removing tension rod on s14?
removing tension rod on s14?
i need to get my tension rod off to change a bushing, but i cant tell how to get it off by looking at it? i can see the first bolt that attaches to the wheel spindle, but then the rest goes back into a dust boot and the dust boot seems pretty well stuck in place? is it just stuck on with dirt from being under the car or are there some clips i have to remove or..?
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Nismo_Freak
- Posts: 10314
- Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2002 10:42 pm
- Car: 89 Nissan 240SX
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WongFeiHung
- Posts: 341
- Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2003 7:25 pm
tie rod eh? well you should see a castle nut (looks like the top of a rook) with a cotter pin through the bolt that's coming from the ball joint. You gotta lift the car, pop the front wheels then locate the castle nut. Once you're there, pull the cotter pin (needle nose pliers might help you pull it out more easily) then undo the castle nut. You'll need a ball joint seperator. Basically it looks like a mondo sized 2 prong fork that gets thicker as you get closer to the arm of the fork. it might help to have a small jack lift the knuckles at this point. Now you've got it isolated and now i't just pretty much on the steering rack alone. Remember to count turns, not threads for this upcoming part. You can take a wrench to the back portion of the rod to get the tie rod end off.
Depending on how far you want to go, the next part I'm gonna talk about is for the inner tie rod. You've gotta have a new boot for the steering rack as that's gotta come off to fit the inner rods. it should be held on at both ends of the boot by a long metal wire that's been twisted together and has loops at the end. Unloop that. Now you can take off the boot and take another wrench to the portion that you can take a wrench to (right at the part where it screws into the steering rack). Voila you've got it all removed.
Put the new parts on, grease the inside of the rack that needs it (will need greasing and cleaning if boot was torn) and reassemble. Just remember when you're putting on the ends back on, to count the number of turns you've made. Counting threads won't work here.
Depending on how far you want to go, the next part I'm gonna talk about is for the inner tie rod. You've gotta have a new boot for the steering rack as that's gotta come off to fit the inner rods. it should be held on at both ends of the boot by a long metal wire that's been twisted together and has loops at the end. Unloop that. Now you can take off the boot and take another wrench to the portion that you can take a wrench to (right at the part where it screws into the steering rack). Voila you've got it all removed.
Put the new parts on, grease the inside of the rack that needs it (will need greasing and cleaning if boot was torn) and reassemble. Just remember when you're putting on the ends back on, to count the number of turns you've made. Counting threads won't work here.
The actual overhaul for the seals and bushings isn't hard, just a couple of seals but it's getting the rack off that's a total pain. There aren't too many seals or bushings, i believe one or two on the actual rack, and a couple more at the ends where the rack meets the tie rods. The hardest part will be getting it out and putting it back in once you've replaced the seals. Be sure to have plenty of grease as well, and that when you're going to put the rack back in to have some ATF lying around so you can fill up some of the atf into the rack (less work when you're pumping the power steering system). To tell you my own experience, wear gloves that protect your knuckles when trying to remove the connection to the steering column.
If you've got a leak, check the boots. The boots are usually cracked to hell on a car as old as the s13. Every s13 I've seen and worked on has cracked boots. You'll want to clean the area and regrease it before putting the new boots on. Reason for that is if the area under the boots has alot of debris like pebbles and what not, it'll damage your rack if they manage to get in a lil deeper. I had a ps fluid leak so I went a bit deeper but usually new seals and bushings aren't required as they're pretty damn beefy and mine were still fine when I did an overhaul at 140k. So I could have just gotten away with the new boots.
the power steering pump isn't bad either. Again, after doing the overhaul you'll want to have some atf lying around to prime the insides of the pump. Just follow the FSM and you should be fine.
If you've got a leak, check the boots. The boots are usually cracked to hell on a car as old as the s13. Every s13 I've seen and worked on has cracked boots. You'll want to clean the area and regrease it before putting the new boots on. Reason for that is if the area under the boots has alot of debris like pebbles and what not, it'll damage your rack if they manage to get in a lil deeper. I had a ps fluid leak so I went a bit deeper but usually new seals and bushings aren't required as they're pretty damn beefy and mine were still fine when I did an overhaul at 140k. So I could have just gotten away with the new boots.
the power steering pump isn't bad either. Again, after doing the overhaul you'll want to have some atf lying around to prime the insides of the pump. Just follow the FSM and you should be fine.