hey guys, i'm in the middle of taking apart my steering rack, and am a little bit stuck. the pinion assembly isn't coming out, i have taken out the dust seal and the snap ring that holds the ball bearing in place, and i think it should just pull right out. its not. also, there is a bent washer on either side of the rack that i'm supposed to unbend, but they're pretty stubborn. anyone have suggestions/experience in doing this? thanks in advance.

 

you want an honest response?
get a replacement.
even a junked car.
i rebuilt mine, it was ok for about a month.
now i have a junked one waiting to be installed.
the washers need to be destroyed unbending and get replacements.
i believe the pinion is not rebuildable.
stan

 

hm, its ok if the pinion is not rebuildable, i just want to see what condition the teeth are in... so how did you get yours out of the rack? it would just give me piece of mind to see it before i put it all back in. thanks for the response, z cars are sweeet, what year is yours? i used to have a '71.

 

I replaced the "rack end bushing" on my rack a month ago.

I never took out the pinion but the bushing I had to drill the sides of it to slide it out but the new one slide in very easy. Solved my problem.

Why are you looking at rebuilding your rack?

I had this horrible clanking/rattle when I went of rough pavement and it was because I had a torn boot on the rack for so long much dirt and sand ruined the bushing and allowed the shaft to "wobble" or clanke within the housing. New bushing, no clanking.

 

Oh yea... BTW: I wouldnt' rebuild the pinion. by the time you pay for parts to have it all rebuilt and installed you will have paid more than the 80$ is costs to buy a refurbished unit.

 

This is identical to a post I made a little while back. Take my advice, just replace the rack. My pinion assembly would not budge at all. The parts for the pinion are the most expensive as well. The other stuff is only about 25-30 bucks.

I spent several frustrating hours with a friend trying to get the damn pinion out all to no avail. I replaced the rack and I'm glad I did, now I have the pice of mind that it won't crap out again, and if ti does it's under warranty.

Good luck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1st-hybrid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I spent several frustrating hours with a friend trying to get the damn pinion out all to no avail. I replaced the rack and I'm glad I did, now I have the pice of mind that it won't crap out again, and if ti does it's under warranty.

Good luck.</TD></TR></TABLE>

those were the days!

like the others said, just replace the rack. its the better/easier route to go.