MichaelK

I have made it all the way through replacing all of the seals that came in my kit. However, I have 3 questions before I finish up the project that don't seem to be addressed anywhere in my reading.

1. How do I center the steering gear onto the steering rod? I didn't mark anything when I took it apart (bad move I know). Does it matter? Steering wheel is gettgin replaced once this is done so if the solution can be to rotate the steering wheel then that works for me.

2. Once I get the steering gear lined up with the steering rod do I need to put some grease in there? There was definitely something in there before but I don't know if that was a result of age. If I do need grease what kind is best?

3. I mangled the plastic guide ring from step 13 in these instructions:
http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/steer-03.htm
Can I get a replacement? do I need one? This seems like a part that would need replacing like an o ring but it wasn't in my kit.

TIA
Michael

Jay W

I put axle grease on the pinion gear after I get it in there correctly. Make sure you dont need to pull it back apart before you grease it, I do not think axle grease is good to get in the area where the PS fluid will flow.

You should replace the plastic guide ring. I never wrecked mine, but rennbay's kit has the other plastic rings since they usually get beat up while pulling out the seals.

Seems like there is a small mark on the top cover (with the 3 bolts) and either the flat part of the steering shaft should point to it or there is a mark on the steering shaft that points to the mark on the top cover. Trick is that as you slide the pinion assembly into PS housing, the twist of the pinion gear turns the shaft as it goes down. So the final result is the rack in the centered position with the flat (or mark) pointing at the mark on the top cover. I think I centered the rack, figured about how much it would turn as I put it in, turned it backwards that much, and slid it in. It took me a few tries to get it lined up. I am a bit fuzzy on all of this, been 2 years since my last rack rebuild but I have done 3 of them.

John_AZ

Underneath the bottom of the PS rack is a rubber/plastic plug (drivers side). If you look in the hole and move the shaft back and forth you will see a "dimple" in the shaft. This is the alignment hole to center the rack for installation. Paragon has a screw that you install to hold the rack in place or you can make one. I used an old brake line fitting that had a short piece of metal line cut off. The threads were the same.

You do need to get that plastic piece you mangled. From Arnnworx www.arnnworx.com
http://www.arnnworx.com/SteeringRack.htm

GL John

whalebird

+1 to above^^^. You can make a centering bolt easily. I used an old fine thread axle bolt and ground a point on it. Works great and should be used during an alignment. Your alignment guy will appreciate it.
I mangled my plastic bushing as well. I could not find a replacement, and the link to arnworx did'nt get me to a replacement part although i didn't search hard. I wound up making my own out of a piece of teflon/plastic on a lathe.
As for inserting the pinion into the housing, be careful. Make sure all the plastic rings compress nicely, I put a little grease on the bottom needle bearings, and make sure the big thrust "washer" the pinion housing rides on is centered. If something is amiss, the top cover will not sit flush on the housing where the three bolts are. DO NOT pull it down with the bolts. It should go together easily and everthing will be flush when assembled. I had to install/remove the pinion a few times to get it centered and it goes pretty easy when it's all lined up. You'll see - just don't force anything.

MichaelK

thanks everyone.


Jay W

I will grease it at the end I guess. Thanks for the tips on centering it.

John

I don't see where I can buy those parts on Arnworx. I am heading to the stealer at lunch to pick up some other random hardware I needed like the banjo bolts so I will ask there if they can get me what I need

WhaleBird

I wish I had heard from you like 12 hours ago. I couldn't get the pinion in all the way so I tapped the top with a rubber mallet. It went in but upon removal I realized I tore up the middle blue ring. It had gotten a bit stretched on installation and was binding up in the housing. The tap with the mallet ended up tearing it. I am just going to reuse one of the old ones. I am glad it is the middle one though as I don't think it will leak from the middle.

whalebird

Same exact thing happened to me. I found that I slid one of the new blue rings over the body of the pinion assembly, not from goove to groove like I should have in retrospect. This stretched the blue seal out and was binding upon reassembly. I was hesitant to use an old ring (which is probably OK) so I emailed Travis at Rennbay whos sent me another blue ring(priority mail/no charge) which is one of several reasons Rennbay is at the top of my favorites list - Travis is a class act.
I have well over 10K miles on my rebuild and nary a drop. I would have done it long ago if I knew how easy and effective it was. Next time around will be a piece of cake if I ever need to do it again.

MichaelK

good to know about rennbay. I have heard nothing but good things about them but I just haven't orderred from them yet. The next project is likely the fuel lines so I will order them from Rennbay.

MichaelK

no dice on the plastic buts from the dealer. GUess I will do without.

John_AZ

You may not have gotten the PS kit from arnnworx or rennbay, but you might email and see if they can help you out. They have many other parts and you may be able to repay the favor.

GL
John