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…and a ton of power steering fluid drained out of it. I just checked the reservoir and it’s pretty low. Anyways, is this something that I need to replace ASAP or can I do it after Putnam?
Also, how the hell do I get these tie rods off? It seems like there’s these metal tabs that are hold it to the power steering rack but I don’t want to hammer the crap out of them unless I’m supposed to.
Thanks.
Actually, no one really runs power steering anyways, right? It’s not going to hurt anything if I run it without fluid, will it? How about the power steering pump? I could just get one of those block off plates from silence and be done?
Also, I think I’m just going to drop the power steering rack to change the tie rods since I don’t have a ton of space under my car.
I did my first DE with the lines removed and the holes where the banjo bolts were located sucking air. I would just pull the power system and get all the fluid out of the rack. Then zip-tie a rag around the banjo bolts or something.
Am I going to have any issues with the steering if there’s no fluid in the rack? If it works fine then I’m not going to bother with replacing it. If I need to have some fluid in it then I think I’m going to need a new one since this one seems to be leaking a bit. If not then I’ll just remove it, drain it, and then use the block off plate and be done.
Opinions?
[quote=“MrDomino” post=65560]Also, how the hell do I get these tie rods off? It seems like there’s these metal tabs that are hold it to the power steering rack but I don’t want to hammer the crap out of them unless I’m supposed to.
Thanks.[/quote]There should be a locking plate on the inboard end of the tie rod where it bolts to the rack. Find the bent-over flat, peel it back with a flat chisel, then you should be able to unscrew the tie rod assembly from the rack. Normal left/loosen rotation.
[quote=“MrDomino” post=65565]Am I going to have any issues with the steering if there’s no fluid in the rack? If it works fine then I’m not going to bother with replacing it. If I need to have some fluid in it then I think I’m going to need a new one since this one seems to be leaking a bit. If not then I’ll just remove it, drain it, and then use the block off plate and be done.
Opinions?[/quote]
Mine leaked badly before I removed the power system, drained it, and installed the Ranger caps. I just took the lines off and turned the wheel back and forth until the fluid stopped coming out. The remaining fluid seems to be sufficient and I haven’t had any problems or leaks since.
How the hell do I get these front control arms off? I took off all of the nuts and bolts but the damn thing is stuck in the subframe. I’ve been prying on the damn thing for a couple of hours now and it won’t pop out.
Pickle fork + BFH(Big F’in Hammer). I pounded down on the ball joint studs and as a result had to buy new control arms. If you had a sturdy enough nut like a capped lug nut that fit on the ball joint stud you could probably go to town on it with a hammer without wrecking it.
It’s not the hub connection that’s giving me the problem. It’s the middle connection (subframe). I’ve been using a ball joint remover with a cheater bar and the thing will not pop out. I might try a torch tomorrow.
Just finished doing both of these things yesterday. The ball joint to subframe connection is pickle fork and BFH territory. I used a 5 pound long handle sledge and it still took some whalin’.
The tie rods have locking plates at the ends of them. There are a couple of flat sides on the rod end that have the metal locking plate folded over them. The plates are made of a very soft steel that can easily be bent with a screwdriver or chisel and a claw hammer. I don’t own the right metric wrench for the tie rod but a 1 1/8" works okay.
Once you get the PS pump fittings off the rack you can get 14 x 1.50mm and 16 x 1.50mm oil pan bolts from ACE hardware ( or whatever your local favorite is ) to fill the holes. I’m a little bit concerned that I’ve given air and PS fluid no way to transfer between holes as both seem to generate fluid and air pressure or suction depending on which way the rack is being turned but I couldn’t find the right size banjo fittings locally. Of course their are a couple on the old reservoir hoses but they need two different size hoses. But no one else seems to have problems with the blocked port setup. See you at Putnam!
Finally got it! It took a pickle fork with a four foot cheater bar and 180 lbs of me jumping on the end of it.
I think I’m just going to put everything back together since I’m quickly running out of time.
Two days of work = Replaced one control arm, removed power steering, replaced fuel hoses that were leaking
Left to do = Reinstall suspension, swap to wheel studs, finish installing new throttle cable, patch up exhaust, adjust drivers seat rails, check brake system, wash car
Are there any noise restrictions at Putnam? My car isn’t horrendously loud but it is leaking some exhaust. I don’t want to spend too much time on it since I’ll be switching over to the spec exhaust in a week or two.
Fortunately Putnam is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. There are no noise restrictions.
Putnam is in the middle of a field, but there is an agreement between the track and it’s neighbors. I bet you won’t be the loudest thing there unless you have nothing after the headers. You should be fine.
Yeah it’s not really that bad. I’d just be concerned if it was a track where there were strict noise limits. I’m going to try some exhaust cement to quiet it a bit.
Since you just did the tie rods, do you happen to remember if they were reverse threaded? I don’t want to mess them up if they are.
I wasn’t going to do tie rods right now but the threads on the end of one of them died so I think I’m just going to suck it up and do them.
[quote=“MrDomino” post=65616]Since you just did the tie rods, do you happen to remember if they were reverse threaded? I don’t want to mess them up if they are.
[/quote]
Standard right hand rule threads.
Excellent. Apparently you can use a 32mm bike wrench. I looked on Google to see what they looked like and it seemed like half of the pictures were of people replacing tie rods on their old BMWs.
I cut one of the ps hard lines near the banjo bolt and cut the other through the rubber and filled the rack with fuild, looped the cut rubber end over the hard line and hose clamped it. Figured it would let fluid “flow” back and forth as you turn.
Good idea guys???