Installing New Tires w/ Bad Rack & Pinion?

[sd88supra]

I currently have a 225/40/18 front and 265/40/18 rear set up on my daily driver Supra. Because of my financial situation (think broke college student), I have opted to put the tires on from my garaged Supra which has stock wheels with decent Yokohamas (bought them new and stopped driving it a few months later). It's far more expensive to get new tires for my 18" wheels, added to the fact that I need my rack and pinion replaced. I do not want to wait any longer because two tires are very bad.

My question is: what would be the consequences of swapping the tires and driving with the bad rack and pinion for two weeks? I only drive about 60 miles a week, mostly highway, though I do have a 100 mile trip planned for next Saturday, a trip I don't want to do with old worn tires.

Would there be much change in the steering going to a non-staggered, smaller wheel size? I know the constant hitting of bumps with a bad rack and pinion causes uneven tire wear, but I'd be able to get a new rack and pinion and alignment in two weeks.

Thanks for your input.

[pandrade]

i think it all depends on how bad your rack and pinion is. when i first got my supra the rack leaked all the fluid in about 5 minits. if this is your case then you could damage the ps pump which would add up to even more repairs.

changing tire sizes wont really do that much of a diffrence unless you go from like a suv tire and rim up front and facotry in rear( for about a year i ran 225 60 16 on the rear and 225 50 16 in front, the rear was way to tall but i dident notice a diffrence, except for traction). when it comes to driving on a bad rack it all depends on how bad it is. Mine would hold alighnment perfectly and steer just fine but i ran the risk of killing the ps pump, how bad is your's? does it leak, one of the ends wont fit the tie rod end; all back to the origonal question how bad and whats damadged about it

[sd88supra]

As far as "how bad" it's damaged, I'm not sure. It leaks the power steering fluid in about two weeks though, not five minutes. This is not even consistent, because sometimes I'll notice a small puddle of fluid, and sometimes it won't even leak at all. I top it off once a week anyway.

The alignment itself is fine; I can go fairly straight if I'm driving on a nice even road (not completely straight because the current tires do have uneven wear). However, when I brake on a titled road it moves more to the side than normal, and the car loses more direction than normal when hitting a bump - that's how I know the rack and pinion is bad.

Given what you've said though, I think I'll just swap the tires before my trip and just drive like that for a week. Thanks again.

[pandrade]

if your rack leaks that could be the directonal issue, as a quick fix i would go to the FAQ's and check how to flush the ps system and put in lucas ps fluid whith stop leak( it stoped my leaking for about a month) could be that during a bump you hold the wheel straight but that loss of pressure some where in the system is what causes it to wounder.

I think I'll just swap the tires before my trip and just drive like that for a week

that seems like a good option, i wouldent worry about tire wear so much the rack its self doesent cause that other suspension components would, try the flush and lucas see if that is a temporary fix