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replacing rack and pinion assembly, short cuts?

11K views 73 replies 11 participants last post by  Vasam 
#1 ·
I had to bite the bullet and order a parts geek cardone re manufactured rack and pinion assembly ($220. $50. core) for my 92 gen 2 pony. It is manual steering 1.9 5 speed. I have searched the forums and read what I found, I have a shop manual but know guys that have done this job have discovered short cuts. So please share with you know so I can get it done right and easiest. I alsp need at least one new outer tie rod end so will just replace both. Any tricks with that?
thank you, James
 
#2 ·
If you have the old rack and pinion assembly out of the car, lay it alongside the new one, and do your best to get the distance between the tapers on the outer tie rod ends on the new one to be the same distance apart as on the old one.
I dont know of any shortcuts, just having the car raised and supported to you can work underneath. I jack it up and put stacks of heavy lumber under the places where the control arm bolts to the subframe, and I try to get those locations up at least 12", if not 15" or more.
I would try ahead of time to loosen up the 4 nuts holding the clamps for the rubber bushings. They can be rusted and stiff on the studs; so soaking with penetrating oil will help. If the nuts arent too badly rusted, a 14mm deep socket is what should remove them If they are badly rusted, it might require heating with an oxy-acteylene torch; having some metal scraps to for heat shields so you The nuts on a 94LX I worked on were so rusty that I was able to drive a 13mm socket onto one of them. All these sockets should be the 6 point kind, not the 12 point kind.
 
#3 · (Edited)
ok i think i know what you mean. I just ordered the new one last Thursday so I haven't done anything yet. I will get the car in the garage tom and get started removing the old one.
Thanks a lot for the advice. I'll keep this thread updated as I proceed.
thanks again, James
 
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#4 ·
I cheated on mine! I bought a 3rd gen crossmember from a junkyard and bought a set of poly bushings. Built it on the bench with lower control arms, new ball joints, tie rod ends, poly bushings, 3rd gen sway bar. Pray your rack bushings are O.K. because I have never found proper replacements.

Once I got it together I lifted the front up, removed tires, popped loose the ball joints and sway bar links, Hint, remove the tie rod ends before the ball joints. Go under the dash and loosen the bolt on the steering column and be careful with the rubber grommet thing. Back underneath, remove that front to rear support, then 4 or 6 big bolts drops the crossmember onto the floor jack I had the forethought to slip under it.

Crossmember falls out and yank it out! Slide the new one in and reverse the process to install. Getting the shaft back on the steering column may require a few pumps on the jack and ducking under the dash several times but its just a thing!

Did Loc-Tite and rechecked that everything was tight. I somehow failed to tighten the ball joint bolts to the A arm and I had to put up with a clunk.

Wish I had a plan for not removing the crossmember as I think the rack bolts may be a bit difficult.

Bruce

P.S. The 3rd gen sway bar is my favorite upgrade!
 
#6 ·
I have the sedan model with power steering. It's a bit of a twist and turn puzzle, but was able to slide it in/out via the driver side wheel well. Didn't have to disassemble a bumch of crap like the manual states.
 
#9 ·
Ideally the new parts will have the same distance from end to end (or side to side) as the old unit.
I would get a piece of small dimension wood like a piece of lath or 1 x 2 and drive in a couple small nails to duplicate the spacing of the center of the outer tie rod end joints and use this to duplicate the dimension onto the new assembly.
Just get the nails approximately in the right place, and then bend them one way or the other until they line up as close as you can estimate with the center of the back of the joint. It might save the expense of an alignment.
 
#14 ·
you guys got way ahead of me cause i slipped and tore a muscle working on my boat and had to get it sewn up so couldn't get started till now. I got the remanufactured rack and pinion from parts geek, they give 90 days to get it back for the 50 deposit.
I got the tie rods loose but even after days of shooting it with blaster I could not turn the socket head screw inside the car coupler steering shaft to pinion. any advice with that. I am using a torax I think is the right size but it is hard to hold in the shallow zcrew head so I stop before I really f...ed it up.
The other problem i see is getting to the brackets holding the rack. looks like I may have to remove the front to back cross member and disconnect the shift linkage.
any ideas here on those....
need some help please my old a$$ did not get very far...
jmc
 
