And so it begins... Steering Rack Bushing Replacement

[Kilgore Trout]

I have my urethane bushings from MM and I am about to start the replacement procedure.

I am wondering what the stock bushings will look like when I remove them.

I am also hoping that this corrects the groans, squeaks, and such coming from the front end.

I will add pics to the thread as the task progresses...

 

[Kilgore Trout]

What a f'n hassle

Stupid brass thing that holds the steering shaft

Got the new ones in though

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Just took it for a test drive, it seems tighter now. No sounds so far either.

However, the stock bushings I took out looked pretty good. I am not sure if I fixed the problem. I will know after I drive it for a few days.

I took a bunch of pics, I will post them later.

 

[DTNODYA]

When I did mine, the stock bushings looked pretty crappy but not terrible. Did you make sure to put that nasty white stuff on the inside of the bushings? Stuff is sticky as it gets!! I think they really do help a lot with noise, especially over speed bumps/small bumps at slow speeds.

The 'stupid brass thing' does suck. Steering shaft/linkage or whatever. Did it pull out on you? Mine did and it was a semi-pain to get it back up in there. Gets cha' hands dirty :Word:

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I did not use any type of grease at all. I just sprayed a little silicone on the bushing to assist with installation. This is what the instructions I had said to do. No grease came with the bushings.

 

[BennyBlown2v]

Silicone will break down over time, teflon-based urethane specific grease is best. But in the case of a steering rack, you really don't want too much grease anyway. The stock bushings might not look bad, but they probably were. Pretty much any rubber bushing is stupid.

 

[DerekStangGT]

where are the pics Kily? how long did the swap take? basic hand tools?

 

[mity2]

Having newbi moment. Where is this bushing?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Yes, it just took basic hand tools but it was a little harder than I expected due to problems with steering linkage and also the difficulty of seating those bushings since they are a very tight fit.

Here is the breaker bar and 18mm deep well socket I got for this task:
View attachment 470074

Here is my floor jack, it is one year old now and makes a squeak/groan when I pump it so if anyone knows what kind of rountine maintenance floor jacks require please let me know:
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Check out my ghetto grill delete waiting on the three piece grill delete but I could not wait to see what it would look like so right now I have no grill whatsoever
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Here are the new urethane bushings from MM, this is one of those things that you pay about $25 for with shipping but once you receive it you know for a fact that the part cost to manufacture is around 2 cents each
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Jacking the car:
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Whoah! Always have the windows on a vert down when twisting the chassis like this, I forgot to roll them down:
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See that paint can opener in the pic? It is the perfect tool for removing the center inserts on these rims
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It is a good idea to put the tires under the car when it is on jackstands to prevent the car from falling all the way to the ground if the jackstands fail:
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It is also a good idea to give the car a good shake to make sure the jackstands are secure before getting under the car to work on it:
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The breaker bar made short work of the 18mm nuts on the bolts that hold the steering rack to the front of the K-member. The steering rack bolts are probably a foot long!
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Here is a pic of a couple friends of mine that assisted with the job
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The old bushings next to the new:
View attachment 470089

After this my hands got pretty greasy and things started going less than smoothly so I did not take any more pics.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Here are the instructions I used for the install, they clearly state that no grease is to be used on the new bushings.

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/Detailed/52.shtml

 

[5.0's 4 ever]

I like your choice in beer

 

[DTNODYA]

I'm sorry man, for some reason I was thinking about swaybar bushings.

I did replace my rack bushings too and they do help with the creaking FWIW.

My bad ..


Putting the tires under the car is a good idea too!

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Well I test drove it again today and if def feels tighter in the steering and there is no groaning or creaking so I think it is fixed

I def recommend the urethane rack bushings from MM.

I think now I will endeavor to replace all rubber bushings on the entire car with urethane... Next up front sway bar end links and bushings.

 

[01Steeda]

wait wait wait... does this consist of a Mod???? or would that still be just maint.?

but on another note, i think I may need to look into these bushings, I have some horrid creaking happening under there.:SNSign:

 

[jasonh_86]

Nice pics Killy! I may check into this thing after I get some cams in my car (hopefully install in 3 weeks)

 

[DTNODYA]

Well I test drove it again today and if def feels tighter in the steering and there is no groaning or creaking so I think it is fixed

I def recommend the urethane rack bushings from MM.

I think now I will endeavor to replace all rubber bushings on the entire car with urethane... Next up front sway bar end links and bushings.

Get swaybar bushings too if you don't already have em. They made a difference.