’s in that.

 

[jackjare9455]

Okay, serp kit didn’t have the wonder fix… that was a long shot idea by me LOL.

But… I think if I pick up this wrench and cut that bit down, I’ll have a decent tool to give it a shot? I have a grinder.