#16 ·
I recently did that same miserable job on my 94LX with power steering.
The size for that splined head pinch-bolt is probably a Torx-45. There is a Torx-47 size, which surprised me, as the others in the set go up by even "5's". But I couldnt get the Torx-47 to slide into the splines on the pinch bolt. I did get the Torx 45 to go in, fully seated, holding it in with about a 12" or 15" 3/8" extension on it. Holding it fully seated is important. I used a prybar (big screwdriver) to help the Torx bit be able to line up with the spline 'socket'.
I had trouble turning the 3/8 drive ratchet to unscrew it, even with a length of pipe slid over the ratchet: So brought out my 1/2" drive air impact wrench, with an adapter down to the 3/8" drive, and had an extension on that so I could be pushing strongly inward. To my surprise the air impact didnt loosen it in half a second, like I am used to with lug nuts. That bolt was stiff and made about two complete slow turns with the impact wrench rattling away. (air pressure was 12opsi). Finally it began to spin the bolt out fast. They must have used the mother-of-all-thread-lockers on that bolt. When I put it back in I also used the impact wrench, to make sure I got it tight enough - so the joint between the stub shaft and the collar would have no play in it.
Before I disconnected the u-joint from the stub shaft, I made sure to turn the steering wheel so the ends of the tie rods & the bellows were equalized left-to-right. With the rack disconnected from the steering wheel, I made sure not to turn the wheel much. I didnt want to have it be 'off' by 360 degrees from 'centered'. This was in the interests of not having the "clock-spring" be out of its 'mid-way' travel.

With each of my Escorts one of the first jobs I do after buying them is to free up the fasteners holding that front-to-rear crossmember in place. Depending on the amount of rust the vehicle had, the job can be easy enough - or a really serious headache. With my 92LX for instance I had to re-attach the two captive nuts invisible inside the transverse crossmember after they broke loose. I have an oxy-acetylene torch, and the work soaked up most of a summer weekend, cutting open, heating the nuts, brazing them back in place, and using a tap and die to clean up the threads on the fasteners - then welding the transvers cross member back shut and with a small flitch plate for strength.

Anyway, due to my efforts years ago on that crossmember on this car, it wasnt hard to unbolt and drop down. (With the crossmember out of the way I took the opportunity to change the transmision filter and gasket.)
With the power steering rack there are the two hydraulic fittings to undo. Luckily these werent overtightened and came out with a little tedious working in the cramped space.
The rack assembly came out of the car horizontally to the driver's side. I had pried off a plastic goody that I think is a splash guard that loosely fits above the bellows on the driver's side; it would have been in the way. This was after I had removed the battery and the battery tray.
I had to rotate the rack so the pinion was facing forward at about a 45 degree angle to the horizontal, and give the while assembly a good nudge to get it come out. These things seem heavier when you are lying under them getting grit in the face.

The new replacement went back in went fairly well. I installed the support clamp on the driver's side, - but minus the rubber bushing - until I had gotten the coupling of the U-joint back onto the stub-shaft of the pinion, and had the pinch bolt inserted to keep it from falling apart. Then I installed the bushings and the supporting brackets.
I think I only had to crawl under the car and back out again to stand up - about 50 times. I work outside and use large sheets of cardboard so Im not sliding around on the weeds and having the fire ants get to me.

My alignment method, after adjusting by eyeball, is to run a length of cord or twine, tied to the trunk latch, and brought under the rear bumper and to the side - so it comes forward touching the sidewalls halfway up the tire, on front and rear tires. With the steering wheel pointed straight ahead, I adjust the "toe-in" by turning the tie rod, until both sidewalls of both of the tires are just touching the twine. Doing this on each side in succession takes a while, but has always left me with excellent. treadwear; and a centered steering wheel.
The last stage is tightening the locknuts on the outer tie rod ends.
 
#20 ·
My alignment method, after adjusting by eyeball, is to run a length of cord or twine, tied to the trunk latch, and brought under the rear bumper and to the side - so it comes forward touching the sidewalls halfway up the tire, on front and rear tires. With the steering wheel pointed straight ahead, I adjust the "toe-in" by turning the tie rod, until both sidewalls of both of the tires are just touching the twine. Doing this on each side in succession takes a while, but has always left me with excellent. treadwear; and a centered steering wheel.
The last stage is tightening the locknuts on the outer tie rod ends.
Can you make a How-To with pictures on this, please!
 
#17 ·
Wow the captive nut headache sounds like a real nuisance. Luckily my one Escort and Protege sister car gave no trouble with the crossmembers.

If I could add one extra tip for the preventive maintenance bolt loosening, it would be to have an oil can handy and oil every bolt before it goes back together. I have been doing this for years and it's a real work-saver.

I also very much like your toe-in adjustment technique, it seems like it should be as good as any "professional" way.
 
#18 ·
thanks for this step by step. I'll have to get my compressor in place to reach the car I didn't know that pinch bolt was gonna be such a hassle. Is it possible to unfasten the coupling just up from that and get the pinch bolt coupling out with the pinion / rack assembly to work on a vice? I may have already messed up that mother of all pinch bolts. i'll try a thorax 45 and air hammer pry bar routine today.
thanks James
 
#19 ·
If you dont remove the coupling which that the pinch bolt secures, I cant see how it would come out of the car by going horizontally out to the driver's side; nor the passenger side. In that case it -might- be able to come out after being moved toward the passengers side far enough to drop down below the big lump of the back of the transaxle. Maybe with the inner tie rod end unscrewed from the driver's side. ?? The opening where the rack has to pass when it comes out horizontally is just barely big enough for the pinion part of the rack to fit; and the sides of that opening are the body and the subframe.

