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Anyone replaced their own steering rack?


NovaPath
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My steering rack is more than toast. Literally dripping from both sides at this point, I guess 175k miles is about all it could handle. I didn't catch it sooner because all of the mud and clay built up in there acted as a nice diaper, so I didn't see any leaks until it was literally pouring out of it, guess the mud/clay hit it's saturation point....

 

I've ordered the replacement, along with new bushings, as well as new swaybar bushings, and also ordered new outer tie rod ends. Figure no sense in half assing it at this point.

 

Any tips? I've got an electric impact that occupies a portion of my garage half the size of Texas, a big effing hammer, and lots of other destruction devices. My main fear is this turning into a fiasco like my valve cover gaskets and realizing that everything I touch is crumbling to pieces and has to be replaced.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

-Jeep guy in a Nissan body.

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How to replace rack:

if you are replacing the TRE, you are gonna want to start by taking the TRE off the knuckle, helps to have a pickle fork or puller. If not replacing TRE, you can take the inner Tie rod off the outer. Once the ends are disconnected, it will be held on by two brackets that have 2 bolts each. if i remember correctly they are a 21mm size... don't quote me. so remove the 4 bolts that clamp the rack on. next it will help you a ton to remove the sway bar brackets that hold the bushing. should be around 4 bolts per sire. tie the sway bar up and out of your way. next you need to remove the hoses from the rack, there are two. be careful as fluid comes out as you loosen and remove them. after that, there may be one or two more lines coming to the rack, if so remove those. after that, unbolt the steering shaft connector from the rack. should be able to remove the rack now and replace it. id recommend replacing the rack bushings.

 

 

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johann_peralta's description is pretty accurate. I replaced mine ~6 months ago. be careful when pulling the TREs and putting them in, I busted one of my new ones and had to re use and old one, luckily mine weren't in too bad of shape, the rack just came with new ones. This was the first major job I ever did on my rig, took ~4 hours with help, had to make one run to the store for a socket size we didn't have. Don't forget to have the truck aligned afterward. To mitigate the off alignment, count the number of turns it takes to get your TREs off the tie rods and put the new ones on the same number of turns, this will give you roughly the same alignment but you'll still need it done professionally. Hardest part for me was just getting the thing lined up and seated right, but I was pretty scrawny at the time. You should have a pretty easy time of it with an impact, I did it all with hand tools. Good luck m8

 

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Alright, thanks for the feedback. I'm going to use the old tape measurer alignment until I can get it in to a shop. Truth be told, with this 2" lift, i'd probably have a better time trying to align in myself. When I was in Northern VA no one would touch it, and the one shop that did I had to bring it back 3x to get it even somewhat right.

 

Sounds like I get to use my power tools...score.

 

 

Anyone got bets on what goes out next? So far in the past few months it has been a spark plug seal, a coil, the starter(again) and now the rack. To make it fair, I currently have a CEL for the swirl valves and 02 sensor. Only fixing driveability issues at this point so...any takers on a guess?

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  • 2 weeks later...

So, I'm mid this job, and have a few tips.

 

This pertains to a 4x4 01, so your vehicle may vary.

 

Both upper 22mm bolts are a pain to get to. The driver's side is made much easier by removing the a/c belt tensioner pulley assembly. The passenger's side there is no easy solution to, unless you can find a very thin walled 22mm, and then chances are it will break due to the torque on it. The vacuum pump is directly, obnoxiously, in the way.

 

There is no easy way to disconnect the steering linkage, I ended up removing the bolts on the steering guibo, as years of salt roads had seized the regular methods. You will need to remove this first, loosen all 4 22m bolts, and then you can rotate the rack towards you to fit a ratchet on the 14mm hydraulic line bolts. Otherwise, you cannot get sufficient leverage on those bolts to break them free.

 

On a plus, this last failure has given me the green light with the boss(lovely wife) to purchase a new JKU, which will leave this POS to wheeling purposes only until I don't care about the brand new JKU so much. On a negative, this is the worst freaking vehicle I have ever put a wrench to. It is absolutely obnoxious to work on, and I can't stand doing it. This is coming from a guy who has rebuilt BMW and Mercedes suspensions, performed his own timing belt replacements on Toyota/Lexus vehicles, and in general loves to wrench. This is the. worst. designed. vehicle. ever. to work on. Rant over. For now...

 

 

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Umm, sounds like you're having a rough time! Lol. Good luck, keep calm and get 'er done.

 

 

Yeah, it wasn't a good night of wrenching. I actually stopped for a bit and the truck is still taken apart. New rack is resting in place, but that's about it. I did, however, just come home with a brand new Wrangler Unlimited Sport so at least I've got a reliable DD while I sort through this flippin truck.

 

Once the Jeep gets a few dings on it from normal wear and tear the Nissan is getting sold and I will be wheeling the Jeep. I just cant bring myself to purposely put my brand new truck into the dirt yet...call me panzy.

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