Yay, soon we'll have a Corvette that's all together.
As we prepare our C5 Corvette Z06 for the installation of our LS3 crate engine–a process currently delayed by some COVID-related supply chain issues–we figured that we’d get a few other things ready in order to make the eventual installation a bit simpler.
In this case, that meant removing the subframes so we could assemble the entire driveline on the floor. Then we could lower the car down on top of everything.
One thing to consider: We needed some way to make our subframes mobile so that we could get them out of the way and then easily reinstall.
Several cheap furniture dollies, some scrap plywood and a few jack stands came together to create rolling platforms ready to accept our subframes. Dropping out the subframes took less than a couple hours, mostly because we were being extra cautious that we didn’t snag any wires or important tubes.
Once we got the assemblies on the ground, we expected to do a little cleanup and then just bolt them back in when the time came, but what we found required a little more attention. We always knew we had a bit of a power steering leak, but we just figured that it was a little blow-off out of the reservoir. Nothing an occasional wipe-down couldn’t cure.
But when we got the subframes out, we realized it was full-on mess in there. We had fluid blowing out of both ends of the rack as well as the seams on the rack and around the pump. Simply cleaning up things and reinstalling the same rack would be like pulling the pin on a grenade.
C5 Z06 steering racks, it turns out, are not all that common. Dealers no longer stock OEM parts for this car, used racks are just as likely to be leaking, and many “rebuilt” units have sketchy reputations among the track crowd, who report anything from great results to going through a “new” rack every season before requiring service.
In the end, we found Turn One Steering and contacted them about a rebuild. Founded by a family of Detroit-area steering engineers, Turn One has been providing racks and steering services for every level of performance and motorsports customer. When Penske and Pratt & Miller are on your customer list, there are few better recommendations.
They said that C5 steering systems are a common rework for them, and a $500-ish service got our rack fully serviced and our pump improved. Now everything is ready to slip back into the car before the drivetrain goes back in. We’ll take a look at exactly what goes into that steering rack rebuild process in a future update.
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Yay, soon we'll have a Corvette that's all together.
In reply to JG Pasterjak :
Where was this story while I was looking for detail shots as references for building my 1:25th scale FRC?
The Revell kit has some horrible instructions.
Turn One's pump is totally worth the cost (and hassle of installation if you're doing it with everything still in the car). I've put them in my last two Corvette track cars.
vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to JG Pasterjak :
Where was this story while I was looking for detail shots as references for building my 1:25th scale FRC?
JG, fire up the time machine!
Someone ask for subframes?
Nice. Turn One is a good company and very local to me. The owners are good people. I actually talked to them about a job at one point. I'll be interested to see the rebuild process for the steering rack.
Really pleased to hear the positive feedback on T1. We weren't familiar with them, but it's nice to make a new friend. We definitely got good vibes from them.
Sorry for being off topic here, But where does one source / buy the style of lights shown on the 2 post lift in the article above?
Those would sure be an improvement in my shop!
Thanks!
slantsix said:Sorry for being off topic here, But where does one source / buy the style of lights shown on the 2 post lift in the article above?
Those would sure be an improvement in my shop!
Thanks!
They were an Amazon special. I'll see if I can dig up the item.
In reply to JG Pasterjak :
Thanks JG, Much Appreciated!
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