About 3 years ago I replaced the rack assembly on our 92LX, also due to some left-right looseness found by the safety inspector. For that pinch bolt I had taken the driver's seat out (four bolts and the electrical connector for the seat belt reminder). It is a 4 door wagon so I could put a length of plywood down, then from the open rear door, could lie down on it, and be able to reach the pinch bolt without twisting my old spine. At that time I didnt own an impact wrench, so just used the ratchet with pipe slid over it, and a wood block to support the end of the ratchet and extensions - and still be able to push inward on the Torx 45. I remember it being a slow process.

Strange to say, I dont recall that pinch bolt being hard to reach in the case of the 92LX, but with the 94LX I wasnt confident I could get the Torx head all the way into the pinchbolt recess, as it rubbed against that plastic 'surround'.

Jersey_Twowagons: I also lube every bolt/nut before reinstalling, using either oil or grease or antiseize on them. I fixed up a 94LX wagon for my older daughter last summer. It had many rusted bolts/nuts on its front end, and I spent day after days soaking them with penetrating oil and trying to get them out without snapping off - then lubing them before putting them back. Some of them I had to heat with the oxy-acetylene torch to get loose. A few I had to drill out then clean up the threads with a tap. I just dont like to leave ANY bolts or nut rusted in place if I can help it; especially when the engine/trans is out of the car and I can work by sitting in the engine bay on a 5 gallon bucket. This also applies to flare nuts for brake lines and hoses.
With aluminum parts - It has been decades since I put a bolt back into an aluminum engine head or block or transmission without using some sort of grease or antiseize on the threads.

Im retired, so I have the time, and benefit from the exercise.
 
#23 ·
#25 ·
Actually it went pretty well once I got the air hammer on that pinch bolt. Now I gotta put it back together. And I am gonna reread the front end alignment with the strings post. and try to duplicate that. I'll take some pics if you want.
thanks for your help. I'll be glad to get my pony with its 40 mpg back on the road before gas goes back up.
 
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#26 ·
The alignment specs for our Escorts are on the back cover of the service manual I think. For the toe-in its so close to zero, that I just aim for them being parallel. I do the adjustment over a period of a couple of days, because I want to give the front suspesion time to settle back to its normal - and still have those wheels parallel to each other.
An important point is to drive the car forward, on pavement, and bring it to a stop without backing up or turning the wheel to other than straight ahead.
 
#28 ·
crapola! I live in the boonies no pavement here except the highway. and I live at the bottom of a steep hill curve. Crazy hill billies come down on 2 wheels.
I do have a nice flat drive space can't I do it there?
James
 
#29 ·
Yes, but sometime in the near future when you go to a paved flat spot I would give it another check. It should only take 5 minutes to do it, since if any adjustments are needed they can be done at your home. I go to a nearby convenience store and pull into a parking spot at one side - and check it there.
 
#31 ·
Ok. i'll try to take pics but today is toooo cold.

new project: I got a no power steering no a/c belt 48 +/- inches long, but i don't see how to route it if I take the non working ac compressor off. There is an idler pulley but the current belt has it's back to that. Can I use that same pulley just run the belt on the other side (outside) of the pulley so the ribs of the belt run on the pulley? James
 
#32 ·
I imagine the smooth surface of the idler pulley will l slightly increase the wear on the grooved side of the belt, but it will likely be okay for a long time.
I forget where I saw it, but it was a 2nd gen Escort with its a.c. compressor missing, and the side of the serpentine belt had worn a definite notch into the side of the engine accessory bracket, since it was going past in a region where the normal belt-going-around-the-compressor wouldnt have been.

Last summer I decided to replace the bearing on the pulley of the a.c. compressor on one of my Escorts, just because the bearing was over 20 years old with over 250,000 miles on it; and there is no way to lube it. . I got the compressor off with no trouble, but getting the bearing out of the pulley involved a trip to my machinist, for him to press the old one out and the new one in.
With another Escort I bought the $36." compressor bypass pulley" from rockauto. This is just a pulley the same size as the one on the compressor, mounted on a bracket that bolts to where the compressor went. The only thing I dont like about it, is that the pulley is made of plastic & its bearing isnt as big as the one on the compressor.

When I get an Escort to fix up I never know how long the idler and tensioner pulleys have been on the car, so I also replace them along with a new serp. belt. This is usually at the same time as I replace the timing belt and its tensioner. And if I put 100k miles on any of my Escorts, I will replace the pulleys and belt again.
 
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