PSA - check your boots.

[jdbubb at verizon.net (Dan Bubb)]

Remove any lower stress bar.
Remove all of the rear engine mount.
Remove the shift linkage including the bell crank on the differential.
Remove the two shift linkage brackets from the steering rack.
Remove both front tires and then the tie rods from the steering arms.
Unscrew one end of the steering rack ground wire. (bitch!)
Carefully push the steering shaft boot up (don't want to rip it and cause yet more work!) and remove the u-joint clamp bolt.
Remove the 4 nuts holding the rack to the fire wall and pry the brackets from the rack.
While sort of supporting the rack tap the u-joint off the steering shaft.
Carefully feed the rack through the hole in the passenger side of the chassis. It's tight but it will fit.

That's what was done on Greg's car.
And I forgot to mention if you're working on Greg's car insert the line "wipe massive amounts of grease and grit off of hands" between each statement above. ;^)

Couple additional thoughts.
It might be easier to completely remove the tie rod ends and then instead of pulling the entire rack through the hole, just move it far enough to the side to get the opposite tie rod out of the chassis hole and under the chassis, then remove the rack from the bottom of the car.

Also, I recall doing my power steering rack several years ago, although I don't remember the exact procedure. The PS rack is bulkier due to the piping and valves around the steering shaft. I think I used the second approach for that, but even so it was a major pain in the ass!
HTH.
The manual steering car wasn't too bad once you resign yourself to having to take a bunch of other stuff off just to get access.
Dan

From: "Allyn" <amalventano1@tds.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 8:19 AM
Subject: RE: PSA - check your boots.


>> Thanks to Dan Bubb for his help (he did most of it) and the parts.
>> 
> 
> Dan, Can you chime in here on some pointers to swapping a rack with the engine still in the car?  I'm about to tackle this on the
> Rieger and could definitely use some pointers, as it was hard enough working the rack out of the twin, and that was without the
> engine.
> 
> TIA
> Al
> 
> 
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