2000 S70 rack & pinion replacment procedure (PART 2)
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2000 S70 rack & pinion replacment procedure (PART 2)
This is the installion portion of the rack & pinion replacement
Clean EVERYTHING related to the rack. Get all the oil off and as dry as you can. Checking for leaks later will be tough if you don't. Get all the sand and dirt and rocks out.
You need to clean up the steering coupling spline. I used a hacksaw blade. Run the hacksaw blade up and down each slot of the spline. Don't use a lot of pressure. You want to clean out the corrosion and not make new grooves. After you are done, use a small wire brush to clean the spines up so they are very clean. Appliy antizeize to the splines for installation on the shaft.
* Drain all the oil from the old rack.
* Place the rack next to and parallel to the new rack. Inspect it closely. Make sure they are identical. Make sure there are no pinched or damaged hydraulic lines.
* Transfer the rack steering shaft protector to the old unit. You don't want the vendor to not honor the core exchange because of damaged splines.
* Look at the small spring clamps on the boots. The originals had large ears to make it easy to grip them. The clamps provided on my new rack had tiny ears and later broke during adjustment. If you have the large eared originals, I highly recommend reusing them. Easy to switch at this point.
* With the clamps off, slide the bellows back a bit and coat the tie rod shaft with silicone grease. This will help with toe-in adjustment later, so the boots don't get damaged.
* Reinstall the clamps.
* I made the mistake of assuming the rack would come centered and had to do this step with the rack in the car. Do it now to save you the grief under the car.
-Rotate the rack shaft all the way in one direction until it stops. Don't force it, it should move easily.
-Note the location of the shaft cut-out (for the pinch bolt).
-Rotate in the opposite direction and count the number of turns until it stops.
-Rotate it back half that many turns. I think its 3 turns from one end to the other but I would count.
-On my car, the cut-out was facing towards the front of the car (as installed). I would think this would be standard, but I don't know for sure.
Reassembly is pretty easy....
1. If you had to remove the steering coupling, now is the time to reinstall it.
a. I had a white plastic collar come out when I took the coupling out. I took a guess it fit inside the boot and if you stick it up in there, there is a place it seems to fit quite nicely. There is grease on it, not sure what kind so I left it on.
b. Use ANTI-SEIZE on the splines of the coupling if you forgot to earlier.
c. Slide the coupling up into the boot.
d. Fit it into the steering shaft inside the car.
e. Insert the bolt and tighten a bit to keep it from flopping around but still allowing it to slide.
f. Re-attach and tighten the nuts for the strut mount.
2. If you removed the center support and the big bracket thing, reinstall those now, don't tighten the bolts so these mounts can move during re-assembly
3. If you are replacing hoses or a hose, now is the time to do that. Leave the mounts and clamps loose to make it easier at re-installation of the rack. I only replaced the return line so I can't speak to how hard the pressure line is. Other than weaving the hose, it's pretty basic. Just follow the same path as the original.
4. Slide the rack into place and set it on the sub-frame.
5. The new rack should have come with new o-rings. My new hose also came with an o-ring. I used power steering fluid to lube the o-rings. Replace the o-rings if you’ew re-using 1 or more of the hoses.
6. Install the return hose to the rack first (bottom one). I would not go much more than finger tight for now since the hose may need to rotate a tad as you install the rack and raise the sub-frame
7. Install the pressure hose to the rack. Again, not tight, but snug to hold it.
8. Install the heat shield. The far end just clamps over the body of the rack.
9. Install the 4 mounting bolts for the rack. If you checked them as recommended earlier, they will sit above the holes until you tighten them. If you didn't check (like me) good luck with that when you go to tighten the nuts.
10. Tighten the rack mounting nuts. I was able to get 45 ft-lbs on the 2 that the holes were too big. No clue what the correct torque is. I think I did 50 ft-lbs on the other 2.
