rack replacement ( was: RE: [alfa] Milano Power Steering)

[ethan schartman <eschartman@xxxxxxxxx>]

> From: "Spencer, Graham"
>How involved is replacing the rack? Do I have to pull

> the engine to replace, any special tools, is this
> best left to an expert, etc.

funny you should ask. i just replaced my steering rack
two days ago. count on 5 hours minimum. you don't pull
the engine, but you do have to lift it up a bit.
here's the run down:

1) put front end on stands, remove front wheels.

2) disconnect tie rods from steering knuckles. if the
cotter pins are too rusty to come out cleanly they'll
shear right off when you put a wrench on the nut. jack
up the lower a-arm so that the tie rod is about level.
knock it loose with a heavy tapered punch and hammer.

3) remove the air intake box and both exhaust
manifolds. you do not need to remove the cat. just
disconnect the cat from the rear motor mount and the
two donuts holding the middle muffler. put rags in
down pipes to prevent nuts bolts from falling in.

4) unbolt the motor mounts. place jack (and a board to
avoid marring your sump) under the oil drain plug.
lift engine straight up about 2-3 inches.

5) clean the fittings on the rack with carb cleaner
and toothbrush. make sure no grease is left on or
around the banjo bolts. disconnect the banjo bolts and
cover the lines to keep dirt from falling in (i used
glove fingertips)

6) remove cotter pin from pinch bolt securing steering
column to rack. if it doesn't come out, just deform it
enough to get a wrench on it (13mm) - it'll shear off
with no problem. remove pinch bolt. spray liberally
with PB blaster.

7) now for the 4 bolts holding the rack to the
crossmember. on the driver's side the one on the front
side of the cross member is easy to remove with a
combination of a universal joint and extensions
(13mm). the rear one i was only really able to access
with a *short* (less than six inches long) 13mm wrench
by reaching up under the frame rail. on the passenger
side, the forward one is easily gotten with a
universal joint and extensions. for the rear one
clearance is tight up to the flywheel cover, and the
bolt is inside a channel so it's tough to bring a flat
combo wrench in from the back. if you have an offset
13mm box wrench, it might work. i removed it by using
a 13mm socket that has a unversal joint integrated
into it (craftsman). i plugged that into a 2 inch
extension plugged into a universal joint and then
about 24" of extentions. one hand turns the wrench
while the other keeps the universal joints in proper
alignment.

8) use a flat blade screwdriver to push the universal
joint of the steering column up off the input shaft to
the rack (it won't come off completely). jam the
screwdriver into the gap where the pinch bolt would be
and wiggle it back and forth rapidly while rotating
the rack forward (i.e. swing the bottom up and
forward) and puching it in toward the engine. it
should pop off with out too much difficulty. 

9) once the rack is disconnected from the steering
column, rotate it on to it's side and pull it out
through the wheel well (there's only one way it'll
come out :)

10) before installing the new rack, clean the dirt and
grease away from the mounting holes in the cross
member. make sure there are plugs of some sort on the
fluid inputs to the new rack before stuffing it into
the car.

11) prep new rack by adjusting tie rods ends to
corresponding lengths on old rack (if recycling tie
rod ends, measure before removing)

12) when ready to mate the steering column to the rack
input shaft, clean out the splines of the shaft. mark
on the outside of the steering colmun clamp with a
permanent marker the exact location of the last spline
line this up with the corresponding edge of the smooth
part of the input shaft and slip them together. if the
clamp doesn't slide readily onto the shaft, rotate the
two of them together till the pinch bolt gap is up and
insert a screwdriver or flat bladed cold chisel ( you
don't want the object to interfere with the shaft's
movement) into the gap. wiggle the chisel back and
forth rapidly while rotating the bottom of the rack
back (opposite motion to removal) onto the cross
member.

13) the bango bolt on the hard line may be a problem
to line up, if so, put a pair of pliers on it and
twist it a bit as necessary to get it aligned
(obviously, don't do it too much)

14) the only other trick is to wire the spherical
exhaust joint and it's gasket to the manifold before
reinstalling and to make sure exhaust studs are not
caught inside the down pipes before tightening
everything down. 

15) check and adjust toe as necessary (one full turn
of tie rod is about 3.5 or 3.6 mm - this number is in
the shop manual)

required tools: 13mm socket, shallow 13mm socket with
integrated universal joint (craftsman), universal
joint, 2" extension, extensions totaling about 24",
14mm socket and/or box wrench, 17mm and 19mm sockets,
13mm combo wrenchs with one less than 6" long, cold
chisel, flat bladed screwdrivers, pliers, heavy
tapered punch, hammer, 21 or 22mm (i think it's 22,
but double check) open ended wrenchs (need 2 or some
good quality adjustable wrenchs) for adjusting the
outer tie rod ends, jack and jack stands.

it's a labor intensive job, but doesn't require any
tools that you can't get at sears.

-ethan schartman
-87 milano gold (no more dripping rack!)
princeton, NJ



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