Power Steering or No Power Steering?

[gadget73]

15" wheels limit your brake upgrade paths. Just random tidbits.

More PS gear info:

http://www.p71interceptor.com/steering/gearboxes/partnumbers.html

Talk to Scott about what is involved with putting a 2000 steering gear in a box. He just did one. I know it involved some custom creative hacking of the coupler, and making up some adapters for the PS lines.


But yeah, I really do not suggest disabling the power steering. non-assisted PS gearboxes are much worse to steer than full out manual boxes. And, as has been mentioned, with the weight of these cars plus big tires, you're going to need some massive forearms to be able to navigate parking lots. I had a car with manual steering, a VW Beetle, and it was a bit of a challenge if the car wasn't rolling at least a tiny bit. I can't even imagine a panther with manual steering.

[Freshmeat]

Who is Scott?

[Mercracer]

295/50/15s in the rear. I'd put more grip up front, but 255s will be plenty. I've had too many times that the front tires didn't have enough traction and I just kept sliding forward helplessly.
I'm thinking of putting 255/60s in the front, but they're slightly taller than the 295/50s and I kinda like the look of slightly taller tires on the rear.

Sliding front tires is not from them being too small. You probably have old tires on there and need some brake work. You will need to buy some custom rims if you are going with 295's. 255's are probably a bit wide for factory steel wheels, and on such you may have clearance problems while steering tight. In the rear, if you plan on going to the track at all, you will have much better success with the taller sidewall of a 60 series tire. A loose suspension and wide tires will handle worse than a tight suspension and a more reasonable sized set of tires. Don't go blowing your wad on tires and rims before the rest of your car is ready for it. Start out with good 225/70 15's with a traction lock and gears and then step up the rear to 265/60 15's if you want more traction in the rear for hard launches. If you are going to step to a shorter sidewall for ralley racing your wagon, find a set of 16" rims and keep the width a reasonable size.
Unless you have physically verified that your steering box has play, don't be in a hurry to change it. You should go through your front end completely and make sure everything is tight.
For what you could spend on expensive rims and tires, you can get your new motor in with supporting MSD electronics and put a small shot of N2O in for the power boost that you are looking for and still have money left over. A 100 shot would really wake up your motor and would be easy to tune for.

[Freshmeat]

I already have a set of wheels that will work just fine and they only have 4" backspacing, so I won't have any trouble.

The tires I'm looking at are Yokohama Avid S/T- less than $400 shipped. Mounting and balancing is only $20... The 295/50s are ALMOST as tall as my 225/70s.

I'm not sure the gear box is actually breaking, but there is constantly some sort of oil on it. I can't tell whether it's power steering fluid or motor oil, but it's always shining. I'll most likely spray the hell out of it while I'm cleaning the engine bay and drive around to see if it's actually leaking or whether it was the valve covers spraying onto the box... but I'm almost positive it is.

It's not a brake problem that had me sliding forward- I have rebuilt all four courners with new drums, rotors, calipers, and Wagner pads in the past year.

I'll take into consideration what you said about the wheels, though- I was thinking about going ahead (with income tax money) to get the 16" Cragar SS wheels I want, but you have a good point- why spring for all that traction when I won't really need it, yet. It'd be better to spend that money on the rear axle (going with a 1997 Explorer axle with 3.55s and traction lock or positive traction- whatever Ford used) and the newer style front control arms and spindles and such with poly bushings all over the place.

[Mercracer]

It's not a brake problem that had me sliding forward- I have rebuilt all four courners with new drums, rotors, calipers, and Wagner pads in the past year. going with a 1997 Explorer axle with 3.55s and traction lock or positive traction- whatever Ford used

If the front tires lock up before the rear, then it is not because your tires are to small. Just because you changed your parts does not mean that your brakes are adjusted/working as they should. All 4 wheels should lock up at the same time if you are sliding due to ice or snow. If you are sliding in rain with all 4 tires, you need to get a better rated tire. Good 225/70's with an A traction rating are all you need in front, but feel free to spend away.
An Explorer axle will not bolt into your wagon. Traction-Lok is Ford's name for their clutch pack diff. You can not put the Explorer diff in your axle as it is 31 spline.

[Mercracer]

why spring for all that traction when I won't really need it, yet. .

Big tire does not equate to big traction if your car can not utilize the tire size. You are not driving a Corvette or even a lowered Mustang.

