Fox Stuck Power Steering Rack

[mcalvo]

Good Afternoon folks;

I hope you had a great new years. I need your expertise with a stuck power steering rack on my 93 foxbody (picture attached). The passenger side is pulling out fine. The driver side is stuck to the bushing and I am not able to pull the rack out of the K-member. My question is, do anybody has a suggestion to pull the rod out of the bushing besides hammering the rod out of the K-member??

I have had this problem for close to 1.5 months and any suggestion will be greatly appreciate it. I was thinking about reversing a power steering and alternator pulley puller. Again, please let me know you suggestions please.

Thanks
-Max

 

[Rdub6]

The rack should slide off those tubes, leaving them connected to the k member.
Here’s a picture of when I disassembled my front end.
Have you tried a pry bar between the rack and k member?

 

[Monkeybutt2000]

I'm assuming you've liberally sprayed the are with some penetrating lube? Put the bolt back in the other side a few threads,then get a big prybar between the k-member and rack and get with it.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Pry bar. Big one.

Normally the rack pulls off those two tubes, but the tubes can also be removed from the K-member as well. Unfortunately with the engine in place you might not have enough access to tap them out.

 

[mcalvo]

Good Morning folks;

First of all, thank you for your input and feedback with my power steering saga. This is the process I had to Jerry-rig to get the power steering out. Let me explain my situation with pics and comments as well.

As you can see the power steering rack sleeves are uneven. This was due the power steering fluid leaking over the entire K-member. When I push on the power steering rack, the rack sleeve woudl come out as well. The entire power steering rack hit the sawy bar so I could not remove it from the car.

This is the Jerry-rig I had to figure out in order to pull the power steering out. Having one extension rod with a 3/4 inch socket jam against the sawy bar while laveraging the power stetting rack with another extension rod got the rack out.

Here is the steering out.

 

[Rdub6]

Well, at least it’s out. That seemed to be a real PITA. I see one sleeve still in the rack. Is the other still stuck in the k member?

 

[mcalvo]

Now I got another issue. I am short about 1/2 inch on the steering shaft rag joint. Let me explain my install steps for the new power steering.
I basically used the same nuts to push the bushings and rack back into place. There was no room for mullet.

I make sure that the rack was tight and the nuts do not go any further into the bolts. It is really tight there. I cannot turn the nut anymore. However, I still not able to fully push the pinon into the steering shaft rag joint. The first pic is the pinon out rubbing against the rag joint. The last pic is the pinion is at now.

The steering wheel does turn the tires but as you can see I am very concern about the safety obviously. Based on the install steps I did what suggestions do you folks have? I have pulled the rack forward and backwards a couple of times to re-seat it with the same result. The nut does not turn anymore. So I need your expertise on this matter. What am I missing?

Thanks in advance

 

[mcalvo]

Well, at least it’s out. That seemed to be a real PITA. I see one sleeve still in the rack. Is the other still stuck in the k member?

Yes, the other one was stuck to the K-Member.

 

[AeroCoupe]

The steering column will collapse. Read this thread.

87 Fox 5.0 steering shaft short after rack pulled. Installation trouble now.

Pulled the rack and pinion out of my 87 fox. I separated the rack at the rag joint by first removing the pinch bolt and then lightly tapping the rag joint off the rack splines with a punch and hammer. When installing the new rack I realized that because of the tapping, the steering shaft had...

stangnet.com

 

[Mustang5L5]

Yup, the column is collapsible. Tie a rope onto the rag joint and give it some firm tugs. Should extend the column enough

 

[mcalvo]

Gentlemen, It worked! The power steering column came out. Now it is seating perfectly.

I want to thank all of you for helping me with this "project" or PITA. I greatly appreciate it.

I do would like to leave small tip for anybody who reads this and is in the same situation. I used a 48oz hammer to pull the column out. You only have to attach a heavy duty string. In my case I used an old household dryer belt and tied it around the U-joint in the steering column and then pull. I think the easiest is to pull in the direction as the column. I started from the side of the engine. But the power steering pump was there. So I moved under the engine. Much easier. You don't need to tug on it too much. I give it a firm pull and I felt the column extending. Picture below. Again I hope this helps somebody else. Remember it's only difficult the first time.

