Steering Gear: Disassembly
- Mount rack and pinion assembly in soft-jawed vise. Loosen tie rod end lock nuts, and unscrew tie rod ends from tie rods. Remove lock nuts from tie rods. Remove 4 tie rod boot clamps from left and right tie rod boots.
- Remove boots from rack and pinion housing and tie rods. Unstake left and right tie rod lock washers. Unscrew and remove left and right tie rods from rack. Remove lock washers from rack. Remove adjusting plug nut, adjusting plug, spring and rack housing guide. See Fig 2
.
- Center rack, and mark position of pinion shaft. Rotate pinion shaft until notch is parallel to rack, and then measure rack. See Fig 1
. Record measurement for reassembly reference.
- Remove valve plug from bottom of rack housing. Using channel-lock pliers, keep pinion shaft from rotating, remove pinion nut. Remove pinion snap ring. Remove pinion assembly from rack housing.
- Remove retaining ring from right side of rack housing. Insert a punch through access hole to drive out retaining ring. See Fig 3
. Remove rack and seal holder from right side of rack housing. Remove cylinder pipes from rack housing. Remove inner rack seal and shock dampener. Remove pinion bearing and seal from rack housing.
Courtesy of GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Courtesy of GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Courtesy of GENERAL MOTORS CORP.