I would replace the outer tie rods and ball joints at the same time, if you're still running the originals. Also, get Whiteline bushings... my OEM ones were disintegrated at 30k miles!

 

Thanks for the response. I asked about the tie rods/ball joints. I was told that Whiteline makes a kit and was quoted $200 parts + $200 labor.


Here is what I was quoted overall. My only question: is there any labor overlap? Meaning if I do the steering rack, do we have some labor overlap with the tie rods?

Steering Rack $400
Labor steering rack $450
Steering rack bushings $40
Whiteline Tie Rod/Ball Joint kit $200
Labor tie rod/ball joint $200
Alignment $100


$1,390

 

How much are you lowered compared to stock? If you're at (or close to) stock ride height, the whiteline balljoint & tie-rod kit is overkill. They're designed to relocate control arms & help roll center on a lowered car.

And yes, there's overlap in the tie rod installation when you're already doing the entire rack... but to be fair, replacing ball joints is a *****. The pinch bolts snap off 98% of the time and need to be drilled out and replaced. 2 hours for that is very reasonable. 4.5 for the steering rack is a bit much in my opinion. That's how about how long it takes me in a driveway with no power tools.

Oh, and what's his hourly rate? I'm assuming $100/hour based on those quotes.

A used 05-07 Sti rack will be a lot cheaper, and only requires another $10 in proper hardware from Subaru. There's no modification necessary, just the 2 appropriate (longer) bolts and a bracket. One of the rack bushings is specific to the year as well.

 

Thanks very much for the response. I forgot to mention, I was told that $200 for the tie rod/balljoint provided the pinch bolt comes out. If it snaps, the labor goes up.

My ride height is quite a bit lower than stock. The suspension I have lowers a WRX STI 1". So for the Forester, I would guess it would be a 4" drop.

I am not sure what the hourly rate is from the place I called. I was only given total amounts. They seemed hesitant to go with an 05-07 rack. They mentioned that it was a pain.

I will try another place tomorrow to get some more pricing.

And to make things even more convoluted, my cousin was over my home this weekend. I took him out for a ride (he is a Master ASE....if he were closer, I'd take my car to him). He checked my steering wheel and he thought that it was fine (it still feels like a lot of play IMO). I still think that there is more play than I am used to. He thought that it might just be because of my "winter" tires. My winters are 225/50-17 Pirelli PZero Nero All Season (Ultra High Performance All-Season). My summers are 225/45-18 Sumitomo HTR ZIII (Max performance summer)

 

Is this the correct item?

2002-2004 Subaru Impreza STi Steering Rack and Pinion Gear Assembly | eBay

Also, are the part numbers stamped on these? The listing shows the correct part number, 34110FE431, I just want to verify that it is the right part if I buy it.

Thanks,
Dino

 

Is this the correct item?

2002-2004 Subaru Impreza STi Steering Rack and Pinion Gear Assembly | eBay

Also, are the part numbers stamped on these? The listing shows the correct part number, 34110FE431, I just want to verify that it is the right part if I buy it.

Thanks,
Dino

Hey, man, did you ever end up buying the rack from eBay and was it correct? Looked like a good deal.

-Thanks

 

If you can guarantee the part number, that looks to be it. Can't recall if the part number is stamped on it or not. If I had to guess I'd say no - my spare (the original Forester) one doesn't. It just has a Koyo sticker with a 6-digit code (317189), which would likely be scrubbed off with a reman unit.

When I was shopping around, it looked like a LARGE number of remanufactured racks weren't actually the Sti turning ratio, and were WRX ones. Extremely hard to get good info.

But 05-07 racks at the same price point are all over ebay - straight out of wrecked Stis, so guaranteed to be the right part.

Oh, and DEFINITELY try and get the bump steer & roll center kit in for the ride height you're running. Will do a lot to help suspension geometry in the front... I'm at roughly the same point (WRX Tokico D-spec struts, RCE black wagon springs, and 3/8" spacers), or a little higher. I did the WRX rear subframe swap to help geometry in the rear, and have all the parts lined up to do the spacer removal up front this spring.

 

What a coincidence. I am running Tokico D-Spec (STi not sure if the WRX and STI are different) and RCE Black with spacers in the rear.

I have been stressing over doing this. I wish I could travel back in time before my kids came along and I would drop this amount of money without even thinking twice about it.

 

Folks, I have a couple more quick questions.

I think that I will pull the trigger on this.
2002-2004 Subaru Impreza STi Steering Rack and Pinion Gear Assembly | eBay


Is this part (outer tie rods) what I should also get?
Set of 2 Front Outer Steering Tie Rod Ends Flennor Fits Subaru Forester Impreza | eBay

Do I still need ball joints, or are they included with the outer tie rods?
Ball Joints:
Set of 2 Ball Joints New Front Right-and-Left Lower For Subaru Legacy Pair | eBay

Any reason that I need to take this to a Subaru specialist or will a local mechanic be fine?

