North American Turbocoupe Organization



Rack and Pinion Bushing replacement
RDOG Offline
Posting Freak
#1
My daughters car keeps making this clunk noise when I turn the steering wheel, and also when I am on the freeway the darn car will be pulled right intio any crack in the road. Well, i raised the car up and had her turn the steering wheel side to side and noticed the entire rack is moving side to side following the turn direction.

This leads me to believe it has bad bushings, so I'm going to replace them. Questions.....

Can I just back the bolt out and move the rack just far enough to change the bushings or do I have to disconnect it from the steering column?

If I go with urethane, how hard is it to replace, and are there some tricks to make it easier to install?
1986 Turbo Coupe. Boport StageIII head, Boport 2.1, Performance Techniques 50 trim hybird, StageII.63, stinger 3" exhaust, Phenolic spacer, Boglog header,NPR FMIC intercooler setup, kirban fpr, bigrmotorsports fuel rail, diablo water meth kit, CAI, remote mount TFI, CHE rear adj control arms, MAC girdle, 8.8 rear disc, aluminum drive shaft, H&R lowerings springs Tbird Turbo Specific, y MAS!!
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Not B Anymore Offline
Administrator
#2
You may be able to get the rack off without undoing the steering shaft linkage, but I dunno... The problem is there are metal "shafts" that the bolts go through which may prevent you from being able to get the rack off enough to get the rear bushings out (they are two-piece bushings). The bushings go over these shafts and the bolts go through them. Sorry - probably a poor explanation...

The new bushings go on pretty easy if you lube them up. What I did was slip the rear bushings over the shafts, then install the rack, then slip the front bushings on and bolt everything down.
Brian Leavitt
'86 TC 5-Speed -- MS2x w/COP | 83 lb. injectors | T3/T4 50 Trim Stage 3 .63AR | Full 3" Exhaust - No Cat | Motorsport FMIC | Ranger Roller | Ported E6 | Walbro 255HP | Kirban | 20psi | 120-amp 3G | 8.8" 3.55 rear | '03 Cobra Wheels
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Ballman Offline
Senior Member
#3
yes, chip ..... its not that hard, the poly type maybe a little harder to go in . take a chill pill before you start the job and take your time, easy to take apart, other way is not so fun . D.Wilder
DW
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Matthew88 Offline
Junior Member
#4
B Wrote:You may be able to get the rack off without undoing the steering shaft linkage, but I dunno... The problem is there are metal "shafts" that the bolts go through which may prevent you from being able to get the rack off enough to get the rear bushings out (they are two-piece bushings). The bushings go over these shafts and the bolts go through them. Sorry - probably a poor explanation...

The new bushings go on pretty easy if you lube them up. What I did was slip the rear bushings over the shafts, then install the rack, then slip the front bushings on and bolt everything down.


Brian is right, I just pulled mine last night and the metal "shafts" or "tubes" that the bushing itself slides over makes it the most difficult part I think. The passenger side came off easy for me, but the driver side will likely require you to unbolt at your rag joint or somewhere up the steering shaft. Mine was already unbolted so I can't comment on pulling the rack without having the shaft disconnected.

Don't go wacking the assembly with anything other than a rubber mallet (or set a block of wood against it and hit the wood with a regular hammer), it's cast and you really don't want to crack it. I used a long flat head screwdriver and pried against the K-member to get it off.

-Matt
1987 Turbocoupe 5 Speed
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boboli Offline
Member
#5
Unlike the V8's, you can reach in and unbolt the linkage with one hand and an impact. That's actually the easiest part. Trying to hold the bolt end that is behind the cross member while removing the nut on the front is a pain. Then, getting the bushings in and lining up the rack to the bolts can be frustrating. I recently did poly rack bushings on my 89 mustang 5.0 and my turbocoupe. The turbocoupe was way easier. No jacking the motor up to clear the oil pan from the rack.
My only possible problem with poly rack bushings is that on the mustang, at a stop, if you turn the wheel, the tires feel like they bounce as they turn. I don't know what causes this but on both cars I changed the rack, all hoses, the pump, end links, and poly bushings. The mustang has this chatter effect while the tbird doesn't. Probably crappy AZ parts
1988 turbo tbird, 5spd, 140k, all stock except boost control valve.
1986 dodge omni glh turbo, 111k, my money pit.
1989 mustang Lx 5.0 convertible, tropical yellow/ tan interior, 1of only 144 made, 164k, aod, all stock including overheating TFI!
89 Jaguar XJS convertible, LT1 conversion, now fighting the prince of darkness (aka Lucas electronics)
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RDOG Offline
Posting Freak
#6
Guys, it turned out to be super easy. I dont know why I made so much fuss about it. Took less than an hour. I followed what you guys said about not hitting it with a hammer and just used a big pry bar and and unbolted the steering arm, and it came out with ease. I also mark the steering arm with paint so that it went back in the exact same direction.

Thanks for the help
1986 Turbo Coupe. Boport StageIII head, Boport 2.1, Performance Techniques 50 trim hybird, StageII.63, stinger 3" exhaust, Phenolic spacer, Boglog header,NPR FMIC intercooler setup, kirban fpr, bigrmotorsports fuel rail, diablo water meth kit, CAI, remote mount TFI, CHE rear adj control arms, MAC girdle, 8.8 rear disc, aluminum drive shaft, H&R lowerings springs Tbird Turbo Specific, y MAS!!
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