Randolph

No doubt about it. Oddly my Pentosin bottle is leaking too. Not much but enough to justify getting a new one. It seems to be leaking at the seam on the top where the black part meets the sides of the light colored bottle. It's not overfilled either but it is finding it's way out that seam and after a week the whole bottle has a thin coat on it. I hate leaky cars! A good friend of mine and myself are going to tackle this job. We've got all the tools one could need, and a lift in his garage. I'll go through Jorgen for the rebuilt unit. I found the following R&R article on doing the rack. (I did a lot of searching and didn't come up with much) Is there anything else anyone can give me a heads up on that this article doesn't mention? And of course we have the Bentley. Once I get all the logistics figured out we should be getting to this within the next month or sooner. I figure better to do it now than when it's hot and humid outside. Car is an 87 5KCSTQ

- Jack up both front wheels & remove them
- on TQ cars, cut the cable binder of the large engine cable boom near the pass. side steering rack mounting - you need to bend it outta way, otherwise the rack wont come free.
- remove pass.side mounting bolt (13mm hex nut)
- remove drv. side mounting bolts (13mm hex) - this goes best with a long arm reachin from the outside tru the track control arm openings
- remove the upper track control arms (is that the right word??? - sorry I'm German) at the center of the rack (2 19mm hex bolts)
- remove the center bolt at the rack & bend the securing sheet metal outta way.
- remove lower dash panel in front of driver seat
- remove lower heater channel under the aux. relay panel
- remove steering column to steering rack bolt (13mm hex bolt nut required)
- remove hydraulic fluid reservoir completely with mounting bracket (3 13 or 10mm hex nuts)
- drain hydraulic fluid by opening the hose at the "Bomb"
- from underneath the car, brake loose the rear hydraulic line at the rack (19mm hex bolt)
- remove frontal hydraulic line bolt (19mm hex)
- brake the rack free (2nd person would be helpful)
- then carefully remove the entire rack tru the upper track control arm opening at the pass. side - there's no other way to get it out, unless the engine is removed!

Retrofitting is vice versa removal, but...

pay attention that you re-adjust the steering column properly with the rack and the jacket of the steering column, otherwise your steering wheel will not turn proper & scratches into the steering column housing - this is again a pain in the a...


R

Pushbutton_auto

Sounds about right, abt 3 hours out, 2 back in, first time.


Bit of a pain, trying to twist the rack out, BUT it will come out, try to hide the grinder, :0



Attach (or at least get it started) the hose from rack to power steering pump at the rack end BEFORE bolting the rack back in place.

