manual rack w/ bmr k member

[101fng]

before anyone says anything, i searched and found a total of three threads, none of which have the answers i'm looking for. and if its not tech enough, i'm sorry.

ok, here's what i'm lookin at:

this: http://www.bmrsuspension.com/index.cfm?page=products&vehicleid=1&maincatid=16&catid=129&productid=199

with this: 2005-2011 Mustang Manual Rack & Pinion - FR1515 - 582 - 5445

now here are my questions for those of you running either of those or if you know someone that uses either or both of those:

1) are there going to be any problems with the rack mounts? BMR's K member is supposed to have stock mounting locations and the FR rack is supposed to be "direct bolt-in" but i've heard of guys having to adjust a bit but i think that was with the old pinto rack

2) flaming river says you need a 9/16"-26 u-joint, but i searched their products and they literally have over 50 different 9/16"-26 u-joints lol. anybody have a part number or anything? i saw a picture in one of the threads but i couldn't zoom in enough to get a part number lol.

3) doing both of these simultaneously, i'm pretty sure i'm going to have some massive alignment issues lol. anybody have a write-up on a quick DIY for the s197s. it doesn't need to be perfect, just close enough so that i can drive to go get an alignment.

4) who's got the best deal on the K member and A arm kit? BMR direct seems to have the best price so far, but you never know. hopefully, a BMR tech chimes in. maybe they can hook me up with either a forum discount or a military discount.

thanks guys

 

[white05gt]

All I can help with is #2 but am curious on the rest since I think I'm going manual this winter. http://store.jpcracing.com/Required-U-Joint-for-Manual-Rack_p_542.html. They do have a pretty good price on the rack too and their customer service is top notch.

 

[101fng]

All I can help with is #2 but am curious on the rest since I think I'm going manual this winter. http://store.jpcracing.com/Required-U-Joint-for-Manual-Rack_p_542.html. They do have a pretty good price on the rack too and their customer service is top notch.

awesome, thanks for pointing me in the right direction. their price matches another place i was considering buying from. might as well just get it from JPC. customer service is just a huge bonus.

imaginary rep for you.

 

[white05gt]

No problem, post back when you get this done and let me know how it is to steer with a manual rack.

 

[101fng]

will do

 

[rodfarva]

I'm using the BMR k-member with the new version of the Flaming River manual rack and pinion. It did require me to loosen and adjust the mounts on the rack just a tad, but no big deal. You will definitely need an alignment after installation. Just eyeball the caster/camber and try to get it close and set the toe-in to about 3/4". That should be close enough that you can drive it to the alignment shop.

 

[101fng]

I'm using the BMR k-member with the new version of the Flaming River manual rack and pinion. It did require me to loosen and adjust the mounts on the rack just a tad, but no big deal. You will definitely need an alignment after installation. Just eyeball the caster/camber and try to get it close and set the toe-in to about 3/4". That should be close enough that you can drive it to the alignment shop.

Good info. Thanks

 

[Mojave Dave]

Another question for you. What do you do with the serpentine belt now without the power steering pump?

 

[rodfarva]

On my car (GT500), I had to use a power steering delete idler. I think that on the GT, you can just get a shorter belt and bypass where the power steering pump would be.

 

[Mojave Dave]

Ok, thanks, I will give that a try.

 

[FastOrange]

Another question for you. What do you do with the serpentine belt now without the power steering pump?

Any answer to this yet? I found this thread searching for the answer to this exact question.

 

[killr3v]

Use the same belt that we use when we bypass the PS. I think it's 88.2". Search it and find it to make sure. I can't remember if that's correct

 

[FastOrange]

Cool. Thanks man!

 

[k_aimone]

the best deal if found on the tublar K was threw BBR. I bought their version which is green but was $25.00 cheaper. Steve at BBR told me that it was actually the same one, just a little stronger in some areas.

 

[matt06]

Just did the exact same swap in my car. Got the rack and u joint from jpc. If you order from them you want the standard fr rack not the pinto one. everything bolted up fine without issue. For alignment we just counted the turns off for the old tie rods and put back on the same number, not sure how close that honestly has us but have access to an alignment rack so im not too concerned for the moment.

 

[TexasKyle]

How hard it is to turn with the manual rack? I know just bypassing the stock rack it is a PITA to turn. I've considered going to a full manual rack, but not if it is similar to how it turns by bypassing the PS pump with the stock rack.

 

[matt06]

everything ive read/ people ive talked to have said its a major difference from just taking the belt off. no experience myself yet. Also have skinnies on the front which should help