Replacing steering rack?
Replacing steering rack?
I searched, but no article or write up was out there. My question is how hard is it to replace steering rack with a Reman one? I looked at it yesterday and it looks like it'll come out if I undo steering rack bushings and a couple of hard lines. Is that right?
Re: Replacing steering rack? (ricebike)
I have FSM too, but I wanted to hear from someone already has done this before. How hard is it? I wonder it can be done on the driveway with a car on jackstands. The reason is oil is leaking, so should I replace whole rack or just the seals. As far as I know, it's better to replace whole rack with reman.ricebike wrote:http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx/
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Hijacker
- Posts: 14373
- Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2003 4:57 am
- Car: '92 240sx Convertible
'94 F-150 - Location: Fredericksburg, VA
It's a slight PITA. You'll need to undo the input column. That's not too bad. Just simply loosen the collar and it should pop right out.
Then undo the tie rod ends and pop them off the ball joints.
Then remove the hard lines.
Then remove the c brackets holding the rack to the sub frame and remove.
Installation is the reverse. A tip from helping do this, reinstalling the hard lines is the most annoying part of the job. Part of the problem with ours, though, was the threads in the rack were screwed up, so the hard line wouldn't start. We had to clean the threads up with a small file to get it to go in. I doubt you'll run into that issue.
And of course, get an alignment after it's all done
As far as using a reman or getting the oil seals replaced, once those seals go bad, you usually need to replace the rack. I've heard mixed results from using remans, but so long as you go with a good name brand, you should be fine. I may have to look into how hard it would be to fix the OE rack as that could save some serious cash as even reman racks aren't cheap.
Then undo the tie rod ends and pop them off the ball joints.
Then remove the hard lines.
Then remove the c brackets holding the rack to the sub frame and remove.
Installation is the reverse. A tip from helping do this, reinstalling the hard lines is the most annoying part of the job. Part of the problem with ours, though, was the threads in the rack were screwed up, so the hard line wouldn't start. We had to clean the threads up with a small file to get it to go in. I doubt you'll run into that issue.
And of course, get an alignment after it's all done
As far as using a reman or getting the oil seals replaced, once those seals go bad, you usually need to replace the rack. I've heard mixed results from using remans, but so long as you go with a good name brand, you should be fine. I may have to look into how hard it would be to fix the OE rack as that could save some serious cash as even reman racks aren't cheap.
Re: (Hijacker)
Thank you! Sounds like it's a straight forward job. I replaced steering column bushing, so I know how it goes around there. I pulled the whole thing out to do the bushing. I saw hardlines that attached to power steering rack are thicker than brake/clutch lines, so it could be hard to start the thread if the angle is not right. Reman is still expensive, but I'm thinking that I'll get some money back for core. BTW, this is not for my car. It's my buddy's car that hasn't been taken care of for a while.