[Lincolnmania]

Who is Scott?

keep the ps just use a 98-02 cvpi steering gear.....they are in teh cheap and will fit with some mods to the steering linkage and some customising of lines........if u get a used box, request that they save at least part of the pressure and return lines
scott

[Freshmeat]

If the front tires lock up before the rear, then it is not because your tires are to small. Just because you changed your parts does not mean that your brakes are adjusted/working as they should. All 4 wheels should lock up at the same time if you are sliding due to ice or snow. If you are sliding in rain with all 4 tires, you need to get a better rated tire. Good 225/70's with an A traction rating are all you need in front, but feel free to spend away.
An Explorer axle will not bolt into your wagon. Traction-Lok is Ford's name for their clutch pack diff. You can not put the Explorer diff in your axle as it is 31 spline.

The front tires lost traction- it wasn't from the brakes locking up (wasn't even on them). You can say, "Spend away" all you want, but I'll be spending a grand total of $425 for a full set of plenty-wide Yokohamas when my last/current tire purchase was $300 for 225/70/15s of some of the crappiest tires on the market.

I'm using the entire Explorer axle. It's "easy"- pick up the Explorer axle, clean it out, swap the bearings (I have friends to help with all that), cut off the spring perches from both axles, and weld the CV perches onto the Explorer axle after making the necessary measurements.

We do it all the time with 4x4 vehicles. I don't NEED the 31 splines, but the gears would be nice and it'd have the entire rotor/caliper assembly for the rear. All for under $300.

[Freshmeat]

why spring for all that traction when I won't really need it, yet. .

Big tire does not equate to big traction if your car can not utilize the tire size. You are not driving a Corvette or even a lowered Mustang.

That's what I just said.

What happened to trying to be more patient and at what point did I drop in ranking to "complete fucking moron"?

I understand that suspension has just as much if not more to do with traction than tire size. I also know that it's going to be a few more months before I even bother with all that crap, so let's focus on what I'm doing.

GT-40P and T5 information is what I'm looking for, as well as the power steering stuff, since while I'm replacing it, I want to go with something that will enhance the driving experience. The tire arguments can wait. I know what I want to do with the suspension, thanks to Scott giving me the information I need, but again, it'll be a while before I'm there.

[Freshmeat]

keep the ps just use a 98-02 cvpi steering gear.....they are in teh cheap and will fit with some mods to the steering linkage and some customising of lines........if u get a used box, request that they save at least part of the pressure and return lines
scott

Okay- so what do I need to do to the steering linkage itself? The current pressure and return lines are already "custom", so I don't think it would be much harder than what I did last time to run the lines.

[Mercracer]

I'm using the entire Explorer axle. .

I thought that this was discussed in the past between here and CVN and the Explorer axle was wider..........

[grandpaslincoln]

Power steering is good.





I still miss the manual steering on my truck though

[Mercracer]

I got that backwards.......The Explorer axles are up to 5 inches more narrow than a box Crown Vic. Either way, you can change all of the brackets that you want, and the axle will not fit.

[Mercracer]

The front tires lost traction- it wasn't from the brakes locking up (wasn't even on them). .

So you had understeer in a 4200+lb car with tires you feel are junk?

What is motivating you to put 295 tires on the back of your wagon?
2----295/50's and 2-------255/50's for $425 including shipping?

I never said you were a complete moron.........I am trying to understand your motivation for even considering oversize tires anytime in the near future when you have so much other stuff to to to your car to get any kind of decent performance out of it.

[Freshmeat]

I got that backwards.......The Explorer axles are up to 5 inches more narrow than a box Crown Vic. Either way, you can change all of the brackets that you want, and the axle will not fit.

Now that you say that, I'm second-guessing the WMS on the axle I pulled from the parts wagon. I'll need to measure it, again, to check the Explorer width. If it's too narrow, I'll go with a F-150 axle, since they're roughly 5" wider.

The $425 does include shipping. And mounting (I have a friend who works at a dealership). If I'm going to replace tires, why not go ahead with some big ones? I never saw a problem with it and I'm not sure I ever will.

Pass it off as the only cosmetic modification I'll have, if you must... but I want wider tires. It looks extremely funky having a big ass station wagon on 225s. Again, the cost difference isn't great enough for me to consider it as a reason to stick with what looks like donuts.

At no point did I say the 295s would be a necessity- it'd be more so the thing doesn't look like a sharp turn could tip it over.