First post!
I tried the "search" option, but couldn't find anything with regard to replacing my PS rack with a manual unit.
I'm sick of the whine, the leaks, and the lovely smell of burnt power steering fluid, so I figured I'd replace the rack with a manual unit and lose all the above, while gaining some more room in the engine bay and maybe a minute bit of gas mileage as well..besides, I like manual steering.

I've already got the new (to me) manual rack, a fresh set of tie rod ends, and a replacement bushing kit.
The manual rack itself measures up with the same dimensions as the PS rack did as far as mounting points, etc..
My question is this:
Does the PS intermediate shaft on my vehicle ('93 XLT 3.0) have the same spline count as the one on my "new" manual rack? I don't wanna tear everything down to discover the shaft won't fit.

PS. While searching for past "steering" threads, I discovered that a lot of you guys are sick of the "sticky steering wheel syndrome."
Here's my cure..I wrapped the wheel with paracord. Very comfy, very durable, nice & grippy..

 

Wow..twenty-some views and no replies? Tough room!

Okay..an easier question..is there an online parts catalog of some kind for Ford Factory parts? I was a parts guy (Toyota & GM, OH NOES!) for twenty-ish years..if I can dig into the factory parts books online, I can probably figger out if my new junk is gonna mate up to my old junk or if I need some additional hardware..

 

welcome doug,

not much activity here anymore. all of us original Aero owners have raised our kids and grandkids and moved on to other rigs.

never heard of anyone doing the rack conv. to manual so no answers here. the manual I have doesn't list any size on the spline steering shaft.

I've driven one manual steer Aero, not fun to parallel park.
guess I've been lucky with my Aero, quiet and never a leak.

a leading cause of problems in the Aero ps system is the ps reservior cap on top of the pump. Water from the cowl drain above leaks down onto the cap and into the ps fluid, immediate pump, rack and pinion destruction, creates the Mad Howler syndrome.

simple solution, can over cap.

best thing is to take your manual steering to junke yard and compare to a ps unit.

nice steering wheel wrap. i put a cushioned leather on mine years ago

 

Thanks for the welcome.

The paracord wrapped wheel just sorta happened one night while I had the wheel off to service the combo switch..I've got about seven thousand feet (seriously) of various colored paracord hanging about the place, so donating eighty or so feet of it to this project seemed like the natural thing to do..the burgundy is actually a very good match to the interior trim, too.

My last van was a '67 Dodge A-100 that I'd swapped a 340 into..it was manual steering equipped, didn't bother me any.
(Like Popeye, I've gotsk bulgky forearmsk.)

I'm a longtime Mopar racer/builder, and this is my first Ford product..aside from the cancerous rocker panels (bodywork starts as soon as weather permits), I really like this little truck..at the moment it's my daily transportation, but in all honesty, I'm seeing a big-block Mopar engine swap (like the paracord, my place is sorta cluttered up with 383/440 stuff) sometime in this little beasty's future if things keep going the way they are, so reducing ancillary(sp) clutter is something I'm always interested in..

I've got calls in at a couple of rack & pinion suppliers re: the steering shaft, but as a parts guy, I know how much fun it is to look up info for some bozo who isn't buying..It's not a huge deal, if the shaft is wrong, I'll just bolt the old rack back up and continue the parts search.

 

Yeah, I would try and see if it fits. If it doesn't, then you will probably be stuck with the ps unit, but in all honesty, I don't see why the manual unit wouldn't work, the splines should be the same.

The number one cause of the squealing and whining was mentioned above, water gets inside. The other problem is caused by old fluid being left in there. There is no filter int he PS system, so when the system is left without maintenance, there is nowhere for the gunk to go, and it starts destroying the system from the inside. The solution, replace the fluid with new MerconV fluid every year. If the system is already leaking, that doesn't do any good obviously. But I think its alway important to know why the parts fail.

 

if you can figure out the spline counts on the shafts and you find they are diffrent, i would call up Borgeson and see if they have something that would work.
Borgeson Universal Steering Components

 

I still haven't had a chance to get to it..but if worse comes to worse and it can't be backyard engineered, I've got a pal in the machine shop biz who's been good at making up weird stuff for me in the past.

 

I am currently driving a manual-steering Aero, but not by choice. PS pump quit boosting about 3-1/2 weeks ago at the start of a 3-1/2 week road trip. Third pump in 2 years & I always flush it out when changing pumps. Manual steering isn't too bad once rolling, but it's a bear in a parking lot. On the other hand, my biceps haven't looked so good for years.

In my case, I will be swapping in a Saginaw pump in the next couple of weeks. A couple other members have done this swap, but I am going to use a remote reservoir pump because 1) I have it & 2) it will better fit within the stock pump bracket. I will write it up & post when the swap is done.

I love Fords, but have had recurring PS pump issues on every one I have owned.

 

Bear in mind that manual steering and dead power steering aren't the same thing. PS boxes usually have a quicker ratio than manual ones, so you really feel it when you have to muscle it around without power assistance.

 

I believe the term is "Armstrong" power steering.

I had that in a 68 Chrysler New Yorker. The steering box had cracked and none could be found in the junk yards as 68 had a unique steering box that was prone to cracking (improved in 69+up). I pulled it out and had it welded. Worked great for about 2 days.