So Brian, can you do a write up on this? Or atleast PM me the info, I am going through my front suspension and might do this while I am in there..
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I don't have pictures, but I will make an attempt to list a step-by-step procedure of how I did it. There are a few things that dont make much sense until you actually get under the car so i'd suggest reading threads about it, starting the project, then coming back to re-read the threads once you are stumped. There are certainly different orders that one could take in doing this. Feel free to PM me about anything suspension related, I have completely gone through mine and removed/replaced it multiple times for various reasons and feel pretty comfortable with it all.
My semi-concise rack swap procedure:
1) disconnect battery ( you can easily arc a wrench up against the starter wires)
2) support both right and left sides of the front end on jack stands and use a wheel chock on the rear wheels. The higher the better since it is nice to have room to work.
3) Remove both front wheels.
4) Remove PS res. cap, use a 19mm and 22mm wrench to remove the banjo screws from the power steering pump and drain the fluid into a pan.
5) Drop the drivers side kick panel inside the car using 10mm and 8mm sockets.
6) I found it convenient to remove the brake pedal (2 13mm wrenches to remove the bolt and nut and 1 clip for the pin and clevis) in order to leave more room for loosening the 36mm collar nut on the steering column shaft
7) Loosen the 36mm collar nut (I used an adjustable wrench).
8.) Pull back the carpet under the throttle pedal and remove the firewall plate surrounding the steering shaft (2 12mm screws)
9) Remove the outer tie-rods from the steering knuckle (17 mm nut)
10) Remove the steering rack boot clamps with a small flathead screwdriver and pull the boots out of the way in order to remove the inner tie rod from the rack.
11) use a hammer and a flathead screwdriver to pry up the locking tabls on the inner tie rods then remove the inner tie rods with a 27mm? wrench ( I used an adjustable wrench, you can use a pipe wrench on them if you dont plan on using them again, but dont marr up the new ones with a pipe wrench)
12) prepare to remove the steering rack by removing the hardware on the steering u-joint. (13 mm bolt and nut) on the splined steering shaft side and another 13 mm bolt and nut on the splined steering rack input shaft.
Since you have already loosened the 36mm collar nut on the steering column you can probably get the u-joint off the steering rack input shaft by tapping on the u-joint lightly with a smartly positioned screwdriver/other whacking device and soft hammer taps in the upward direction so that the steering column shortens/telescopes. Otherwise you can just sort this out when the rack is unbolted, it should work either way.
13) If you are able to, remove the fluid lines from the steering rack. I had to leave the high pressure line on mine (again 19mm and 22mm banjo screws) until the rack was loose in order to get the wrench on it to remove it.
14) Remove the steering rack by removing the 2 long vertical 13mm bolts and nuts which mount it to the subframe.
15) At this point you want to disconnect the motor mounts and lift the engine OR disconnect the motor mounts support the engine and lower the subframe OR do what I did and what another rack swap instruction says to do (which im not a huge fan of, but it works) which is to bend the subframe tabs downward to allow the rack to drop out.
16) Ensure the steering u-joint is sliding off the steering rack input shaft splines nicely without strange angles which will damage the splines, prying or tapping in the right spots on the u-joint can help removal if the splines don't want to slide freely .
17) pull the old rack out
18.) *** get a second set of hands to hold the rack up for you at this point, or just piss yourself off by holding the 30 lb rack up with one arm and try to bend the tabs back with the other....
place the new rack in position, hopefully a helper is supporting it, bend the subframe tabs back into position, insert the rack spacers (homemade, purchased from e30tech, or stacked washers) UNDER the steering rack then bolt the rack to the subframe.
19) There is a hash-mark on the body of the rack and the rubber ring that rotates with the splined input shaft, line the two up, center the steering wheel and lock it in place (with the ignition key removed).
install the steering u-joint (unmodified joint if airbag car, modified if non-airbag) onto the steering shaft first. ensure that the bolt hole is aligned with the flat machined-out section of the steering shaft so that the bolt can fit through the hole in the u-joint. if in doubt, make paint marks beforehand and line them back up.
20) get some help and make sure you can fit the u-joint back on the rack splines squarely to avoid damaging them (I damaged mine but was doing it blindly by myself and it wasn't squared up right)
21) check the clearance with the firewall, I have about 2mm between the shaft and the firewall opening and ground another 2mm off with a dremel just for kicks ( i removed the steering shaft to do so)
22) figure out how to bend the power steering line(s) to fit properly I sucked at this step so I cannot elaborate, apparently it is just a slight bend to the high pressure hose, I made a freaking art piece out of mine
23) connect the hoses to the pump+rack with new crush washers
24) use loctite and install new/good tie rods, compare the length with the old ones and adjust them accordingly, secure the dust boots on the rack.
25) re-attach the outer tie rods to the steering knuckle with new lock nuts/loctite
26) ensure that all connections are snug, especially dont forget the 36mm collar nut and the 13mm u-joint nuts/bolts.
27) the alignment will be off, but eyeball it and get it as close as possible to zero toe/slight toe-in in order to drive it to an alignment shop.
28.) obviously I left out a few steps on putting things back together but it should be pretty straightforward.
29) pour in some fresh ATF into the reservoir, start the car and turn the wheel back and forth with the res. cap off to help bleed off the air.
30) install the wheels, get the car back on the ground and take it for a drive!
This project wasn't nearly as easy as I had anticipated and took much longer than I thought it should, but it really isn't too bad as long as you give yourself time to get it done. I wouldn't try to get it all knocked out with a big time constraint such as "you have this weekend to get it finished and then you need to be able to drive again" since things can go wrong (like my damaged steering u-joint).
It feels very nice though, great mod!Comment
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