Steering Rack Replacement In Driveway. No Biggie?

I did the one in my fox a few years ago and I followed a step by step that was posted on the Corral.net.

I couldnt find that right off hand but here is a write up MFE posted that I found that is pretty good.


"No special tools required. Don't throw away your old rack bushings til you're sure the ones on the new rack are the right ones, which you'll know if it'll fit into place over the locator dowels.

The parts listing for Mustang racks is a joke.

You want the one that says "sport suspension" or "handling suspension" or "performance suspension" with a 15:1 ratio and either a 2.25 or 2.5 turns lock-to-lock.

It is not a very hard job, and doesn't require anything special, it's pretty straightforward wrenching and muscle. If all goes smoothly you'll be driving the car again in 3-4 hours.

One thing that really helps is get a can of degreaser and go to the quarter car wash. Spray the whole rack and crossmember area and get it degrunged. It makes things a lot easier to work on when it's clean.

You'll need to undo the tie rod ends by taking the castle nut off the spindle and then give the tie rod a hellacious solid whack with a hammer. It'll pop right down and out of the spindle. Just DON'T hit the threaded upright that the castle nut goes on or you'll wreck it.

You undo the mounting bolts, undo the steering pump lines (wrap them in a baggie or htey'll never stop dripping), undo the collar that locks the steering shaft to the rack's input shaft, and tug and pry until the rack pops off.

The teflon washers are an absolute pain in the ass, but they are necessary. Heat them in hot water to get them pliable and then get them over the line fittings. The trick is they cool off and get stiff very fast so you have to work fast and you have to have a good tapered tool (they sujjest a silicon tube applicator nozle but none of mine were big enough). You'll roll the hot teflon seal up the taper to stretch it, then pop it down onto the fittings. Don't let your neighbors see you becuase you WILL get pissed and you WILL swear like a sailer before you're through.

Next hardest part is getting the steering coupler hooked back up. You have to align the flats, then get the bolt started in the collar again which can be hard becuase you've probably had to spread the ears of the collar to get the old rack off.

Then you carefully weasel the rack back into place and fit the lines. I had better luck undoing one of the PS lines where it switches from metal to rubber to go to the pump, connecting the hard line to the rack, then reconnecting the rubber line. It was the only way I could get things oriented properly.

You'll need to flush and bleed the system too. You'll have to flush the pump BEFORE you hook it up to the rack or any nastiness in the pump fluid will get into your nice new rack. You can do that by pouring fresh fluid in the top while either cranking the motor with the coil wire undone or by rotating the pulley by hand. Do NOT overtighten the fluid lines, and do NOT cross thread them, which is easy to do because the fittings are brass and the housing is soft aluminum."

Note, this was for a fox so keep that in mind

Driveway is the only way haha. I have done many of these and most were in the driveway. Nothing good about it. Usually all full of grime and caked on road grime and grease. But such a nice feeling when they are all done. Good luck and take your time.

Steering rack replacement
The two inner tie rod ends are usually what wears out, and at $45 each, it's better to get a replacement rack assembly since they are part of the package. The rack is about $100 + a $40 refundable core charge, which you get back when you return the old rack. Be sure to ask for the GT or high performance rack, it has fewer turns lock to lock than the standard rack.

The flex coupling for the steering shaft needs to be disconnected before you can get the rack out. You should disassemble the coupling by removing the 2 bolts that hold it together. The lower part of the coupling will then come out with the rack, and can easily be removed.

The tie rod ends can be removed with a tool that looks like a giant "pickle fork", it's less than $12, or some stores will rent/loan one. Remove the cotter pin & nut on the tie end, stick the tool between the rod end and the arm it connects and hammer away. The bigger the hammer, the easier it comes apart.

Remove the two bolts that bolt the rack assembly to the frame and then pull the rack down. Dropping the rack before attempting to remove the hydraulic lines will save you 30-45 minutes of fussing and sweating, and you’re going to have to remove them anyway. Get a catch pan to dump the fluid in when you disconnect the hydraulic lines. I replaced the rack mount bushings with some Energy Suspension urethane ones. When you re-install the rack assembly, put the rear bushings in the rack assembly and lift it into place. Then install the hydraulic lines, front bushings & washers and tighten down the nuts. Doing it this way makes room for the hydraulic lines without having them bind against the frame.

To change the tie rod ends, do them one at a time. Loosen the jam nut 1/4 turn, then unscrew the tie rod end from the rack. Turn the jam nut back 1/4 turn to return it to its original position. With the tie rod end removed, use a machinist square to measure the distance between the end of the threaded rod and the jam nut. Sit the bottom of the square against the end of the threaded rod, and the end of the blade of the square against the jam nut. Duplicate the measurement on the new rack and then install the tie rod end and tighten the jam nut. Then do the other side: the front end will need aligning, but the toe in will be close enough to the setting of the original rack to drive to the alignment shop.

Buy several extra quarts of fluid to run through the system to flush it when you change the rack. The car needs to be up on jackstands for the next step. Fill the pump up, start the car, and turn the wheels lock to lock to bleed the air out. Then stop the engine, disconnect the low pressure hose (the one that is secured with a hose clamp) and drain the pump. Re-connect, refill and do it several more times or until the fluid looks clear and not burnt or black.

Power steering pressure lines:
Each hose uses an O ring on each end to seal them. The hoses will swivel when they are installed and tightened into place. That is why there are O rings on the fittings. The O ring is the part that actually makes the pressure seal. If you slide the nut all the way back as far as it will go, you will see the O ring and the groove cut into the center section of the fitting.



Sometimes you will get some white Teflon rings with the pump or rack. The rings go on the threaded part of the fitting to reduce or prevent small leaks. They are not meant to seal the pressure part of the line or substitute for the rubber O ring. Heat the white Teflon seals in hot water and they will be easier to install. You can install the fittings without them and not have any leaks if the O rings seal good.

Congrats!