Rack & Pinion issues

Odd deal on my rack & pinion...  pass side "bushing" replacement... not sure what happened here, but while I was changing converter today, I was looking everything over and noticed a little "slack" in the front end...  upon further inspection I find this..vvvvvvvvv








the unit is a Flaming River  part # 1501  ( 71 Pinto manuel steer)

cant seem to find any replacement parts other than boots on their web site.. does anybody know if they offer the plastic bushing / collar  that goes in the end to keep the rack centered in the outter tube?

Had the same problem on a car a few yeas ago (can't remember the brand aftermarket rack used). Looked but I couldn't ever find a replacement for the pass. side rack bushing (checked the rack maker & others).

As a last resort I ended up using a piece of plumbing PVC (tried both pipes & fittings to find something close to right size) as a homemade bushing, had to machine it's OD/ID to fit inside the rack body & around the main shaft. Guy needed the car quick so I didn't really have enough time to disassemble the rack to install the homemade bushing correctly. As a quick fix/install I split the homemade bushing lengthwise, warmed it with a heat gun to make it more plyable/flexible. Then when hot I opened it up at the split & pushed it over the main rack shaft & quickly closed it back up to let it cool. After the PVC bushing cooled down & could keep it's shape I pushed it into the rack body & drilled two 1/8" holes through the rack body & into the PVC bushing for short pop rivets to help keep the makeshift bushing in place.

found that "Flaming River" is absolutely NO EFFIN HELP!!! was told by them they don't send parts to customers..

fabricated a makeshift bushing like your talking about out of PCV pipe... fits real good in the ID of outside tube but still has a very small amount of play on the rack shaft itself maybe 10-12 thou ... not afraid of it but would like a better fit.

I did research some other companies (Whiteline) and they make a replacement bushing for the pinto rack...

and Summit has them... also got on "energy suspensions'' web site and in there universal bushings the have an insert that is real close to what I need with just a small modification to the od on a F-350 super cab leaf spring bushing.

The problem with trying to use other aftermarket Pinto rack maker's side bushings is from what I have seen in the past they didn't always use the same OD specs on their Pinto main/center shaft. IIRC the OEM/factory Pinto rack has the largest OD center shaft of the bunch, the Willwood Pinto rack was a little smaller OD, & the Flaming river Pinto rack was the smallest OD main/center shaft (again that's if I remember correctly ).