Thanks,
Dino

 

Weren't you getting the Whiteline kit? That's got ball joints & tie rod ends already. A little pricier, to be sure... but with a low ride height like ours it's a very good buy. Local mechanic might have trouble pulling the ball joints out of the control arms, unless they have a subaru specific tool. Ask first, there's a decent chance they've got one if they do a lot of Subaru's. Or an air chisel works pretty well with some practice.

While I'm thinking of it - what kind of shape are your control arms in? OEM stamped steel ones rust out pretty badly, there was a recall a few years ago. Even if yours were checked out and marked as 'ok' at the time, they could be pretty scary by now - that's what happened to mine. Making a fuss with Subaru would probably take care of it, but I upgraded to aluminum ones instead.

That's the problem with a 10+ year old car, any time you want to do a job, there are 3-6 other "while you're at it" things to do as well. Welcome to SG Forester life.

 

Crud. I was unaware of a recall on the control arms. I have no idea what kind of shape they are in. I am the original owner and should have gotten a notice. I never did.

I decided against the Whiteline kit because it was so expensive. I've grown tired of spending big dollars on this car (for the time being). I spent about $11K 8 months ago and I don't want to spend much more for now as I am still reeling from the amount. :crying: Engine and turbo rebuild with aftermarket engine upgrades (Pistons, ARP bolts, etc..), new MAF, retune which necessitated a purchase of an Accessport v3 (I had an old v1 and found out that they can no longer tune on that)

Maybe I will just push this upgrade out 9 months. I can get it aligned for now and have them check out those parts and only replace what is necessary. I am still on the original control arms and steering rack bushings. My car's body has 171K. (10K on the engine) 9 months from now I'll have it aligned again and maybe I'll get the steering rack done then.

Thanks for the reply.

 

For the record I have heard that Maval racks are the best way to go for aftermarket.

 

Hmm, too late now, but you can test the # of turns lock to lock on a bench...

I'm also a big fan of "input" mods. Shift knob, steering wheel, pedals, etc. The things you interact with 100% of your driving time always make a big difference in how much you like a car. My KillerB shift knob certainly isn't the most affordable one (although it's fairly reasonable considering the brand name), but it fits my hand perfectly. I also upgraded to an '05 steering wheel vs. the '04. Most people would say it was a pointless upgrade, but the location of the spokes make a huge difference in how I like to hold the wheel.

 

Yeah, that shifter on my old Cobra was great. It was a billet aluminum piece with positive stops. So you could rip the heck out of it without fear of hurting the shifting forks or anything else. That was one thing I really loved on the Cobra over my Subaru. The shifter sat right on top of the transmission. No bands connecting to it. I have a Kartboy shifter on the Forester and while nicer than stock, is nowhere near as nice as the shifter on my Cobra.

 

CRUD!!!!

I was just called from the repair shop that the new rack has the lines in different locations than my current rack. The mechanic said that the pressure lines are on opposite sides of the spool valve. He said that it looks like everything will bolt right up but that the pressure lines are such that on my old rack the pressure lines are on the far left of the spool valve whereas on the new rack the pressure lines are on the far right of the spool valve. I have no clue what to do at this point. Sigh....

 

I also just called the place that I bought it from and the guy said, "oh you have to bend the lines and adjust them to make it fit"

I talked to my mechanic after that call and he said that not only is the pressure line in a different side, it is also a different direct. My Forester comes out sideways and the rack I got points downwards. I don't recall seeing that there needed to be adjustments made to the lines to make it fit.

 

What the? Never heard of this. Do you have any pictures of your rack? I went back & looked at the auction link you posted a while ago, but the picture on it is pretty crummy.

Here are some pictures of what it should look like. This is what you'd see if you were on your back under the car from the front:

Or looking at it head-on from the front:

 

Thanks. I don't have a picture of what I got unfortunately. I might text that picture you attached to my mechanic. I could tell that he really didn't want to bend lines to make it work.

I haven't heard back from him, so I don't know how it is going. (He was going to call the place that sold me the steering rack).

The guy from the steering rack place told me that he sells hundreds of STI racks to people upgrading their WRX and Foresters and that the lines must be modified. I told my mechanic that this sounds odd since this is a job people tackle in their driveways.

This puts me and my mechanic in a tough spot. He doesn't like to work with parts that people supply themselves and he makes exceptions for me since I've been going to him for nearly 20 years.

 

This might be far-fetched... but could the one you got have come off a rhd car? I've never researched it much, but I would think there would be much bigger differences if that were the case - like the mounts would be backwards since I believe rhd & lhd subframes are the same.

 

That could be since the place that sold it to me asked if my car was RHD or LHD. I was thinking that this was an odd question to ask someone calling from inside the US.