11. Raise the sub-frame on the driver's side with a jack.
a. You want the steering coupling to be close to the rack shaft.
b. Align the cut-out of the rack shaft with the bolt hole on the steering coupling. If you get this wrong you will have to take it off and redo it. I inserted a screwdriver into the hole of the coupling and did the visual alignment.
c. You will have to manipulate the coupling knuckle to fit over the shaft. It's easiest to see from the top of the car. With the anti-seize the coupling should slide down with a little pressure to engage the splines.
d. Tap it down lightly with a long punch or chisel until you can get the bolt into the coupling. This should not take a lot of force.
e. Install the bolt and nut and tighten to the correct torque if you know it. If you don't, like me, tighten it so it isn't going to come off. I would not have been able to get a torque wrench in there.
f. Install the wire into the bolt through the hole and align the ends so it can't come out. It's there so if the bolt comes loose, the nut can't come off which would be catastrophic while driving.
12. Tighten the fitting nut for high pressure hose. It doesn't need a lot of torque and you don't want to strip it.
13. Tighten the fitting nut for the return hose. It doesn't need a lot of torque and you don't want to strip it.
14. Tighten the rear sub-frame bolts until you can install the bolts for the plates. I used the jack to lift the sub-frame completely in place and tightened the plate bolts.
15. Tighten the sub-frame bolts to about 50 ft-lbs. You will tighten these again later. These bolts get a lot of torque and I am not ok with doing that while the car is suspended.
16. Fill the system with power steering fluid. You want to look for leaks before you tighten everything up. Check the hose fittings to the rack. Check the small hydraulic lines on the rack. Basic stuff.
17. Install the bolt that connects the rack to the engine mount (step1 #10). Just make it snug
At this point everything should be place
18. Tighten the horizontal bolt at the center of the rack. Then tighten the mounting nut.
19. Tighten the 18mm nut next to it. Don't forget the large washer. This is for the large metal structure. (#2 above)
20. Remove the 2x4 so the weight of the engine is back on the sub-frame.
21. Tighten the engine mount to rack bolt.
22. Reinstall the very front high pressure line mount and/or screw - depending on what you removed.
23. Reinstall the low pressure rubber clamp on the passenger side
24. Reinstall the clamp mount and clamp where the 2 hoses come together in front of the rack.
25. DO NOT FORGET TO DO THIS.... Go into the car make sure the steering coupling is correctly in the steering column clamp. Hold the shaft and clamp in place and tighten the clamp. You don't want this coming off while you are driving.
26. Make sure the Steering wheel is in the same position as when you measured back in the step 1 of the removal process.
27. Install the tie rod ends. Before you install the nut for the tie-rod end, get the ends rotated to a point where the toe-in is reasonably close. You run the risk of tearing the bellows when adjusting so its a good idea to get it roughly close.
28. Tighten the tie rod ends.
29. Passenger side. Use the sharpie line to get the level in the right place in relation to the rotor (from step 4 of removal). Get the level horizontally level. Measure from the reference point (step 1 of removal) to the sub-frame. Adjust the inner tie rod (12mm wrench) to get to the recorded measurement. Tighten the lock not to the outer tie rod end.
30. Driver side. Use the sharpie line to get the level in the right place in relation to the rotor (from step 4 of removal). Get the level horizontally level. Measure from the reference point (step 1 of removal) to the sub-frame. Adjust the inner tie rod (12mm wrench) to get to the recorded measurement. Tighten the lock not to the outer tie rod end.
31. Rotate slowly all the way left and all the way right to remove air from the system. This will allow oil to fill the rack without pressurizing it.
32. Check the power steering level and refill. You don't want to fill it to the cold position because the car is at an angle. The bottom of the cap should be sufficient. You just want enough to make sure no air gets in.
33. Reconnect the negative cable
34. Start the car.
35. Rotate the steering wheel slowly from all the way left to all the way right. If my make noise and feel like stuttering. This is from the air in the system.
36. Reinstall the wheels
37. Lower the vehicle.
38. Recheck the power steering level and fill as required.
39. Torque the 3 sub-frame bolts that were loosened. I read somewhere they get 177 ft-lbs plus 120 degrees. My wrench went to 150 and I went another 20 or 30 degrees. Until I find the right specification, that is a lot of torque and I didn't want to risk breaking the bolt.
40. Go for a SLOW test drive to make sure everything is ok. Don't worry if the steering wheel is not straight or the car doesn't drive straight. A front end alignment will address that.
