bonus12

What is the proper way to disassemble the manual racks? I just need to clean and regrease mine and I don't want to damage it... Thanks.

odonnell

Easiest way is to pull the boots away from the center, so they are pushed to the tie rod ends. You should be able to see the rack fairly well - and putting it in full lock gives you access to most of it.

If you want to really get into it, you can remove the round plastic cap where the IMS mates up to the rack. There are 2 13mm bolts you remove and then you can see one of the shaft bearings.

You can apparently drive out the other bearing (which is on the bottom of the rack) but I had no such luck on a rack I recently sold. When that's out I believe the shaft/worm gear assembly slides out.

There's also a tensioner mechanism you can use to remove play in the steering - a 15mm (or is 17mm?) nut controls the tension, and two 13mm bolts hold the plate against the rack. There is a very greasy spring inside that keep the rack pressed tightly against the pinion. Changing the compressive force acting on the spring (the 15/17mm nut) allows you to completely remove play, at the expense of potentially making the rack more laborious to turn.

V2Rocket

It's pretty easy to take apart, don't force anything that seems stuck.

Remove the tie rods, remove the dust cover from the pinion shaft, remove the "lash cap" (two bolts on the hexagon shaped plate thing), remove the spring/bushing thing, undo the 3 bolts that were covered by the dust cap on top, apply a light coat of hammering and the pinion/bearing should come out easily, and the rack slides out of the housing.

bonus12

I'll do as suggested. Sounds pretty straightforaward, I just hope it's not hard to put back together correctly!

Thanks for helping. Can't wait to get it installed.

Van

Take note of the orientation of the pinion shaft and get it back right. Otherwise the intermediate shaft u-joints won't bolt up keeping the steering wheel straight.

bonus12

Thank you, I will take note.

Fara

I actually did this today. It's a really straight forward job.
The workshop manual is not very helpful, but it is really quite easy.

The grease I pulled out of the rack really had seen better days...

However, while you have the rack out, any chance you can check what the correct thread and pitch is for the plug on the side of the rack?
The plug on my rack is rather conspicuously missing

Van

You mean for the centering bolt? I think the thread is M10x1.0 (fine thread M10). I've taken a bolt and ground a taper onto the tip and use it for centering the rack when I either have to align a steering wheel or do the toe setting of an alignment.

When the plug is missing, I use a little rubber stopper/cork to plug it up.

Van

Here's a picture of my centering bolt.

bonus12

Yes, I agree it's M10X1. There is a grease fitting in that size.

That's cool, Van. How does it help you center the rack? Does it lock it in place?

Van

The shaft inside the rack has a little dimple machined into it that lines up with that bolt hole... So you just thread the bolt in so it interlocks the dimple, and now the rack is pinned at the center location.

The power rack has this too. It's an "intentional feature" - meaning you're supposed to do that!

bonus12

Very useful! I have a rack in my hands, the manual one, and I can feel a notch (like a tendency) at dead center when I turn the gear, like it's meant to hold center, such as on a highway....or Audubon. Is this the same notch? Van, you make good things in your shop. I don't have the tools to machine such a tapered bolt, but the idea is handy and perhaps I can fashion something more rudimentary.

Van

What you're describing sounds more like wear...

It you look through that bolt hole, you'll actually see a little partial hole that's machined into the rack shaft. That's the spot I'm talking about.

I do have some nice machining tools... but I made that bolt with just a bench grinder (and some patience!).

crooster

I ordered my centering bolt from Paragon - it's cheap:

http://www.paragon-products.com/Stee...t-p/p-9116.htm

bonus12

I got around to taking the rack apart today.

Forgive me, I don't know the names of each part. I can't seem to remove the short rod with splines that connects to the intermediate shaft. I can't pull it out, I don't see any other options, except the bearing on top. Sausage, you said something about knocking out a bearing? There is a bearing, but how to get it all out? Does it need force? I am bing careful so far.

I really want to remove the long shaft/worm gear so I can properly clean and grease this thing. I hav all the bolts out, so what's next? I know its some simple thing I overlooked...

Thanks a lot everyone, my car has hope because of you guys.