 

I stopped by my mechanic today.
The rack itself looks like it is no problem. It appears to fit correctly. The issue is on the pinion. Here are some pics I took. Both areas where the lines connect are different angles.

On the first two pictures you can see that the connection is completely different. On my original the connection is pointing outwards parallel to the tie rod.
On the one "new" I got the connector in on the other side pointing downwards towards the bushing.

Talking with the mechanic, to make these fit he believes requires major modification to the lines and if people can do this swap in their driveways, this can't be the correct rack and pinion.

The connector on the 3rd and 4th pics is off too. Not as much as the first two pics, but it is off.

 

Oooohhh - so you're moving your stock hardlines onto the new rack? i.e. the rebuilt rack didn't come with them. I thought you were talking about the power steering lines that go to the pump.

(your pics aren't loading here, but I was able to copy & paste the links to a new window to view them)

I didn't notice this because the rack I bought came with all the hardlines still attached, but yeah, line routing & housings are different from model to model. I just snapped this of my old stock rack:

Looks like what you've got as well. Then your new rack has a different style of pinion housing.

Possible to just swap pinion housings? Looks like there's just 2 bolts holding it on...

 

First off....THANK YOU for your help.

I am not really very car knowledgeable. I know enough to be dangerous. So it sounds like the stock STI hard lines that are sold with many of these (not with reman units apparently) are what I need to make this work.

What are my "quick" options? Can I buy these lines from the dealer? I ask because my car is up on jack stands in my mechanics shop and I would like to get my car back.

 

No problem! To be fair, I'm not a mechanic at all - just swapped racks a few times & done lots of other work on the cars I've owned.

If it were me, I was going to definitely suggest just swapping those pinion housings. But now that I look closer at your old rack, it doesn't look like yours can be separated like mine can.

I honestly don't know if those hard lines are available from the dealer. If they are, I guarantee they won't be in stock which means waiting a couple days for them to ship. On top of that, finding the right ones to match your exact rack will be tricky - Subaru parts diagrams aren't known for the specificity, and you don't know exactly what rack you're trying to use...

So now I'd guess your quickest route would be to get your mechanic to bend up & flare some new lines for you. Should be just like bending up brake lines, and you can re-use your fittings. 2 hours of labor? Maybe only 1 if he's good.

 

Yeah...my old pinion housing is permanently attached. He thought about swapping the housing too.

04-07 SUBARU WRX STI POWER STEERING PS RESERVOIR W/ LINES FACTORY OEM STOCK #1 | eBay


Is that what I need?

Thanks.

 

I don't think that'll do you - those are the ones that snake around the engine block just like your stock lines and terminate just above the crossmember. What you're looking for are the hardlines that start at the pinion housing, go across the steering rack, and then up through the crossmember.

What you would need are these 2 lines:

It's hard to tell, but your pinion housing looks even different than the one I put in (off an 06 Sti). So finding the exact right lines will be tricky.

I see you're in Maryland - LeeC parts is in your neck of the woods, he's got tons of misc. stuff. Parts out cars full time, lots of Sti's.. He's got an ebay store, but for something specific like that you could reach out directly & see what he knows. I bought a longblock from him a few years ago, a good guy.

 

Yeah...I looked into it and those eBay lines are not the ones.
I was looking through eBay completed listings for 2004 STI racks and the one I have looks identical. I also looked at 2005-2007 STI racks and they look identical to yours.

I think I need these (upper left) parts:

34114
34114A

The below diagram is from a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Sedan

 

Ok, yeah - looks like those are them.

Looks like they run $40-50 each online. I REALLY hope they match up.

 

You and me both.

Thanks,

 

I bought new STI 04 rack from one of known USA Subaru online shops, fits perfect, no bending was needed.

 

Yup. Once I ordered the 2004 STI pressure lines, the rack went right in. No bending.

 

Happiness!!! Got the car back. First test....drum roll.......2 1/2 turns lock to lock whew.....STI rack.

I think that the wheel might be off just a hair, but I am not too worried. I'll have a performance alignment done in a few months and hopefully they can adjust it (if not, it isn't noticeable). I don't want to do a performance alignment now as I just got the car aligned from my local shop. (not performance....just a regular ole alignment)

 

Awesome news.


It might take you a while to get used to the new rack - not in regular driving, but parking. At least it did for me... I got used to "compensating" for the weird variable ratio in the stock rack, so once it gets linear I ended up turning WAY too much at first and then not enough when I got closer to full lock.

On the road, highway, and twisties, there's no learning curve and it just drives like it should have from the factory. It's fun. :lol:

 

No kidding. The first thing I did was to hop into my car to embark on a 3 hour road trip. I stopped to grab a bite to eat an hour in (right now) and it was really odd. I figured about a day or two to get used to it. Before it felt like I could steer with my pinky and now it takes effort.

 

How's it going with this project?

 

The rack has been great. I actually also added a DAMD flat bottom steering wheel. And wow, that wheel is awesome.