 

[Monkeybutt2000]

Gentlemen, It worked! The power steering column came out. Now it is seating perfectly.

I want to thank all of you for helping me with this "project" or PITA. I greatly appreciate it.

I do would like to leave small tip for anybody who reads this and is in the same situation. I used a 48oz hammer to pull the column out. You only have to attach a heavy duty string. In my case I used an old household dryer belt and tied it around the U-joint in the steering column and then pull. I think the easiest is to pull in the direction as the column. I started from the side of the engine. But the power steering pump was there. So I moved under the engine. Much easier. You don't need to tug on it too much. I give it a firm pull and I felt the column extending. Picture below. Again I hope this helps somebody else. Remember it's only difficult the first time.

LOL, I had to do the exact same thing. Actually had to "swing" it to get it to move. Glad it worked out for ya.

 

[mcalvo]

Once again, I am in need of some assistance.

The seal is busted and leaking fluid! Does anybody has any suggestions? Or should I just order a new washer and replace? Once again thank you for sharing your expertise.

 

[AeroCoupe]

There is an o-ring and Teflon gasket that seal up the lines going into the rack. I believe they sell the Teflon seals in the “Help” section at the auto parts stores. O-Ring will need to be a Teflon variant as the power steering fluid will eventually soften up a Buna o-ring and it will extrude and fail.

Good discussion on the seals with part numbers here:

https://www.corral.net/threads/power-steering-pump-fitting-seals.1388633/

power steering line o-rings

I'm installing a rebuilt steering rack on my '93 and the rack came with two new seals and two new o-rings. I can see where the teflon seals belong, but I don't remember seeing any o-rings on the pressure and return lines at disassembly. Does anyone know where these are supposed to be...

stangnet.com

power steering leaking at rack.... need help on replacing "o" rings..

Has anyone resealed the power steering hoses at the rack? I know it can be done and there are only "O" rings? Some one told me that i needed some thin crows feet socekts? Does anyone know or has done this that can help?

stangnet.com

 

[Mustang5L5]

Mcmaster-carr does source Teflon O-rings.

I gotta dig to find the sizes though. I bought a few a while back.

 

[limp]

NPD has them...

O-RING KIT, POWER STEERING PRESSURE HOSE - #87004-S - National Parts Depot

Buy part #87004-S O-RING KIT, POWER STEERING PRESSURE HOSE for your classic vehicle from National Parts Depot. Free shipping on orders over $300, fast delivery & everyday low pricing! Order now!

www.npdlink.com

 

[mcalvo]

The rack should slide off those tubes, leaving them connected to the k member.
Here’s a picture of when I disassembled my front end.
Have you tried a pry bar between the rack and k member?

Thank you for the pic. I want to ask you. What size wire you have for the starter motor? And what size wire loom you used?

 

[Rdub6]

Thank you for the pic. I want to ask you. What size wire you have for the starter motor? And what size wire loom you used?

I’ll have to take a look but I’m pretty sure it’s 4 gauge, and a 10 gauge trigger wire. The loom is probably 3/4 to get them both inside.
When I can, I’ll double check for sure.

 

[AeroCoupe]

Same here, 4 ga from the battery and 10 ga from the start side of the inner fender solenoid. Wrapped them with 5/8" loom.

 

[mcalvo]

I’ll have to take a look but I’m pretty sure it’s 4 gauge, and a 10 gauge trigger wire. The loom is probably 3/4 to get them both inside.
When I can, I’ll double check for sure.

Thanks a lot for the reply. I am doing the same type of wire upgrade but with 1/0 gauge wire. One last question, does the starter wire goes under or over the k-member bracket connected to the engine block? I am guessing under since the exhaust pipes are over the bracket. But I just want to make sure. Thanks again.