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I am really surprised that no one else has attempted the replacement of an older style steering rack with the newer type with the larger pinion. The lack of information made it difficult to make correct and proper choices and decisions. I hope that this thread helps someone in the future with this same problem, excessive steering play.
I realize that my choice to remove the power steering belt may have played a role in the failure of the rubber support disc between the steering shaft and the column. However, the situation could not be avoided due to monetary issues and my mechanical ability at the time to remedy the steering fluid spray. I obtained the rack, pump, and column at my local pick and pull. It was not expensive.
Today, my operations included traveling to the local junkyard to remove the rack from a 1993 240. It had not been wrecked and the steering gear appeared tight. I could detect no movement in the rack whilst groping the rods. Also, all boots were intact.
The rack is a CAM rack, Identified by the high pressure tubes attached with flare fittings and not banjo bolts. I hope that the condition is good, without any balance problems. The pump I obtained is a Saginaw pump noted for its shape like a teardrop. The column I obtained was from a 1983 240 GL, and it has identical wiring to the 1977 264 which I own. There is a difference though in the length of the steering lock, and it protrudes from the dashboard almost an inch. However, there were no problems in mounting the newer style column to my older style car.
After I installed the column, it appeared that there was no difference in the connection to the steering shaft, length or otherwise, and the old column should have suited my purposes fine. Now, I need a key for the junkyard column. I wasted my time, in other words. Maybe not though, if the steering lock ever fails. I know now that to remove the column at the junkyard takes about 30 minutes, and to install it into the car takes over an hour. I have no problem doing this in my garage, but in a parking lot it would be terrible without a fat blunt of marijuana, and even then, it might still be brutal. It is not really that difficult, it just takes time and tools, and it's the time that wears you down. I can only imagine attempting to defeat the lock as a thief. Once you take the column out, you still need the key to remove the lock. It would be way quicker to cut a key, as I imagine that brute force would yield no result.
The rack to column interface is the critical part to the conversion, that is the key to an upgrade. Once you have a rack and shaft, that should be all that you need, The hose banjo bolts are the same for every pump 77-93 model year. The pump however needs to mount to your block correctly. This is why I chose a Saginaw pump from a 1983, as my engine is a 1983 B23. I found that there are two types of bracket for the pumps. One bracket style is for air conditioning, and the other is for power steering alone. I do not have a compressor yet and my system needs major work, so I obtained the bracket for a setup without air conditioning.
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