I'm trying to overhaul the rack and pinion on a '91 DX hatch. I've got the pinion dust seal and the snap-ring out. I can't see anything else holding the pinion/bearing in, but it won't come out. I tried a slide hammer but no luck. Anyone done this before? I've tried everything I can think of short of heating up the case. This thing is giving me a case of the red-***. The service manual just says:

"Remove outer dust seal, pinion dust seal and snap-ring. Remove pinion from steering gear. Slide rack from steering gear."

I'm going to soak it in PB Blaster overnight and try again. Hopefully I don't destroy this thing in the process. It's a $200 car with 300k mi. on it - I'm not trying to break the bank putting parts on this thing. So far all I'm out is a few bucks for a rack end bushing and a pinion seal.

 

outer race is probably siezed to the side of the cylinder. i would bang it a couple more times with a dead blow, or rubber mallet.

you removed the spring tensioner on the back side, right?

 

Thanks for the quick response. Yeah, the rack piston, spring, etc. have all been removed, as have the tie-rods. I'm going to soak it like I said, and I'll try beating on it some more tomorrow morning when I get back to the shop. If that doesn't work I'll probably just grease the rack up as best I can and roll with it. This thing won't be on the road for a long time anyway, and my other civic works perfect.

 

Got it out - Soaked it in PB and then beat the case with a brass hammer a few times. I couldn't pull it out by hand but I got it with slide hammer in one swipe. It's back together and working well. The rack end bushing makes a huge difference - took all of the play out of the passenger side of the rack.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DirtyOldTown &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The rack end bushing makes a huge difference - took all of the play out of the passenger side of the rack.</TD></TR></TABLE>