41. Get a front end alignment.
Clean EVERYTHING related to the rack. Get all the oil off and as dry as you can. Checking for leaks later will be tough if you don't. Get all the sand and dirt and rocks out.
You need to clean up the steering coupling spline. I used a hacksaw blade. Run the hacksaw blade up and down each slot of the spline. Don't use a lot of pressure. You want to clean out the corrosion and not make new grooves. After you are done, use a small wire brush to clean the spines up so they are very clean. Appliy antizeize to the splines for installation on the shaft.
* Drain all the oil from the old rack.
* Place the rack next to and parallel to the new rack. Inspect it closely. Make sure they are identical. Make sure there are no pinched or damaged hydraulic lines.
* Transfer the rack steering shaft protector to the old unit. You don't want the vendor to not honor the core exchange because of damaged splines.
* Look at the small spring clamps on the boots. The originals had large ears to make it easy to grip them. The clamps provided on my new rack had tiny ears and later broke during adjustment. If you have the large eared originals, I highly recommend reusing them. Easy to switch at this point.
* With the clamps off, slide the bellows back a bit and coat the tie rod shaft with silicone grease. This will help with toe-in adjustment later, so the boots don't get damaged.
* Reinstall the clamps.
* I made the mistake of assuming the rack would come centered and had to do this step with the rack in the car. Do it now to save you the grief under the car.
-Rotate the rack shaft all the way in one direction until it stops. Don't force it, it should move easily.
-Note the location of the shaft cut-out (for the pinch bolt).
-Rotate in the opposite direction and count the number of turns until it stops.
-Rotate it back half that many turns. I think its 3 turns from one end to the other but I would count.
-On my car, the cut-out was facing towards the front of the car (as installed). I would think this would be standard, but I don't know for sure.
Reassembly is pretty easy....
1. If you had to remove the steering coupling, now is the time to reinstall it.
a. I had a white plastic collar come out when I took the coupling out. I took a guess it fit inside the boot and if you stick it up in there, there is a place it seems to fit quite nicely. There is grease on it, not sure what kind so I left it on.
b. Use ANTI-SEIZE on the splines of the coupling if you forgot to earlier.
c. Slide the coupling up into the boot.
d. Fit it into the steering shaft inside the car.
e. Insert the bolt and tighten a bit to keep it from flopping around but still allowing it to slide.
f. Re-attach and tighten the nuts for the strut mount.
2. If you removed the center support and the big bracket thing, reinstall those now, don't tighten the bolts so these mounts can move during re-assembly
3. If you are replacing hoses or a hose, now is the time to do that. Leave the mounts and clamps loose to make it easier at re-installation of the rack. I only replaced the return line so I can't speak to how hard the pressure line is. Other than weaving the hose, it's pretty basic. Just follow the same path as the original.
4. Slide the rack into place and set it on the sub-frame.
5. The new rack should have come with new o-rings. My new hose also came with an o-ring. I used power steering fluid to lube the o-rings. Replace the o-rings if you’ew re-using 1 or more of the hoses.
6. Install the return hose to the rack first (bottom one). I would not go much more than finger tight for now since the hose may need to rotate a tad as you install the rack and raise the sub-frame
7. Install the pressure hose to the rack. Again, not tight, but snug to hold it.
8. Install the heat shield. The far end just clamps over the body of the rack.
9. Install the 4 mounting bolts for the rack. If you checked them as recommended earlier, they will sit above the holes until you tighten them. If you didn't check (like me) good luck with that when you go to tighten the nuts.
10. Tighten the rack mounting nuts. I was able to get 45 ft-lbs on the 2 that the holes were too big. No clue what the correct torque is. I think I did 50 ft-lbs on the other 2.