Pushbutton_auto

an old copied version,

STEPS: Centre the steering (not crucial to alignment but for ease of removing tie rod plate). Remove the things that would otherwise be in the way of the rack: the windshield washer bottle and the hydraulic reservoir. It is sufficient to remove enough of the reservoir's hoses so that you can push it out of the way. Remove the two bolts holding the tie rods to the rack. You have to bend the tabs of the lock plate out to get access to the bolt heads. I used a variety of screwdrivers and a chisel with a big hammer. If you forgot to get a new lock plate (like me) you should take care that you don't destroy the one you've got. The nut and bolt running vertically through the lock plate and tie rod bracket should be loosened but need not be removed. Then you can remove the assembly from the rack. Tape the tie rod ends to something, but keep in mind that you'll probably need to move them around at stages during removal and installation. You don't need to remove either tie rod. Remove the flange tube, which connects the steering column to the rack (see Bentley 48.2). You don't need to remove the dash trim to get to this, though removing the little storage tray doesn't hurt. Disconnect the hydraulic lines. I unbolted the pressure line but left the short little return (which is really hard to get to) connected. Some people recommend leaving both connected. Either way, pay attention to their rough angular orientation and to which line goes where. They're the same thread, but hooking the rack up backwards will destroy it. (Other listers can vouch for that.) Put the car up on jack stands (you don't need space under the car, you just need to unload the wheels). Remove right-front wheel, where the rack will come out. Unbolt the rack from the car. It's held on the right side (passenger's side on LHD cars) with a single vertical bolt and nut and with two bolts on the left side. The rack is now free. Go get your helper, if not already there. Begin the game of getting the rack out through the tie rod hole in the fender well. We found that you must: - pull the passenger's side end of the rack forward a little, then up high, and then pushing the big bunch of cables underneath it (those are hard to clear) - wiggle the rack from both ends until you get the pass. end out the tie rod hole. - rotate the rack (about its lengthwise axis) as needed to clear hoses and such, till the rack is mostly out - rotate the rack till the column-end is pointing down, and then tilt the whole rack till it will come out the fender Before you even think about putting the new rack in, do the following to the new rack: - Practice getting the flange tube onto the new rack. Note that it is sort-of keyed; it only goes on at one angle. The fit will be very tight at first, because of all the paint on the rebuilt rack. Keep pounding the flange tube on (gently) until you can get it on and off easily, because it won't be so easy once it's in the car. - Connect the tie rod bracket assembly to the new rack. The tough part is getting the bracket connected to the boot. While one person stretches the boot, the other can push the bracket into one hole at a time. Again, I don't know how you would do this once the rack is in the car. Then screw the two bolts into the rack, just to hold everything in place for later. - Connect the return line to the new rack, at the proper angle and with new crush washers. You _may_ want to connect the pressure line, too, because it's tough to do later, but I found it too difficult to get the rack in with the pressure line connected. You really can connect the line later, though with some difficulty. Putting the new rack in is, of course, the reverse of removal, but it's just plain tougher with the hoses and tie rod bracket attached. But it really is worth it! We actually goofed and put it in without those pieces, and then had to take it all the way back out. Don't do that. You may find it necessary to turn the input shaft until you drive the tie rod bracket to a convenient location for negotiating all the tight spaces. It will tend to hang up on the wastegate. I even loosened one tie rod bolt and tightened the other at times, to angle the lock plate so that it would clear things. It _will_ fit. Once it's in place, bolt it to the car first. Since you've got that wheel off, it shouldn't be hard to remember to have the car up in the air, but in case it isn't, the Bentley says "steering assembly must be free of strain while tightening." Now bolt the pressure line to the rack. This is tough, especially with crush washers to fiddle with. But, it definitely can be done. We actually put a little piece of tape to hold the washer onto the hose, after dropping it so many times, and then removed the tape once the bolt started in the threads. This made it much easier. By removing one bolt at a time, _loosely_ bolt the tie rods to the tie rod bracket and all. If you leave one bolt screwed in at all times, it keeps the bracket lined up on the rack, so that it's easy to screw the other bolt in. At this point you get your reward for having negotiated the tie rod bracket past the wastegate and other obstructions. Do _not_ torque the bolts all the way yet: "tighten with vehicle standing on wheels," Bentley says. Connect the flange tube to the rack and the steering column. Since the shaft and the flange tube are keyed, you have to get the right orientation--but you don't have to worry about the steering wheel ending up at some funny angle. Just be sure to put the key in so that the steering wheel can rotate. And don't put the bolt into the flange tube until you've already got it on the shaft; it won't go on very far with the bolt in. You'll need an assistant to push down on the steering wheel while you connect the flange tube, so that the steering wheel is down all but 1/8" of the way. Other listers have warned to be careful not to break off the turn signal cancel tab; I don't know if it's easy to break, but I'll mention that warning here. I didn't have any such problems. Lower the car to the ground. Reconnect the windshield washer bottle and hydraulic reservoir. Now torque the tie rod bolts up all the way. Bend the tabs of the lock plate over the tie rod bolts. That should finish the reassembly. All that's left is to pour fresh Pentosin in and bleed the system, i.e. start the car and turning the steering lock to lock, adding fluid as needed. I would agree that you should do this with the front wheels off the ground, to be nice to your new rack. Check for leaks. Enjoy. That should about do it. There really isn't anything too complicated to the job, though it takes a while to do (depending on your skill). Good luck!

