Brett Jenkins

I'm 99% done with the engine removal, but stuck here at midnight:


The haynes manual says to use a punch and hammer to separate the knuckle from the stub, but I can't quite tell from the picture and my grimy knuckle exactly where it's supposed to separate.

It also says to mark the position of each piece so they can be matched back of exactly, but mark them where and in relation to what?

Thanks in advance.

Mike Murcia

Brett, I don't know where to mark the steering spline. When I did it, I simply set the wheels straight on re-assembly and then re attached the steering shaft collar onto the spline on the rack. My wheel was a little off center once, so I just pulled the steering wheel and re-centered it in the car. As for using a punch, I don't know what they mean. The steering rack has a toothed spline coming out of it that is clamped by a universal joint on the steering shaft. I remember removing the bolt that clamped the collar on to the spline and wiggling the rack away from the column. I hope this makes sense.

Jakerx

hey....here's my advice. get some white out...and draw a line ont he knuckle and continue onto the splined shaft...just align those marks again when you put it back...that's all there is to it.

Danno

Hmmm, usually, if you put a large screwdriver into the slot on the knuckle clamp and twist, it spreads out easily enough to let the rack down (rack has to come down to separate, you can't swing the steering-rod upwards). When re-assembling, just make sure the flat spot on the rack stub is parallel to the pinch bolt axis. This ensures that the rack is centered with the steering straight ahead. You can make up for being off by a spline or two by re-centering the steering-wheel or adjusting the tie-rods, but you'll end up with more turns to lock on one side vs. the other.

Brett Jenkins

thx