11. Raise the sub-frame on the driver's side with a jack.
a. You want the steering coupling to be close to the rack shaft.
b. Align the cut-out of the rack shaft with the bolt hole on the steering coupling. If you get this wrong you will have to take it off and redo it. I inserted a screwdriver into the hole of the coupling and did the visual alignment.
c. You will have to manipulate the coupling knuckle to fit over the shaft. It's easiest to see from the top of the car. With the anti-seize the coupling should slide down with a little pressure to engage the splines.
d. Tap it down lightly with a long punch or chisel until you can get the bolt into the coupling. This should not take a lot of force.
e. Install the bolt and nut and tighten to the correct torque if you know it. If you don't, like me, tighten it so it isn't going to come off. I would not have been able to get a torque wrench in there.
f. Install the wire into the bolt through the hole and align the ends so it can't come out. It's there so if the bolt comes loose, the nut can't come off which would be catastrophic while driving.
12. Tighten the fitting nut for high pressure hose. It doesn't need a lot of torque and you don't want to strip it.
13. Tighten the fitting nut for the return hose. It doesn't need a lot of torque and you don't want to strip it.
14. Tighten the rear sub-frame bolts until you can install the bolts for the plates. I used the jack to lift the sub-frame completely in place and tightened the plate bolts.
15. Tighten the sub-frame bolts to about 50 ft-lbs. You will tighten these again later. These bolts get a lot of torque and I am not ok with doing that while the car is suspended.
16. Fill the system with power steering fluid. You want to look for leaks before you tighten everything up. Check the hose fittings to the rack. Check the small hydraulic lines on the rack. Basic stuff.
17. Install the bolt that connects the rack to the engine mount (step1 #10). Just make it snug
At this point everything should be place
18. Tighten the horizontal bolt at the center of the rack. Then tighten the mounting nut.
19. Tighten the 18mm nut next to it. Don't forget the large washer. This is for the large metal structure. (#2 above)
20. Remove the 2x4 so the weight of the engine is back on the sub-frame.
21. Tighten the engine mount to rack bolt.
22. Reinstall the very front high pressure line mount and/or screw - depending on what you removed.
23. Reinstall the low pressure rubber clamp on the passenger side
24. Reinstall the clamp mount and clamp where the 2 hoses come together in front of the rack.
25. DO NOT FORGET TO DO THIS.... Go into the car make sure the steering coupling is correctly in the steering column clamp. Hold the shaft and clamp in place and tighten the clamp. You don't want this coming off while you are driving.
26. Make sure the Steering wheel is in the same position as when you measured back in the step 1 of the removal process.
27. Install the tie rod ends. Before you install the nut for the tie-rod end, get the ends rotated to a point where the toe-in is reasonably close. You run the risk of tearing the bellows when adjusting so its a good idea to get it roughly close.
28. Tighten the tie rod ends.
29. Passenger side. Use the sharpie line to get the level in the right place in relation to the rotor (from step 4 of removal). Get the level horizontally level. Measure from the reference point (step 1 of removal) to the sub-frame. Adjust the inner tie rod (12mm wrench) to get to the recorded measurement. Tighten the lock not to the outer tie rod end.
30. Driver side. Use the sharpie line to get the level in the right place in relation to the rotor (from step 4 of removal). Get the level horizontally level. Measure from the reference point (step 1 of removal) to the sub-frame. Adjust the inner tie rod (12mm wrench) to get to the recorded measurement. Tighten the lock not to the outer tie rod end.
31. Rotate slowly all the way left and all the way right to remove air from the system. This will allow oil to fill the rack without pressurizing it.
32. Check the power steering level and refill. You don't want to fill it to the cold position because the car is at an angle. The bottom of the cap should be sufficient. You just want enough to make sure no air gets in.
33. Reconnect the negative cable
34. Start the car.
35. Rotate the steering wheel slowly from all the way left to all the way right. If my make noise and feel like stuttering. This is from the air in the system.
36. Reinstall the wheels
37. Lower the vehicle.
38. Recheck the power steering level and fill as required.
39. Torque the 3 sub-frame bolts that were loosened. I read somewhere they get 177 ft-lbs plus 120 degrees. My wrench went to 150 and I went another 20 or 30 degrees. Until I find the right specification, that is a lot of torque and I didn't want to risk breaking the bolt.
40. Go for a SLOW test drive to make sure everything is ok. Don't worry if the steering wheel is not straight or the car doesn't drive straight. A front end alignment will address that.
41. Get a front end alignment.
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