Pushbutton_auto

and another favourite,

With more intelligent wiggling, rotate and shift the rack out of the passenger side wheel well. There is no need to remove the tire, but you may want to jack up the body a few inches. The tie rod will be in the way, but the rack CAN be wiggled out through this hole with the tie rod in place. After the rack is out, have a beer. Clean everything. Remove the filter out of the fluid reservoir and clean it well. When clean, it is shiny metal colour, and not black. Put the new rack next to the old rack. Remove the remaining hydraulic line and remember how it was arranged (very important). Do any flushing/cleaning and put the pump hydraulic line on the new rack. Get the steering column piece that connects to the rack (from inside the car). Bring it to the new rack, and trial fit it onto the rack knuckle thingy. It can only go on one way, but you may have to tap it a few times with a block of wood. WD40 helps a lot. Remove and install this piece a few times until it slides easily on the shaft. While this piece is connected, turn the steering knuckle all the way to the left and all the way to the right. Count the turns and try to centre the rack. These things will save BIG frustrations later-on when reconnecting the steering column piece in the car. Remove the tie rod plate assembly from the old rack. It fits into grommet-like holes in the rubber boot. Install this onto the new rack. This is a pain, but it's worse if you try to do this later. After the grommet thingies are installed, further secure this bracket to the rack with wire or string or tie-wraps. This will keep the bracket from falling off during rack installation. Put the rack back in the way it was removed. Do the rotate thing again and install the other hydraulic line. Carefully wiggle the rack into its mounting area. Fasten the mounting bolts loosely. The Bentley book says to tighten the rack to the frame with no weight on the wheels. We did this. I assume this prevents any rack mounting stress. Finding the tie rod holes when installing the tie rod bolts is tricky. Just be patient. After the tie rod bolts are started, remove the temporary strapping on the tie rod bracket. Don't over-tighten the tie rod bolts as you can bend the new rack. Be sure to re-bend the metal locking plate back over the heads of the tie rod bolts. Vice grip pliers work well for this. Reconnect all of the "stuff" under the hood. To reconnect the steering column, first make sure the steering wheel is Unlocked (caused me lots of grief). Slide the "piece" that was removed earlier onto the steering column. Be careful not to allow any wiring to get caught or pinched. Carefully slide the other end of this piece onto the rack knuckle (it only goes on one way) and insert the bolt. Only tighten the bolt enough to allow slight friction on the sliding parts. The steering wheel is spring loaded. Have a helper push down on the steering wheel as far as it goes, then have him/her back off ~1/8" and hold it there. Now slide the column piece as far as possible onto the rack knuckle and tighten it. Fill the reservoir with good old Pentosin and start the engine. Watch the level and add as necessary. Turn the steering wheel all the way left and right and check the fluid again. You'll probably need to adjust the rack. There's a 10mm bolt on top of the rack (on the assembly that connects to the steering column under the hood). If the steering is real stiff, loosen this bolt. My method is to shut off the engine with the wheels centred. Have a helper wiggle the steering wheel left and right. Loosen the adjuster bolt until to you hear/feel play. Re-tighten until this play just disappears. Look for leaks, and if all is OK, drink more beer. I'd get the front end re-aligned. Mine wasn't off by much, but it did affect toe slightly. Plus, if your steering wheel is no longer centred, alignment will fix that too (Mine was right on, but the second car we did was off a bit).

Calbha

dont know what kind of car your talking about but just to let you know that when i did it on my v8 quattro we could not manuver the gear sticking up that goes to the steering wheel out. so a little tip. we cut about a half inch little rectuangle in the wheel well with a dremel and it came right out nicely. kind sucks but it was completely hidden with the wheel on. (less weight too) :P

Randolph

Thanks Pushbutton. I'll print those articles.

R

hdmyers

Apparently the key is to attach the hose before putting the rack back in. I betcha I forget that part!

Calbha

YES FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO THAT OR YOU WILL CRY!

hdmyers

Well. I'm certainly convinced.