WDoherty
New Member
- Messages
- 888
- Location
- Alpine, TX
I was home last weekend and had access to a shop so i did some work. Orginally i had intended to replace the steering rack, but later found that fluid was leaking from the pump fitting right onto the rack boot making the rack look like it was leaking when it was not. Anyhow, i had daizen steering rack bushings and gave it a go. The job was a big pain, but it does make the car feel much tighter and I haven't even done the control arm bushings yet. The weird thing is that when i pulled the original bushings they looked fine except for cracking around the edges of the two small bushings, i don't really understand how the bushings make the difference that they do, but i do like it. Here is a brief description and tips on how to do this job, this took me two days, but this was also my last spring break so i was doing some heavy drinking and starting on the car in the afternoon with hangovers and all, and i also pulled the tie rod ends and everything b/c i was going to replace the whole rack.
4 main bolts hold the rack to the car. 2 are on the front face and 2 you will access on the bottom. These all go into the subframe and will need to be backed up with a rachet, i believe these were all 17mm, i used an air ratchet as well. Disconnect the steering shaft at the connection close to the firewall, i disconnected the bottom one and it didn't seem to want to come out. This is also good because i think this one comes out only one way so your steering wheel will be straight once you get it back together. But, you should chalkmark this anyway before you pull it. The passenger side bushing is easy, you'll see. The driver's side bushings should come out, but you will need a hammer and a punch to get them out. The front on e was easy, but it is the rear driver's side where accessibility was a problem. I hadn't pulled the steering shaft yet and i fought that sucker untill i lossened that shaft and finally got enough clearance to work with that one, so go ahead and pull the shaft. When installing the new ones, you might grease the aluminum bushing a bit b/c it can be hard to drive into the polyurethane bushings once installed. This project was a bia, but if you've done other work and feel something missing in the steering, this may be it. You also don't have to worry about these being polyurethane b/c they don't move like they would in a control arm, so i didn't even grease the polyurethane and no squeaks. The kit which i got at tmengineering was only 29.95 and i got it within 3 days of ordering on request. So if you feel like a project, that's what i did. One more tip: if you are having a problem getting the bolts into the new bushings, spin it with an air ratchet and the bolt thread will catch the inside of the aluminum bushing and suck it right up.
peace
4 main bolts hold the rack to the car. 2 are on the front face and 2 you will access on the bottom. These all go into the subframe and will need to be backed up with a rachet, i believe these were all 17mm, i used an air ratchet as well. Disconnect the steering shaft at the connection close to the firewall, i disconnected the bottom one and it didn't seem to want to come out. This is also good because i think this one comes out only one way so your steering wheel will be straight once you get it back together. But, you should chalkmark this anyway before you pull it. The passenger side bushing is easy, you'll see. The driver's side bushings should come out, but you will need a hammer and a punch to get them out. The front on e was easy, but it is the rear driver's side where accessibility was a problem. I hadn't pulled the steering shaft yet and i fought that sucker untill i lossened that shaft and finally got enough clearance to work with that one, so go ahead and pull the shaft. When installing the new ones, you might grease the aluminum bushing a bit b/c it can be hard to drive into the polyurethane bushings once installed. This project was a bia, but if you've done other work and feel something missing in the steering, this may be it. You also don't have to worry about these being polyurethane b/c they don't move like they would in a control arm, so i didn't even grease the polyurethane and no squeaks. The kit which i got at tmengineering was only 29.95 and i got it within 3 days of ordering on request. So if you feel like a project, that's what i did. One more tip: if you are having a problem getting the bolts into the new bushings, spin it with an air ratchet and the bolt thread will catch the inside of the aluminum bushing and suck it right up.
peace
